Results 41-60 of 72 for garda speaker:Sharon Keogan

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Community Employment Schemes (11 Oct 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...Service, the linkage service, the gate service, the resettlement service and the Irish Prison Service. Refugees aged 18 or over who are authenticated by the Department of Justice, have a valid work permit or Garda National Immigration Bureau card with stamp 4 and are in receipt of any Department of Social Protection payment for any length of time, can quality for a CE scheme. I ask the...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (20 Sep 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...of Business on 13 July before the summer recess. It is now being raised as a Commencement matter at a time when I feel we are about to have a much wider discussion on the need for an increased Garda presence in our communities. The widely shared horrific scenes of gangs of joyriding thugs in a housing estate in Cherry Orchard have shocked many, but for many others, it is an...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: An Garda Síochána (20 Sep 2022)

Sharon Keogan: .... This is her constituency, however. This is her area. The people of the Ashbourne area and Laytown-Bettystown coastal area deserve a 24-hour station. The area in which the current Laytown Garda station is situated is the middle of a housing estate. There is no way it can upgrade that facility there. In 2009, Fianna Fáil announced it was going to build a brand new Garda station...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Jul 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...area of Meath is in need of a new post-primary school given the rapidly increasing population there. The people of Laytown and Bettystown are also renewing their calls for a 24-7, fit-for-purpose Garda station in that area. These requests from the people of these areas have been growing for some time. The 2022 census figures show that the need is even more dire than previously thought....

Seanad: Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (7 Apr 2022)

Sharon Keogan: Section 5 of the Bill empowers the Garda Síochána to direct individuals so as to prevent an offence under this Bill occurring and grants significant latitude in that regard. If the Bill is passed in its current form, gardaí will have full discretion to break up and end any assembly near a safe access zone, as they need only suspect that a person intends to stray into such a...

Seanad: Support to Ukraine: Motion (30 Mar 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...that is ridiculous. They need to be operating 24-7, as people are coming into the country and walking past closed offices and missing out on information and supports. We also need fast-tracked Garda vetting for all individuals seeking to volunteer to work with refugees. The Red Cross has raised this issue as well regarding the pledges which have been made to house refugees. We need...

Seanad: Violence Against Women: Statements (27 Jan 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...to be done in combating this crime and everyone has a role to play. Everyone should know the signs of possible abuse happening to friends or family members and they should not be afraid to contact An Garda. For Government, funding is the bottom line. We have nine counties without crisis refuge centres for people fleeing domestic violence and that needs to be rectified. There was no...

Seanad: Local Government (Surveillance Powers in Relation to Certain Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (26 Jan 2022)

Sharon Keogan: ...at that scale. This is still an issue that needs to be solved. Perhaps city and county managers would be more willing to implement these systems if they felt more supported in that function. An Garda Síochána could certainly play a role in this regard. I love the idea of this legislation coming in. The fact that almost €100 million is spent every year on waste...

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2021: Motion (25 Nov 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...pub and restaurant owners who wish to operate an outdoor premises to do so, I am happy to support the legislation. I would like to see the statistics on the law so far. Do we have figures from An Garda Síochána with regard to the policing of this legislation, including prosecutions under section 3 or closure orders under section 4? We cannot fall into the habit of passing laws...

Seanad: Children in Care and Children Leaving Care: Statements (23 Nov 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...in the private sector. That is a difficulty. We need to find ways to encourage more parents, single people and those from any demographic to foster a child. If someone has a home, a bed, is Garda vetted and can provide love and support for a child, that is all a child needs. I deal with teenagers in particular. They are probably the most difficult cohort to house because people run...

Seanad: Safe Access to Termination of Pregnancy Services Bill 2021: Second Stage (10 Nov 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...healthcare facilities are limited and that where problems do arise, there is existing public order legislation in place to protect people accessing services, staff and local residents. Indeed, the Garda Commissioner said the same in a letter to the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris. He outlined that the introduction of protest prohibition zone legislation would be redundant because...

Seanad: Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (25 Jun 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...a part to play in protecting the environment in our daily lives, choices and actions but the statutory role of environmental protection lies with a range of Departments, 34 local authorities, An Garda Síochána and several agencies. The principal regulator and enforcement body is the Environmental Protection Agency, EPA. Does the Minister believe the EPA has all the powers and...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Jun 2021)

Sharon Keogan: I want to raise an issue, which Women's Aid highlighted recently, namely, the Garda failed to respond to thousands of domestic violence calls. An internal investigation has found many victims received no help after calling 999 in domestic violence incidents. Some of the incidents involved people repeatedly calling the emergency line and not getting the assistance needed. I call on the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Apr 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...limited as much as possible and that a sunset-type clause applies in order that they are only used as long as absolutely necessary. On another worrying note, I will speak about the abuse of power by An Garda in Athlone at the weekend. Members of the Garda entered a church where a handful of people were praying. I found it disturbing and do not believe An Garda should be used for that purpose.

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Domestic Violence Policy (19 Apr 2021)

Sharon Keogan: .... Can a fit-for-purpose and joined-up legal and welfare mechanism ensure that these matters are fully considered in terms of the emotional abuse element with regard to the child's welfare? Has An Garda Síochána started training officers in domestic violence refuge services to facilitate and encourage victims to report crimes? What are the statistics on the breaching of...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (22 Mar 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...far abuse can go. He and his family have endured an 18-month long campaign of abuse and harassment. Threats that his home will be burned down have been made to him and his family. I understand a Garda investigation is now under way, but I am extremely dismayed by the fact the abuse has seemingly been allowed to continue for so long before it has been taken seriously. We cannot permit...

Seanad: Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Mar 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...in 21st century Ireland, or in any other civilised society, for that matter. At the moment, the only legislative provision which allows for the operation of CCTV systems is section 38 of the Garda Síochána Act 2005. Under this provision, any CCTV system installed and operated by a local authority must go through an approved process involving the relevant joint policing...

Seanad: Local Government (Use of CCTV in Prosecution of Offences) Bill 2021: Second Stage (5 Mar 2021)

Sharon Keogan: On a point of order, Senator Byrne mentioned breaches. In fact, Meath County Council was not in breach at all. A Garda system had been installed and, as such, it was the Garda Síochána that had not legislated for the automated number plate recognition, ANPR.

Seanad: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Mar 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...Yet, Britain is conspicuous in its absence from the list of countries covered by mandatory quarantine. I find it staggering that the Government has radically curtailed the rights and freedoms of citizens with Garda-enforced 5 km and, at times, 2 km travel limits, yet international travel has continued without any meaningful restriction. How is this fair? How does this make sense?...

Seanad: Ábhair Ghnó an tSeanaid – Matters on the Business of the Seanad (22 Feb 2021)

Sharon Keogan: ...living with Covid strategy is a fraud and has been an abject failure. Is being permitted to leave one's home only to go to a supermarket or a pharmacy living with Covid? Is being fined by the Garda for going for a walk in the hills or swimming in the sea living with Covid? To my mind, this is a dystopic vision of living. Even the term "strategy" is a misnomer. It gives the impression...