Results 1-20 of 49 for garda speaker:Mary Seery Kearney

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Mar 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...raised the issue of road safety. It is a disgrace that there were 1,800 speeding offences over the bank holiday weekend. I am glad they are being detected and it clearly shows enforcement by the Garda and a Trojan effort over the weekend but it is shocking. I agree that we need a debate in the House for the purposes of raising the profile of the advocate. When I was 16 years of age, my...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Protection of Children in the Use of Artificial Intelligence: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...Facebook. None of us who are politicians, and I am sure this is the case for many others in the room as well, sit here free of and unscathed by the horrific implications of having to contact the Garda about the things that happen to us. It is a waste of time going after those individuals in their garages, except in the criminal sphere. We must be able to access and hold the likes of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Engagement of Children in Criminal Activity) Bill 2023: Second Stage (31 Jan 2024)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...this is merely pyrrhic or in actual fact executable. Within the grooming, there would be family and community loyalties. How are we going to deal with that? Is it going to be the say-so of a garda? I do not see anything in the legislation which states that. Who is going to give evidence and what sort of supports will be put in place by us for that? There is no question but that An...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...prayers are for them; for that little girl and that care worker. Second, I condemn the violence that we saw on the street and applaud the incredible bravery of members of the public, as well as An Garda Síochána. We cannot depart from the fact that there is a central role here of social media in this. I, too, saw the messages in community groups and people being anxious on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Housing, Planning and Local Government: Consideration of the Citizens' Assembly Report on a Directly Elected Mayor of Dublin: Discussion (Resumed) (21 Nov 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...city. Our guest speakers referred to policing. I would take that further and say that we need policing for Dublin. Then we have to ask whether we recruit personnel and how would that affect the Garda Síochána? The ramifications of this are massive. Do we need a plebiscite? Yes. Next June is probably too soon, but word has it that there will be a general election within...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Challenges Facing Women Accessing Education, Leadership and Political Roles: Discussion (13 Jun 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...poster is up. I put the photograph on social media and got rape threats and everything like that. I recall that. When the article was published in The Irish Times- the journalist rang me and did it - gardaí in Terenure rang me to ask why I had not contacted them about the abuse. I told them it was because I took it as par for the course in politics. The gardaí said to never...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 May 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...believe that this is so serious it deserves to be a stand-alone offence. I pay tribute to Young Fine Gael, which has done a lot of work and advocacy in this regard. Last year, notifications to An Garda Síochána of spiking went from ten to 106. I think 106 is a drop in the ocean in terms of what is going on. I think of work done by people like Noeline Blackwell, who says that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 May 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...person crawling, having been beaten up, is just horrific. While a motive may still have to be established - although I think Senator Hoey is correct in that regard - and that is a matter for the Garda and school authorities, it is horrific that someone egged this on, filmed it and then put it up on social media. We need to have statements on that and discuss the use of social media and...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Cash-for-Gold Outlets (3 May 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...is no question asked of the bona fides of the person who is selling, and where they got the gold from. I appreciate there has been a huge fall in burglary rates, and I have confirmed that with An Garda Síochána. When we compare 2019 to 2022, it is certainly significant. However, this idea that you can convert gold into cash is striking as an easy way to facilitate criminality,...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Possible Enhancement of Child Protection Powers of Tusla: Discussion (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...is the threshold for systemic abuse. What is the arbiter of this that triggers some sort of engagement? In other areas Tusla is mandated to be part of an interdepartmental group that includes the Garda and others. What triggers it? What is very important about today is that people understand that, depending on whether Tusla is dealing with an organisation that is funded or not...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Possible Enhancement of Child Protection Powers of Tusla: Discussion (25 Apr 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: .... I think I heard that if a statement which is made to Tusla contains an express statement that makes allegations around the management of an organisation, you have the ability to go to the Garda and to say you need to go in and investigate more than just the individual, who is the alleged perpetrator, but beyond that. If there is not an express statement, however, you are limited to the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Apr 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: .... The report on Drogheda notes that it has been highly successful. I am really pleased about that. The board will be made up of local representatives from the HSE, the local authority, the Garda Síochána, Tusla, the Probation Service, the youth services board and the education and training board. There is quite a significant group of people and expertise around the table to...

Joint Committee On Children, Equality, Disability, Integration And Youth: Youth Work: Discussion (18 Apr 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: If I could add to that, I am a DPO for an organisation that is a conduit in Garda vetting. It is the last vestige of my life before the Seanad. I do a monthly briefing with companies and their liaison people who are affiliates for Garda vetting. One of the things I would say with my employment lawyer hat on is that before a company ever decides it is going to go Garda vetting or is going...

Seanad: Independent Review of the Handling of Past Complaints of Abuse in St John Ambulance Ireland: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...relation to the report of historical abuse stating ‘from our meeting with you, [we do not] have any concerns regarding the management of the allegation discussed or any concern that child abuse was systemic within your organisation, or that there was any failure to act on the part of SJAI. We don’t plan to meet with you again unless further matters arise.’; - the SJAI...

Seanad: Independent Review of the Handling of Past Complaints of Abuse in St John Ambulance Ireland: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...him in a way that only Dr. Shannon, who is an extraordinary man, could. The State has two defences to protect children from child sexual abuse. It has Tusla and the Children First Act and it has the Garda Síochána. I accept that Tusla's power is limited in respect of independent organisations that were not State funded but that limitation needs to be examined in the context of...

Seanad: Sex Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (28 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...we give our full support to it. The sex offenders register can often be misinterpreted by the public. People imagine it should be publicly available without understanding that while it ensures the Garda has information about who is living in certain areas, where they are and how to monitor them, there is also a rehabilitative element to it. Scholarly articles look at recidivism rates...

Seanad: Accommodation for International Protection Applicants: Statements (22 Feb 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...heard in the criminal courts today, and I guarantee there are more Irish people than any others. There is an idea that because somebody is a foreign national, we should get a veto over them and want them to be Garda checked, but it does not seem to apply to your Irish next-door neighbour or your family member. This othering suits a narrative and is really quite appalling. We are in the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Mary Seery Kearney: ..., I spoke to a woman on the phone whose ex-husband had weaponised the children to such an extent, that because she had the temerity to lodge a maintenance request with the courts, he called the An Garda to the house. He can seize her genetic child at any moment because of the lack of legislation governing international surrogacy.It is not acceptable for us to say that it is out of order...

Seanad: Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Second Stage (14 Dec 2022)

Mary Seery Kearney: ...vis-à-visthe general data protection regulation, GDPR, and the retention of domestic violence-related data. The National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 which governs Garda vetting provides that only a designated person is allowed to hold information of a disclosure on the PULSE system related to an employee. We need to be very sensitive with regard to...