Gerard P. Craughwell Condemns White House Invite, Seeks JPC Clarity
Gerard P. Craughwell criticised the White House invitation of a man who had been forced to pay a young woman a quarter of a million euros, calling the invitation an insult to the Irish people. He also raised concerns about local policing arrangements, asking whether Joint Policing Committees can continue to meet pending the establishment of Local Community Safety Partnerships and citing a contact from a Drogheda councillor.
He described the decision to invite the man to the White House on St. Patrick's Day as outrageous, noting that a woman at the White House introduced him and praised him despite the payment to the young woman. He said the appearance was an affront to the Irish people.
He recalled the recent fractious debate on the Local Community Safety Partnership Bill and said Joint Policing Committees had been in place until the bill was passed. He said the minister had assured Deputy Dillon on 20 March that JPCs would remain in place until the local partnerships had been established.
He said Councillor Paddy McQuillan had contacted him to report it had been over a year since a meeting with the Gardaí in Drogheda. He praised the Gardaí's work in shutting down criminal activity there but said the councillor was concerned about a rise in criminality and a lack of opportunity to raise issues without JPC meetings.
He asked the House to establish exactly what the situation is: whether Joint Policing Committees can meet now and, if so, how soon they can reconvene, pressing for clarity on local policing and community safety arrangements.
White House invitation criticised
He described the decision to invite the man to the White House on St. Patrick's Day as outrageous, noting that a woman at the White House introduced him and praised him despite the payment to the young woman. He said the appearance was an affront to the Irish people.
Local Community Safety Partnership Bill
He recalled the recent fractious debate on the Local Community Safety Partnership Bill and said Joint Policing Committees had been in place until the bill was passed. He said the minister had assured Deputy Dillon on 20 March that JPCs would remain in place until the local partnerships had been established.
Drogheda councillor reports concerns
He said Councillor Paddy McQuillan had contacted him to report it had been over a year since a meeting with the Gardaí in Drogheda. He praised the Gardaí's work in shutting down criminal activity there but said the councillor was concerned about a rise in criminality and a lack of opportunity to raise issues without JPC meetings.
Call for clarity on JPC meetings
He asked the House to establish exactly what the situation is: whether Joint Policing Committees can meet now and, if so, how soon they can reconvene, pressing for clarity on local policing and community safety arrangements.
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Transcript
Leader, I join with my colleagues who spoke about the man who was invited to the White House on St. Patrick's Day. What an insult to the Irish people to bring somebody over there who had been forced to pay a young woman a quarter of a million euros for the horrific way he treated her. And to watch a female in the White House introduce him and say how delighted and how proud and how fitting it was for this tug to speak to the American people. It was outrageous so it was. You'll recall in the last session of the last dial that we debated the Local Community Safety Partnership Bill. It was quite a fractious move through this House. Now, the Joint Policing Committees were in place up until that bill was passed. But Minister McEntee, on the 20th of March, assured Deputy Dillon that the JPCs would remain in place until the local partnerships had been set up. Drogheda, Councillor Paddy McQuillan contacted me this morning. It's over a year since they had a meeting with the police in Drogheda. And we all know Drogheda had its own problems and the police at the Gardaí did a fantastic job of shutting down the criminal activity there. Councillor McQuillan is somewhat concerned that without JPC meetings pending the local community safety partnership being set up, that there is a rise in criminality and no way to bring that to the attention of the Gardaí and to find out what the Gardaí are doing about it. So, I would ask that we find out exactly what is the situation. Can the JPCs meet? And if they can, how soon can they be meeting? Thank you, Cirell. Thank you.