Results 1-20 of 72 for garda speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I thank Senator Chambers for poking us all on this particular issue. The Garda Reserve is a very valuable resource in this country that is absolutely not tapped into. I thank Senator Boyhan for his contribution. This is an issue that Senator McDowell has been raising for the last number of years and nothing has been done - absolutely nothing has been done on this. The Garda Commissioner...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Jun 2021)

Sharon Keogan: I want to raise an issue, which Women's Aid highlighted recently, namely, the Garda failed to respond to thousands of domestic violence calls. An internal investigation has found many victims received no help after calling 999 in domestic violence incidents. Some of the incidents involved people repeatedly calling the emergency line and not getting the assistance needed. I call on the...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I appreciate the difficulty the Minister has had in getting trainees on board. It is hard. When it comes to trainees, we must make being a garda a job worth applying for. In this regard, the remuneration is very important, but so is having a proper pension. These new gardaí are on the post-2013 pension provision. Those joining the Garda now, compared with those who joined the force...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (20 Sep 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...of Business on 13 July before the summer recess. It is now being raised as a Commencement matter at a time when I feel we are about to have a much wider discussion on the need for an increased Garda presence in our communities. The widely shared horrific scenes of gangs of joyriding thugs in a housing estate in Cherry Orchard have shocked many, but for many others, it is an...

Seanad: Transport Police Service: Motion (25 Jan 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...just certain parts of Dublin. Let us call a spade a spade. This motion is all going great and looking great. It then calls for, "the establishment of a dedicated Public Transport Unit within An Garda Síochána".The proposal contained in this motion is unworkable because we do not have enough gardaí. We spoke about this in November during a debate that took place when...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (20 Sep 2022)

Sharon Keogan: .... This is her constituency, however. This is her area. The people of the Ashbourne area and Laytown-Bettystown coastal area deserve a 24-hour station. The area in which the current Laytown Garda station is situated is the middle of a housing estate. There is no way it can upgrade that facility there. In 2009, Fianna Fáil announced it was going to build a brand new Garda station...

Seanad: Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Mar 2021)

Sharon Keogan: On a point of order, Senator Byrne mentioned breaches. In fact, Meath County Council was not in breach at all. A Garda system had been installed and, as such, it was the Garda Síochána that had not legislated for the automated number plate recognition, ANPR.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...the place. Many of them simply got into their cars to help their colleagues in need at the time. How will this issue be addressed in the long term? Recruitment and retention are issues within An Garda Síochána. Community policing is at the heart of what the Garda does. I am a great advocate of community policing. I do it in my community and area. It is an important...

Seanad: Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Committee Stage (27 Feb 2024)

Sharon Keogan: ...Mullen for putting it so eloquently.As far as I can see, this section is a bit like the tail wagging the dog because the Minister has provided no evidence. There is no evidence whatsoever from the Garda Commissioner regarding allegations that have been made by a certain lobby group. The Minister has produced no evidence in respect of any hospital to indicate that inappropriate protests...

Seanad: Offences against the State (Amendment) Act 1998 and Criminal Justice (Amendment) Act 2009: Motions (29 Jun 2020)

Sharon Keogan: ...discussion today deal with highly important aspects of criminal justice, such as criminal prosecution in the Special Criminal Court, it is also important to do our part at local level to assist An Garda Síochána in building safer communities in which we can live, work and play. I have worked tirelessly to do that in all my years in political office. In 2017, the communities of...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages [Resumed] (15 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...against a watchlist of number plates of vehicles of interest. The Bill proposes the processing of all number plate data and then the provision of access to the number plate data in which the Garda is interested. The ECJ has repeatedly warned that accessing targeted data out of vast pools of data must happen only subject to judicial approval. The Dwyer judgment is an example of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 May 2024)

Sharon Keogan: ...of domestic abuse and coercive control. The success of these units will play a fundamental role in child protection within our community. The report states that the resourcing boost to the Garda National Cyber Crime Bureau has led to notable improvements in investigations, especially in identifying children who may be victims of sexual abuse offences. The report acknowledges...

Seanad: Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (7 Apr 2022)

Sharon Keogan: Section 5 of the Bill empowers the Garda Síochána to direct individuals so as to prevent an offence under this Bill occurring and grants significant latitude in that regard. If the Bill is passed in its current form, gardaí will have full discretion to break up and end any assembly near a safe access zone, as they need only suspect that a person intends to stray into such a...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Second Stage (26 Sep 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...a recording device is overly broad. Anything from a camera on a piece of clothing, a device fixed to a structure, a drone or our own 72-hour CCTV footage could be considered a recording device the Garda can use and access without judicial approval. The information gathering regulations the Garda must follow do not make sense. After a crash, the Garda often appeals to the public for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Nov 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I thank the Cathaoirleach for allowing me in. The Commissioner is very welcome. In regard to the Garda station in Meath east, around the Laytown and Bettystown area, is a vital piece of infrastructure that we need there on the coast. The current one is in the middle of a housing estate and is totally unsuitable for the needs of the growing population on the east coast. In regard to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Sep 2023)

Sharon Keogan: ...in Meath will miss him equally greatly. My sympathies go to his mother; his fiancée; Carly; and Kyle. I am calling for a debate with the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on the issue of crime, An Garda Síochána and national security. This month saw a 99% vote by rank-and-file gardaí to express no confidence in Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, with record turnout,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 May 2023)

Sharon Keogan: I am sure many of us saw on Twitter the video of an exchange between a member of An Garda Síochána and "Billboard Chris", a Canadian father of two who has been touring North America, and now Europe, engaging in conversations about the use of puberty blockers on children. While walking Grafton Street over the weekend wearing a sandwich board that read "Children cannot consent to...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 Dec 2022)

Sharon Keogan: I call upon the Government to provide greater resources to the Garda to stop the illegal catalytic converters and scrap metal trade. Technology advances, along with the uptake of crime in this area, means our current approach is no longer fit for purpose. Catalytic converters are valuable because the precious metals they are made of, such as rhodium, platinum and palladium, have increased...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jul 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...area of Meath is in need of a new post-primary school given the rapidly increasing population there. The people of Laytown and Bettystown are also renewing their calls for a 24-7, fit-for-purpose Garda station in that area. These requests from the people of these areas have been growing for some time. The 2022 census figures show that the need is even more dire than previously thought....

Seanad: Community Safety and Investment: Motion [Private Members] (28 Feb 2024)

Sharon Keogan: ...and the amendment tabled by my colleague, Senator Craughwell. Community safety and investment is of paramount importance to ensure a thriving, safe and healthy society. The Trojan work done by An Garda Síochána has never been of more vital importance than in recent years. Community unrest is palpable in our country. The recruitment and retention of gardaí is at crisis...