Results 1-20 of 22 for garda segment:8891050

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Jack Chambers: .... There is no doubt that enforcement is critical to deterring those who violate the laws on our roads. To that end, we are working with road safety partners in Transport Infrastructure Ireland and An Garda Síochána to roll out additional average speed and static cameras as part of the development of the national road safety cameras strategy. This is in conjunction with the...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Richard O'Donoghue: ...the speed limits on roads where there are no accidents. Looking at the statistics, how many of these accidents have been caused by drink, drugs, drink and drugs or speed? If we have more gardaí on the roads to police them, we might have fewer accidents but the Government depleted the Garda service. More people are retiring from the Garda now than are coming in. The Government...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Catherine Connolly: .... What lessons do I want to draw from them? How is this happening? We know that alcohol is a major feature in over one third of these deaths. Lack of enforcement is an issue. We have the Garda Commissioner telling us that it is not a problem, to paraphrase what was said at the Committee of Public Accounts. As of the end of February, there were 627 members assigned to the Garda...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Pádraig O'Sullivan: ...around with something is very concerning. I have seen people using iPads while driving down the motorway. It is crazy stuff. It is quite difficult to police and create a deterrent because gardaí cannot be everywhere. What concerns me is the decreasing number in the Garda traffic corps over the past few years. We are trying to train more gardaí and the Minister for Justice is...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Jennifer Murnane O'Connor: ...worrying. The total number of collisions is up 58 this year compared with 45 at this time last year. People are dying and getting hurt, and we need to do something urgently. I welcome the new Garda roster that will see a greater Garda presence on our roads but there are major issues. I met representatives of TII, the Minister of State's office and Carlow County Council last week...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Mattie McGrath: ...science behind it. There is also the fact that the traffic corps has been depleted. I want to support Sergeant Padraig Walsh in Cahir with his traffic corps team, Kevin McGuinness and others. Garda John Walsh, our local garda, is out on the road every day doing checkpoints. The Commissioner made an announcement last week that all gardaí are going to do half an hour of roads...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Peadar Tóibín: Road deaths are rising because the Government is failing to employ gardaí. That is a stark fact and it must be addressed. The reply to an Aontú parliamentary question indicated there were 1,046 road traffic gardaí in 2009, compared with just over 600 today. That is a collapse of 40%. Drink driving is no longer a source of stigma in many parts of the country because people...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Michael Lowry: ...cyclists and pedestrians. Sadly, this year is already revealing grim statistics, with a high proportion of fatalities in the under-30 age group. In response, fingers point immediately at the Garda. In times of grief, it is human nature to target somebody. The Garda responded last week by revealing plans to allocate to every garda on duty at least 30 minutes of road policing activity...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Matt Shanahan: ...that must be looked at in the statistics. We should be able to see where that is occurring. We need to consider whether we can do anything to reach out to people who might take that option. A Garda presence on the roads is absolutely vital. Putting a greater number of gardaí on the roads will have the single biggest impact on speeding and all the other detections required. At...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Peter Fitzpatrick: ...dangerous driving. The number of road traffic policing units has fallen by more than 100 in less than two years. It is welcome that there is an allocation for the recruitment of 800 to 1,000 new gardaí in budget 2004. Also welcome is the announcement last week by the Garda Commissioner directing all uniformed gardaí to dedicate 30 minutes of each shift to road safety...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Martin Browne: ...seen recently. The last time I spoke about this, in February, I drew attention to the fact that the manned deterrent on the roads needs to be increased, yet the ability to provide that increased Garda presence is hamstrung by the shortage of available gardaí. This was pointedly outlined in the recent confirmation to Deputy Martin Kenny that there has been an increase of just four...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Paul Donnelly: I welcome the recent Garda action against scramblers and quads in Tallaght, Ballymun and Limerick. However, it is just a drop in the ocean in terms of the problems and dangers on the roads that these vehicles, which mostly young people drive, pose. Two weeks ago, I was cycling up Dame Street and watched as three scramblers came down the street on one wheel. That is one of the main streets...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Darren O'Rourke: ...are deplorable. It is causing damage to vehicles and it needs to be tackled. There needs to be increased investment to allow that to happen. I want to raise two points. One relates to Garda numbers and roads policing. Driver behaviour is deteriorating because drivers have licence to behave badly. They are not being caught and not being punished. We have heard on numerous...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Catherine Murphy: .... Accidents used to be mapped. There was a cost-benefit analysis and a response. We have gone backwards and we should not from the point of view of GDPR. Enforcement is a significant issue. The Garda Commissioner was in front of the Committee of Public Accounts. It is his responsibility to deploy his resources. I took his issue with him about the falling numbers of gardaí...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Marc Ó Cathasaigh: ...I understand it, that committee currently comprises the Minister of State, the Minister for Justice and representatives of the RSA, the Medical Bureau of Road Safety, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and An Garda Síochána. It should be expanded to include representatives of the Local Government Management Agency, LGMA and, crucially, the National Transport Authority, who would...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Mark Ward: ...the loss of a loved one. One solution is enforcement. Information received by my colleague Deputy Martin Kenny stated that as of the end of February 2024, there were 627 members assigned to the Garda road policing unit compared with 623 in 2017. That is an increase of only four gardaí in the road policing unit in seven years. Surely even the Minister of State will admit this is an...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Pauline Tully: ...injuries. The four main reasons for road fatalities remain. They are speeding, intoxicated driving, non-wearing of seatbelts and distracted driving. These are all factors that require Garda enforcement but the Minister of State has acknowledged that enforcement levels have collapsed. The recent announcement of an extra 30 minutes of road policing during every garda's shift is far...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: .... This is clear data and we should be seeing impactful solutions in both resourcing and personnel from the Government. For instance, the latest figures state there are 627 members of the Garda road policing unit, which is down from 688 last year and 692 in 2022. In what world is this acceptable? Why is the Government not providing the resources not just to retain the number of members...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Martin Kenny: ...acknowledged. One of the difficulties in this regard is that the roads policing units have not been at or near the full complement. The Minister of State has acknowledged this fact as well. The Garda Commissioner has announced that gardaí will have to spend half an hour in each shift doing roads policing. When I speak to gardaí most of them tell me that they do that anyway...

Road Safety: Statements (17 Apr 2024)

Pa Daly: ...Kenny on his work in this area. I hope we will see action from the Government and the RSA soon. One of the interesting parliamentary questions submitted by Deputy Kenny was on the number of gardaí involved in roads policing. In 2017, there were 623 gardaí in roads policing according to the reply to that parliamentary question. Seven years later, there were 627, meaning there...