Results 1-20 of 88 for garda speaker:Barry Ward

Seanad: EU Regulations (Police Co-operation on Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Human Beings): Motion (11 Apr 2024)

Barry Ward: ...already been identified as a tier two country and we have work to do to make sure that we are not seen as a target for the organised criminal groups of which the Minister speaks. We need to ensure that when somebody is trafficked here, An Garda Síochána is on top of it and able to respond in a way that, first and foremost, identifies such people and then that the system is...

Seanad: Domestic Violence (Amendment) Bill 2024: Second Stage (14 Feb 2024)

Barry Ward: ...violence orders are an important tool in enforcing the law regarding domestic violence.It is important to understand that while a breach of an order is a criminal matter, the reality is that for a garda or any other person seeking an order, there is a relatively low bar to obtaining that order. What they are doing in that circumstance is setting up a situation where the perpetrator or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Barry Ward: I will first say that I appear in court on behalf of the Garda Commissioner and I am a member of the ICCL. I do not believe that either circumstance conflicts me, but I wanted to declare it at the outset. The questions I wish to ask relate to false positives and the concerns in that regard. I have listened to what the Garda has said about this essentially being a data-processing tool...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Barry Ward: Let us say that garda A is sitting down and working with the technology and the technology generates a match. Is there a concern, or what protocols have been put in place to address the concern, that the technology corroborates the garda’s view to the point where he or she might have a doubt but dismisses it on the basis that he or she is relying on the technology rather than his or...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Barry Ward: I accept that, but in circumstances where a garda is investigating a serious offence and is under considerable pressure to identify someone, what do we do to avoid the danger that the garda, however well trained, might naturally feel pressure to find someone to prosecute, investigate or whatever the case may be? What is there specifically to disincentivise following the chain in a way that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (13 Feb 2024)

Barry Ward: One of the points that has come out of these discussions is the importance of the protocols from the Department and within An Garda Síochána. Is there any proposed protocol or measure that will penalise someone or is there any consequence for a garda who gets it wrong when he or she should objectively have got it right?

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

Barry Ward: ...concern, however, in respect of the way section 16(3) is set out, which is with a view to setting up a body that has a specific skill set in terms of experience or knowledge of "the functions of An Garda Síochána", the "organisational governance" and the "financial matters". Looking at section 12(1), it would appear that this seems to be the main impetus of the people who will...

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

Barry Ward: I might raise a few issues. Obviously, this is a discussion on policing. One criticism made in some quarters is that gardaí were not more forceful in their engagement with rioters on the streets. I have lived in different cities in Europe and I have seen forceful engagement of riot police with people in a public order scenario. I do not want to see that here. I do not want to see...

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

Barry Ward: I thank the Minister and I have another question about GSOC. The Minister has heard Garda representative organisations state that gardaí are afraid to do certain things because they are concerned it will result in a matter coming before GSOC. In the first instance I want to say that I absolutely support GSOC. The level of accountability that it has brought to policing is very...

Seanad: Sex Offenders (Amendment) (Coercive Control) Bill 2023: Second Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Barry Ward: ...there is not a big ledger somewhere where all the sex offenders are listed. What we are talking about here is not the idea that somebody's name goes in a book and it is put on a dusty shelf in Garda HQ or wherever it is, this is about putting obligations on people who have committed offences like this and then, by extension, making that information available to people who might...

Seanad: Recent Violence in Dublin City Centre: Motion (29 Nov 2023)

Barry Ward: ...who are expected to read the minds of people who are not predictable and who may have other difficulties that have caused them to behave in a certain way. It is appalling. The last speaker said that gardaí are there to protect us and that is exactly what I saw them doing on Parnell Square last week. They arrived at the scene and put order on it. They put protection in place...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages (8 Nov 2023)

Barry Ward: Senator Ruane referred to what I said on Committee Stage about these amendments. I do not accept that the Garda should be put in the same category as the police in the United States, particularly, or even in the UK. I think they are better than that but in saying that, I can see that there are bad apples in the barrel. There always are. I recognise the point Senator Ruane is making...

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

Barry Ward: ...I suspect he is unaware of this - not that I have any pecuniary interest or anything like that, but I want to declare that. I wish to address three issues. First, I refer to legal training for gardaí who appear in the District Court. I know presenting sergeants and presenting inspectors do much of that work but it often falls on individual garda to appear in cases or, in fact, to...

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

Barry Ward: We had engagement with the Commissioner earlier and one of the big issues that came up was the recruitment and retention of gardaí. In some respects the Garda is a victim of the successful employment situation whereby there are many options for people with the skills that gardaí have. An issue that arises in my area is the cost of housing. For gardaí at Blackrock Garda...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 Oct 2023)

Barry Ward: I said at the outset of this Bill that it is very important that we put in place protocols governing the use of Garda bodycams and material that is going to be gathered in regard to members of the public in a public place or, indeed, in a private place, for example, a home. Those protocols have to be tight, as I have said to the Minister before. They need to guarantee the safety and privacy...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (24 Oct 2023)

Barry Ward: ...my professional career defending the people Senator Flynn spoke about and the High Court jurisprudence is littered with cases that have been taken against unjustifiable and arbitrary decisions by gardaí to stop and search people and so on. The Senator is right about that. My concern is that this amendment will not fix that. The danger with some of these amendments is that they...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Scheme of the Irish Prison Service Bill and of the Criminal Justice (Legal Aid) Bill: Discussion (3 Oct 2023)

Barry Ward: I have a question on what was said about the legal advice before a matter goes to Garda investigation and I am not saying that this would happen. Is there a concern that at a later stage a defence team might construct a narrative that would suggest that that advice had tailored the manner or content of the complaint? We have seen a lot of development in, for example, the disclosure of...

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

Barry Ward: ...the Minister has brought us through the main provisions. It is to be welcomed. Probably the most - I do not want to say newsworthy - prominent aspect of the Bill is the provision of body cameras for gardaí. This is something that has been part of a debate on policing for some time. As the Minister said, it is something for which the Commissioner has been asking. To my mind,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (28 Jun 2023)

Barry Ward: ...new section will make it easy for complainants to give evidence. It is always difficult to make a complaint against a person and go through the process of giving a statement and evidence to the Garda and then go through a court process, if that is what happens, and go into a courtroom and swear an oath and affirmation and then recount what happened. That is always going to be difficult....