Results 4,121-4,140 of 18,728 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Election of Leas-Chathaoirleach (15 Jun 2016)

Michael McDowell: -----and to accept for itself the autonomy of deciding who should and should not be its Chairman and Vice Chairman in future. We are blessed on this occasion that all the candidates proposed, and the candidate I am proposing, are suitable people to be appointed Vice Chairman of this House as the Cathaoirleach was to be appointed Chairman. All are people worthy of the position, I have no...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I thank Members for their kind comments. It is true that as the general election approaches, every appearance in this House, however late in the life of the Dáil, could be the last. It and Senators' capacities to appear here are the people's prerogative to decide on and we must abide by their verdict. After the Criminal Justice Act 2006, which was long in its gestation, I did not...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation: Motion (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: This motion seeks approval for the establishment of a Commission of Investigation into the tragic death of Gary Douch. As Senators will be aware, the Commission of Investigation Act 2004 provides for the establishment of such commissions to investigate any matter considered by the Government to be of significant public concern. Such commissions are completely independent and in general will...

Seanad: Commissions of Investigation: Motion (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I thank both Senator Cummins and Senator Jim Walsh for their comments. I will examine the terms of reference. The commission must focus on what happened and on ensuring it never happens again. It must also focus on the way people who are psychiatrically ill or who feel themselves to be under threat are dealt with in the Prison Service. The commission must also examine the use of multiple...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is a cause of regret to me that insufficient progress has been made on the judicial council legislation. In defence of my Department and its officials, they worked on a number of drafts and are still awaiting a response from the consultative process we put in place involving the Judiciary.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: These are technical amendments based on a number of issues raised in the other House in regard to sentencing and repeat offenders under Schedule 2. We have amended the law satisfactorily in the other House. There was a general welcome for the scope of the amendments we made and it is not necessary to reopen the debate.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: Perhaps I can be of some assistance to the Senator?

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: In the Dáil we amended the Bill by inserting section 32, which deals with the form of cautions that can be administered to people under the judges' rules. That is in section 32, as it now stands. Senator Cummins's amendments may, in effect, try and deal with the same territory from a slightly different angle, but the matter has been addressed.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: As the House will be aware, the judges' rules are a series of rules laid down by a judicial committee on a reference from the UK Home Secretary in the early 1900s, in which he asked judges to examine the question of what safeguards should be applied to people who are at risk of making inculpatory statements to the police. They more or less remained the same until now with some minor...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I have considerable sympathy for the general proposition that there seems to be a creeping policy of excluding Members of the Oireachtas from virtually anything that moves. Any such exclusion must be justified on an individual basis. I agree that every time there is a draft Bill, this little item should not appear from the word processor concerning any State body. There is a reason to go...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I am advised by the Parliamentary Counsel that the wording used in this case is standard form wording. The Parliamentary Counsel can see that this could be worded differently but sees no good reason why it should be. I am not disposed to accept this amendment in the circumstances.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: The amendment proposes to increase fine penalties and arises from a recommendation in the Hogan report which has been incorporated in sections 47 and 48. Section 47(b) increases to €5,000 the maximum fine for the offence of withholding information in relation to stolen property under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. The offence is a summary offence and the new...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: The Senator has made an interesting proposition. Perhaps we should have a separate offence of manufacturing a statement or falsifying a record. The Senator catches me slightly off guard on this matter but I imagine any such action would be categorised as an attempt to pervert the course of justice and punishable as such. We should examine whether we need a specific offence of knowingly...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I am happy to inform the House that the Government intends to reform the law on juries generally. The Courts Service is also studying the issue of where we should go in respect of reform of jury law. Juries should not necessarily be selected the way they are, namely, that 200 people are brought in on the morning of a trial and herded like cattle and then selected at random. That is no...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I will repeat what I said in the Dáil on this proposed amendment. It is outside the scope of the Bill as it was originally intended and it raises some interesting questions. There was a notion that a person could not be subjected to what is termed double jeopardy regarding a charge which had ended in acquittal. My view is in accordance with that of Senator Cummins. I believe that if new...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: The Hogan committee was established last November and, in respect of the right to silence issue and the drawing of inferences, I asked the committee to produce a break-out report because I was legislating in an affected area. I did not ask the committee to rush through its full report for the purpose of this legislation and allowed it time to consider the other issues at greater length....

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: This amendment was tabled in the Dáil and seeks to make provision for identification parades to be conducted through one-way mirrors. The idea is that the accused person need not be necessarily physically in a position to see the identifying person or that the old method — which happily is now gone — in which, for example, the victim of a rape was obliged to put his or her hand on the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: Following the Dáil debate, I asked my Department to examine the issue. It will consult the Garda on the practicalities of the proposal. I cannot give a firm deadline, but it is a necessary reform that should be introduced.

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I strongly agree with the Senator's proposal and if I had a free hand, I would accept the amendments. However, I reiterate the argument I made in the House that these amendments say to the Supreme Court that we do not like the decision made in 1990 and we agree with the two judges in the minority rather than the majority of three judges. We would, therefore, be legislating on the assumption...

Seanad: Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (27 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: If gardaí search a house on foot of a warrant and discover evidence relevant to another case, they are entitled to seize it and act on foot of it. While I am not an expert on American law, I can say that the exclusionary rules there are very strict. While I do not know if it is still the case, it seemed to be upheld at federal and Supreme Court level that the use of a scanner from a road...