Results 81-100 of 176 for garda speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Order of Business (29 Sep 2015)

Rónán Mullen: If any of us were asked how much money be saved by the closure of the Garda stations, very few would have guessed that the figure would be as low as €500,000. It is an indictment of Government policy. We have heard in recent days about the plans to revitalise rural Ireland and investment to refurbish our towns and so on. It is important that significant detail is provided and that...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Jun 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...process. People in rural areas, as is well known in this House, are concerned about crime. They are particularly worried about the increase in the number of crimes at isolated properties. Garda stations have been closed and it is now rare for people in rural areas to receive a visit from local gardaí. In the current climate, people are rightly concerned about the creation of a...

Seanad: Appointment of Receivers: Motion (6 May 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...arrived behind them in a car and entered the warehouse to seize property as demanded by the banks. The receiver had clearly co-ordinated his actions with his team of hired goons.The family in question called on the Garda Síochána, only to be told that it was a personal debt matter and that it did not involve the criminal law. The team of heavies who arrived with the receiver...

Seanad: Order of Business (30 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...had to get such common sense and clarity from outside the jurisdiction. When Baroness O'Loan said that policing everywhere is supposed to provide an impartial and independent service and that the Garda Representative Association acted politically in issuing its recent statement on the referendum, which is not what one wants, and that the end result of a politicised force is that people...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...towns because not everybody is in a position to operate a credit card system or whatever it is. The banks need to buck up and play their part in the revival of rural economies in particular. The Garda Síochána has earned the respect of the people of Ireland by being a fair and impartial keeper of the peace since the foundation of the forces in 1922. That is why I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (21 Apr 2015)

Rónán Mullen: Yes. If this was the Iona Institute under whose banner the Garda had appeared to register voters we would not be enjoying the sunshine today because the sky would be in the process of falling in the national media. It is really important that Senators in these days are heard on this point. It is our duty to comment on events of major public concern.

Seanad: Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (30 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...case will attract liability. The Minister referred to section 31, which provides that a person commits an offence if he or she obstructs or interferes with an authorised person or a member of the Garda Síochána in the course of exercising a power conferred on them by this legislation or where a person fails or refuses to comply with a request or requirement, or to answer a...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...very clear here. The chief evil complained about by rural dwellers is the withdrawal of services and the chief agent responsible for the withdrawal of services is Government. Post offices, rural schools, Garda stations, health services have been closed. Again and again, Government policy has been responsible for eroding the quality of life in rural Ireland. It is increasingly...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Report on Crime Investigation 2014: Garda Inspectorate (14 Jan 2015)

Rónán Mullen: ...the question of whether a system like the TrackMyCrime system being used in several British constabularies could be the way to go. I recall from the report that people's initial engagement with the Garda can be very satisfactory but it is after this that the problems can arise. We all know we are dealing with a period when we have several thousand fewer gardaí than we had. There is...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: That is one practical way in which we can improve the service being provided to An Garda Síochána, but it must be resourced, particularly in the area of IT.

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: Any report that makes 200 recommendations on the operation of the Garda Síochána, and describes some of the recommendations as more urgent because they have been made previously but not fully implemented, requires a full debate in the House. I call for that debate. I caution against two extremes in the response to the Olson report. One is the extreme tended towards by the...

Seanad: Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

Rónán Mullen: We need to understand the criticisms made as constructive and we must support the work of the Garda Síochána but also help it to do its work better. The criticisms must be understood in the context of major cuts in Garda numbers and resources over the past number of years. Systematic failures and poor management practices have been identified. One of the deficiencies involved a...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Victim Support Services (23 Oct 2014)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I welcome in particular her undertaking to ask the acting Garda Commissioner to examine the possibility and feasibility of introducing a TrackMyCrime system. I would be very much obliged to the Minister if she could provide some further feedback on the acting Commissioner's response to this. I agree with and welcome her comments about the...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Victim Support Services (23 Oct 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...to get information on the status of the criminal investigation relevant to them. I believe this Government should introduce a similar online system for victims of crime to follow the progress of Garda investigations. Victims of crime often feel left out in the cold when it comes to the Garda investigation of their cases. They have legitimate questions, such as whether someone been...

Seanad: Joint Policing Committees: Motion (15 Oct 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...in their case. Many victims, especially tourists although not only them, find it difficult to receive information about their case. When a tourist returns to their home country, contacting the Garda station for information can be very costly and time consuming only to discover that the garda is not on duty. There is currently no way to contact the garda or Garda station via e-mail....

Seanad: Order of Business (15 Jul 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...transport, the closure of rural post offices and cutbacks in health services. Most disturbing is the phenomenon of violent burglaries which appear to target older people. The closure of rural Garda stations and crimes targeting older people in isolated rural areas are connected issues. The only way we can ensure the measures proposed by the Government do not disproportionately affect...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...the Minister for Justice and Equality when it is clear from his actions he has no confidence in him? When the going got tough he stepped in and instructed an official from the Department to visit the Garda Commissioner, essentially to sack him. The Taoiseach met the Attorney General to discuss the unprecedented revelation of Garda recording of telephone conversations. All of this...

Seanad: Order of Business (1 Apr 2014)

Rónán Mullen: From the point of view of democratic theory, responsibility and accountability, the Garda and the Defence Forces should not be under the leadership of the same Minister. This has been a problem for a long time. Now is the opportunity for the Taoiseach, if he believes in the Minister's ability, and I have no doubt he does, to give him another brief. I do not know whether that should be the...

Seanad: Order of Business (26 Mar 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...Nicky received the very happy news that she had become a grandmother. I know we will have an opportunity to pay tribute to her on a later date. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. The departure of a Garda Commissioner is an event of huge significance. There is a history in this State of major moments of controversy, including the departure three decades ago of Commissioner...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2014)

Rónán Mullen: ...chance to get greater clarity than has been achieved to date regarding what precisely has been going on. Everyone agrees the reports from whistleblowers and indeed about whistleblowing within the Garda Síochána are extremely concerning. I wish to raise a parallel issue and welcome Senator Bacik's call for a debate on policing and the work of An Garda Síochána in this...