Results 81-100 of 4,842 for garda speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: In addition, there are no prosecutions unless there is evidence. Imagine if one were caught for drink-driving and one was able to hand a preprinted card to the garda and say: "Consult my solicitor. I am driving home."

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (8 Nov 2018)

Michael McDowell: Okay, I am a Member of the Oireachtas. My point is that these things could be very serious. A garda could impart a piece of tittle-tattle which has no serious consequence, and the Garda Síochána Act was specifically and carefully crafted to state that it had to have very serious adverse consequences before an offence would be committed. In this case, however, it is not necessary...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...commented on that we could perhaps do with a similar version of that body now. He chaired a body established by me, as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, on the future management of An Garda Síochána. It reported in 2006. When there was a problem in Tallaght Hospital he chaired a committee of inquiry into the matter and reported to the Houses of the Oireachtas. In...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...section 28(2)(b) was an indictment for a term of imprisonment not exceeding five years or a fine or both was simply that if such a power is not there and it is not a serious offence to do this, the Garda has no right to arrest anybody who it suspects of having committed the offence, no right to investigate or seize various-----

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: No, it is not mandatory, but I will explain it to Senator Norris, through the Chair. When the Official Secrets Act 1963 applied to all members of An Garda Síochána, a habit had broken out among some members of disclosing harmful information to the media, and the Attorney General of the day was informed by the Commissioner of An Garda Síochána that unless he had a power of...

Seanad: Perjury and Related Offences Bill 2018: Second Stage (24 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...work that has been done. When we consider that the law with which we are dealing stretches back through the mists of time to common law and that we still do not have an easily workable law which An Garda Síochána and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions can clearly understand, it is no mystery that perjury is committed day in and day out in our courts by people who...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (16 Oct 2018)

Michael McDowell: Curiously, it did not address Stepaside Garda station, although I only received one side of it. It features pictures of myself and, curiously, my great friend, former Deputy Alan Shatter, and describes us as "the opponents". The point that caught my attention was that it stated that the system for appointing judges in Ireland is tainted by political cronyism. Is it-----

Seanad: Order of Business (19 Sep 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...document. It will require very considerable political commitment and the application of resources, not merely financial but also intellectual and emotional, in changing the culture of An Garda Síochána and supporting the process of change. The report itself has provided for some oversight of its own implementation by suggesting the process can begin within three months. The...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (4 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...we like but some people are born with weak hearts and they are unlikely to be able to do the work. The simple fact is that making these appointments is a bit like appointing someone to be a local garda sergeant. The person's health has to be sufficient to be able to do the job. There is no point in codding ourselves or saying we are so much in favour of equality in this House that...

Seanad: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (3 Jul 2018)

Michael McDowell: ...people who are "in the service of the State" goes undefined. The Senators have proposed an amendment which says that: A person is employed in the service of the State if he or she is— (a) a member of the Garda Síochána, (b) a member of the Defence Forces, or (c) a civil servant in the Civil Service of the Government or the Civil Service of the State. Are HSE...

Seanad: Garda Overtime Budget: Statements (29 Nov 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...that it has been a tough week for him. There is no doubt that Assistant Commissioner Leahy's statement went out and the reaction from the public was one of dismay. There was a reaction among many gardaí, who were worried about anticipated earnings in December - whether they are paid in December or January - being seriously diminished. The Taoiseach said words to the same effect as...

Seanad: Defence Forces (Veterans Lapel Badge) Bill 2017: Second Stage (22 Nov 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...out its tasks and in creating the necessary infrastructure to enable it be a credible force and carry out its functions in different ways. When I was Minister for Justice and Equality, the Garda Reserve was established. It was pushed through against considerable opposition at the time, which I take some pride in. My view was that in a time when there are people to serve their...

Seanad: National Shared Services Office Bill 2016: Second Stage (18 Jul 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...operation conducting a number of departmental functions. Some of the payrolls were fortnightly, others were monthly, and there was quite an odd collection of things happening there. In regard to An Garda Síochána in particular, the number of deductions was colossal and the paperwork involved in paying members of An Garda Síochána was fiercely complicated. This is...

Seanad: Mid-term Capital Review and Public Service Pay Commission Report: Statements (30 May 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...either to loosen the purse strings without a strategy or decide to be careful with what we do. Let us look, for instance, at the number of people in competitions who want to become members of An Garda Síochána. While I fully accept the proposition that ideally there should be one pay rate for every occupation and there should not be grade A and grade B gardaí, doctors,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2016: Second Stage (30 May 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...strong views on this legislation in terms of finding any major fault with it. However, I think a couple of points should be made. First, Senator Paul Daly mentioned the question of empowering gardaí to arrest people without warrant for a breach of bail conditions. We should draw some comfort from the fact that it is necessary for a garda to do that and that he or she should...

Seanad: Order of Business (13 Apr 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...where, for instance, someone might have got into a car which might have been rammed by another car, and there are patterns of this in different locations around the country, I am not aware that there has been any effective Garda prosecution of those involved. Given that during early 2000, making a false claim became a criminal offence, the law needs to be enforced. Most of all, we need a...

Seanad: Adult Safeguarding Bill: Second Stage (5 Apr 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...Part of the background in which those kind of things can occur is the absence of a national policy and a national mechanism for dealing with such cases. I do not want to add to the troubles of An Garda Síochána, but I was struck by the recent figures, which were mentioned in last weekend's edition of The Sunday Times, relating to the differential in domestic abuse reportage in...

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Mar 2017)

Michael McDowell: Arising out of what Senator Feighan said earlier, it is important for us in this House to look at what has emerged in respect of the governance of An Garda Síochána. In my view, what has emerged is disgraceful. A systematic pattern of cover-up, procrastination, deception and facade-keeping has characterised the management of An Garda Síochána. The issues with the fixed...

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...In that context, I am looking forward to the debate. It would be wrong for me to refrain from stating in this House that the fairness and appropriateness of establishing such an inquiry, while the Garda Commissioner, Nóirín O'Sullivan, continues to exercise her authority and discharge her functions as Commissioner, is very much an issue.

Seanad: Order of Business (16 Feb 2017)

Michael McDowell: ...an opinion as to whether it is appropriate for the Commissioner, against whom the gravest of allegations of misconduct have been made and which will now be investigated, to exercise her authority in An Garda Síochána and to exercise her functions while the tribunal is being organised and until it has considered its report. The relationship between the Government and the...