Results 21-40 of 125 for garda speaker:Lynn Ruane

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

Lynn Ruane: We oppose section 26 of the Bill, which provides for the appointment of the Garda Commissioner, in its entirety as its inclusion in the Bill risks politicising the office of the Garda Commissioner. It is a retrograde step without any evidentiary justification and we are unclear why it has been taken.In recent years, the independent Policing Authority has had a strong role in the appointment...

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

Lynn Ruane: I oppose the section, in a similar vein to the previous section. The Bill will provide for the appointment of the deputy Garda Commissioner and we oppose the entire section given its inclusion poses similar risks to section 26 in politicising the office of deputy Garda Commissioner.

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

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 27: In page 41, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: “(d) the person has engaged in conduct that brings discredit on An Garda Síochána or that may prejudice the proper performance of its functions, or”. Amendment No. 27 seeks to include a provision in the Bill that the Commissioner or deputy commissioner of An Garda...

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

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 31: In page 45, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following: “(c)significant developments that might reasonably be expected to adversely affect the performance of An Garda Síochána;”. This is a simple enough amendment that would mandate the Garda Commissioner that he or she be duty-bound to keep the Minister and Secretary General at the...

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

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 32: In page 49, between lines 21 and 22, to insert the following:“(6) In making a determination under this section, the Garda Commissioner shall have due regard to the capacity of An Garda Síochána to fulfil its regular functions.”. Section 43 makes provision for policing services to be provided for private events by An Garda...

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

Lynn Ruane: I am thinking of public interest underpinning the decisions on where police are deployed or not deployed. I think that makes sense. When we look at the prosecutorial powers of members of the Garda, I question whether it is in the public interest to keep guards in courts. Is there another part of the legislation where decisions are made that are not in the public interest? I am not sure if...

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

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 33: In page 51, between lines 18 and 19, to insert the following:“(c) the person has engaged in conduct that brings discredit on An Garda Síochána or that may prejudice the proper performance of its functions, or”.

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

Lynn Ruane: .... As with similar amendments that I have already spoken to, my intention in tabling this amendment is to tease out the distinction between public confidence and the exercise and fulfilment of functions of a member of An Garda Síochána. My view is that public safety should be the primary consideration when considering the removal of a member of An Garda Síochána. This...

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

Lynn Ruane: I probably sound like a broken record but we often do not think about public safety in terms of occasions when gardaí are overly aggressive or abuse stop and search powers. The use of stop and search powers is for other legislation at another time, however. Sometimes public safety can be threatened in particular communities because some gardaí do not necessarily work towards...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Lynn Ruane: ...alcohol use". It is a simple amendment which seeks to add drug and alcohol use to the definition of what constitutes vulnerability in the context of the Bill. Section 9 provides that one of functions of An Garda Síochána is to prevent "harm to individuals, in particular individuals who are vulnerable or at risk". I welcome this provision, but I think we have an opportunity,...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Lynn Ruane: .... Leaving this decision with the Minister of the day risks politicising the distinction to the potential detriment of public safety. The Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland examined the role of An Garda Síochána as both a police service and a State security agency. Ultimately, it recommended the creation of an independent examiner, as provided for by the Bill. For...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Lynn Ruane: ...how we behave, why we engage in criminality and how we interact with authority. A trauma-informed approach to policing will lead to greater understanding of the needs of those interacting with the gardaí, more effective interventions and greater confidence in the delivery of policing services. Amendment No. 10 pertains to the need for a whole-of-community response to public safety....

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (6 Dec 2023)

Lynn Ruane: ...12: In page 25, between lines 6 and 7, to insert the following: “(d) preserving safety and security in our communities,”. Amendment No. 12 seeks to provide an additional function for An Garda Síochána under the Bill to provide policing services with the objective of preserving safety in our communities. As drafted, the relevant section does not make...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Policing Matters: Discussion (Resumed) (29 Nov 2023)

Lynn Ruane: ...contributors so far. Since what happened on Thursday, my head has been very much in the "Why?" rather than the response. There is a distraction in some sense in looking at the response from An Garda Síochána to an event that happened at that scale for the first time. The Commissioner made an interesting point when he said that the members of the Garda were seen as an arm of...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages [Resumed] (15 Nov 2023)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 18: In page 14, line 24, to delete “or”. Part 3 makes provisions for An Garda to covertly track certain vehicles using automatic number plate recognition, ANPR. This is an intrusive surveillance measure, although I understand it is justified in certain circumstances. The Bill, as drafted, would allow gardaí of the rank of superintendent or higher...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) Bill 2022: Report and Final Stages [Resumed] (15 Nov 2023)

Lynn Ruane: ...amendment No. 24: In page 15, line 17, after “approval” to insert “, for a collective period of not more than three months”. This amendment seeks to make explicit in the Bill that An Garda Síochána could not undertake monitoring of an individual using ANPR for a combined period of more than three months. As the Bill is drafted, a superintendent of...

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

Lynn Ruane: ...to speak on amendments Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive. In speaking to amendment No. 8, the Bill as drafted does not include a provision that would allow a person who is interacting with a member of An Garda Síochána to ask that his or her body camera be turned on. This is a significant oversight. If we leave the Bill as is, it will mean gardaí will have absolute discretion as to...

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

Lynn Ruane: ...aerial vehicle 11.Reasonable measures shall be taken to ensure that the use of any camera affixed to or part of an aerial vehicle, manned or unmanned, shall be overt and clearly identifiable as being Garda operated.”.

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

Lynn Ruane: I will speak to all of the amendments in this grouping. Amendment No. 14 would make it an offence for a garda to turn off their body camera or cause it not to be operating in the first instance to knowingly and purposefully conceal the use or misuse of force. The Minister advised during Committee Stage discussions that she could not accept this amendment because placing the circumstances...

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

Lynn Ruane: .... Somebody could end up in court for a particular reason or somebody could end up with a certain sentence that could have been very different had there been impartial evidence. The fact that a Garda goes through a disciplinary procedure does not protect the civilian who may be tasked with trying to prove something outside the realm of what has been captured in footage. I can accept that...