Results 81-97 of 97 for garda speaker:Michael Collins

Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Bill 2017: Second Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2017)

Michael Collins: ...it taken out of that community? In the past few weeks we have been told that there will no longer be a counter service in Dunmanway, which is another kick in the teeth to rural Ireland. We lost our Garda stations. I know Stepaside had the luck of a decision being overturned. Maybe we can step aside and look at Goleen, Adrigole and Ballinspittle which had their Garda stations closed....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (24 May 2017)

Michael Collins: ...census in which we have had a population decrease. We are finding it very difficult. We have lost two of the three banks in the peninsula, and the nearest bank is 20 miles away. We have lost our Garda stations and our post offices are on the verge of closure if the Government has its way. There is a complete lack of thinking on how we could turn this situation around. Some of my...

Topical Issue Debate: Seaweed Harvesting Licences (9 May 2017)

Michael Collins: ...oral hearing for the granting of the licence. I take issue with the level of advertising in respect of the licence. There was only one advertisement in a local paper and one flyer in the local Garda station for it. There is no mention in the advertisements of a mechanical harvest, nor of the size and scale of the licence. The licence for a project of this scale should not be advertised...

Rural Equality Bill 2017: Second Stage [Private Members] (4 May 2017)

Michael Collins: ..., address the differences in rural and urban services and the need to make provision for both. We must be aware that it is vital for rural communities to retain their small schools, shops, Garda stations, post offices, banks, community hospitals, rural transport and other vital services. I envisage that the Bill will look at ways to secure the future of these services and ensure the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Community Development: Minister for Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs (15 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: ...I am passionate about my people and about west Cork I am passionate to deliver and this is not delivery. This is a blow to west Cork beyond all belief. It is true in the previous Government that Garda stations, banks and post offices closed, there were massive farm penalties and fishermen were thrown out of their waters, so to speak, but the bottom line was that we had a shinning light,...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (7 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: ...€20 on top of their welfare payment. Such engagement was good for their mental health but they are now being sent home and frightened out of their wits. It is a vicious circle. The closure of Garda stations has affected communities throughout the country, including in west Cork. Together with the closure of banks and post offices, there has been a particularly negative impact...

Select Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Estimates for Public Services 2016
Vote 33 - Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (Revised) (1 Dec 2016)

Michael Collins: ...to ask the Minister a straight question and I want a straight answer. What has the Government and its predecessor got against the people of west Cork because it has been hit repeatedly? We have lost our Garda stations. We have lost some post offices. Our banks have been closed and now our Leader programme, the only shining light we had in west Cork, is gone. I pleaded with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (23 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: ...Macra na Feirme. They made very interesting points in their presentations. There was very little with which I could disagree but I would welcome elaboration on some points. The ICA spoke about Garda stations, post offices, banks and rural broadband. I come from a community where there is a strong ICA group on the Mizen Peninsula in west Cork. We lost our local Garda station and our...

Post Office Network: Motion [Private Members] (16 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: ...provides a large range of services. As well as the standard postal services and welfare payments, post offices now provide Passport Express, National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA, savings, Garda fixed fines, dog licences, television licence renewal, toll tag top-up, bin collection payment, tax payments, including local property tax, LPT, mobile top-up and some banking services. The...

Leaders' Questions (8 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: There are four primary response agencies in Ireland; the fire service, the ambulance service, the Garda and the Irish Coast Guard. The Irish Coast Guard is the only primary response agency that is not legislated for in the State. The Irish Coast Guard is the fourth blue light service and it needs to be a stand-alone, legislated, primary response agency. The current system within which it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: ...It is very difficult to get everybody to talk together to ensure works that are urgently required are carried out. As Deputy Ó Cuív said, the OPW is responsible for many properties, including Garda stations. After the Garda station in my own parish of Goleen in west Cork was closed, people in the local community went to great lengths to try to take over the building. They...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: I am delighted that representatives of An Garda Síochána are with us today to discuss a few issues. I come from a rural community on a peninsula in west Cork. I attended a community alert meeting last night as the secretary of the Schull district community alert group. The witnesses mentioned that such voluntary organisations, including Muintir na Tíre, try to deliver as...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Nov 2016)

Michael Collins: ...% of the work. Bantry General Hospital has a massive catchment area, but a few years go it lost its emergency unit overnight, which has had a serious effect. We spoke to representatives of An Garda Síochána earlier about the fear of crime, but there is also a fear of bad health or an accident. A person living on the Beara Peninsula is over two hours from the nearest...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (Resumed) (26 Oct 2016)

Michael Collins: ...will not survive if the planning laws are not relaxed a little. I accept that the IFA has been strong on this issue down through the years. Reference was made to the CEDRA report. Many rural post offices and Garda stations have been closed. The two banks on the peninsula where I live have closed. We no longer have a bank in the area which means people have to travel up to 25 miles to...

Ceisteanna - Questions - Priority Questions: Leader Programmes (20 Oct 2016)

Michael Collins: ...this matter in the first place? It would not look into it if the process was carried out properly. As I said, west Cork has been hit in recent years. We have lost our social welfare offices, Garda stations, banks and post offices. The one light in a very dark tunnel was our Leader programme, and that has been taken from us. I do not begrudge east Galway but will the Minister detail...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs: Sustaining Viable Rural Communities: Discussion (12 Oct 2016)

Michael Collins: ...and Mr. O'Brien were passionate in their presentation. It leaves a large number of questions for my constituency, which has been savaged by cuts in the past few years, including the loss of Garda stations, post offices and banks. However, we thought there was a recovery and now WCDP is being taken from us, which is the probably the biggest blow to west Cork for as long as I have been...

Revised Estimates for Public Services 2016 (Resumed) (22 Jun 2016)

Michael Collins: One can never over-emphasise the importance of the partnership between An Garda Síochána and the community in continuing to prevent and detect crime and maintaining a safe environment for everyone. The role of our police force is of vital importance to us as a civilised society. The Garda Síochána Inspectorate report Policing in Ireland states that "community policing...