Results 9,441-9,460 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 32: In page 20, to delete line 35 and substitute the following: "(6) In this section—".

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: As a matter of fact, I think in the vast majority of cases——

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: We are nearly there already. I agree with the spirit of the Deputy's amendment, which is that it would be very unproductive to allow for a lengthy period of detention for questioning in a place where there are no video recording facilities. I do not think the Judiciary would approve of such an arrangement, unless there was some extraordinary explanation that I cannot quite think of at this...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: ——in a paramilitary enterprise one can be detained for a maximum of just 12 hours. I do not think that is a reasonable distinction to draw in the law. Some paramilitaries have, on occasion, been found in possession of baseball bats and have used them to kill people. I always think of the poor man who testified against the IRA chief of staff. As it was during the ceasefire, he was found...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am not accepting Deputy Howlin's amendment. As a matter of law it is becoming increasingly academic because nearly every Garda station with a custody suite has audio-visual facilities. There are difficulties in cases where evidence is produced concerning statements made by an accused person under lengthy detention in a Garda station with no video-recording facilities. The Judiciary is...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: A Cheann Comhairle, the problem arises from the fact that you put the question in the negative. The question was "That the words proposed to be deleted stand", which knocked Deputy Howlin out.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: For the sake of clarity, I thought I dealt with the Deputy's amendment.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: If it is any consolation to the Deputy, I would not have accepted his amendment for the reasons I stated in any event. I know he did not have an opportunity to discuss the issue.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I accept that.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: No, on principle I would not have.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I do not want it to be part of the law because there could be some extreme case in which, for instance, the video camera collapsed but it was still necessary to carry on the investigation. I do not want to go through all the examples but a case could arise. It is my understanding that the majority of Garda stations where individuals are detained have audio-visual equipment installed....

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 38: In page 22, to delete lines 43 and 44 and substitute the following: "(a) in section 2— (i) in subsection (1), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (a):". The related amendments, Nos. 39 and 40 and 403 to 405, inclusive, are grouped with amendment No. 38. I move amendments Nos. 38, 39 and 403.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I will do so. I am speaking on amendment No. 38 but I will also discuss amendments Nos. 39 and 403. During the Committee Stage debate I indicated I was considering bringing forward an amendment to address the issue that arose in the aftermath of the murder of Donna Cleary which was an appalling event of recent times. The House will recall that the continued detention of a suspect in that case...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 39: In page 23, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: "(ii) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (7): "(7A) Notwithstanding subsections (2) and (7), if— (a) an application is made under subsection (2) for a warrant authorising the detention for a further period of a person detained under that subsection, and (b) the period of...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am sympathetic to the general principle of what the Deputy has mentioned. Nearly everybody in this House has had the experience of being interviewed by a journalist and being told that they have to come back again because the interview has collapsed as the tape recorder was not working. That has happened to me on a number of occasions in the lifetime of this Dáil.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: These things just happen. That is the way things are. The Judiciary is moving to the point that Deputy Howlin wants to be recognised in his amendment. I am happy that this is the case. I am not in any way worried by the fact the Judiciary is pressing for a general rule of recording where it is appropriate. I am not against that at all but I will give the Deputy this reasonable example. A...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: That is a matter for the judge to decide.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: The many good legal advisers available to the Deputy will tell him that we have already arrived virtually at that point in regard to established jurisprudence by the courts. I do not want to impose an absolute and inflexible rule where the courts themselves have not gone that far. I appreciate the Deputy's point and have great sympathy with his argument that gardaí should realise there is no...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I do not propose to accept these amendments. In regard to amendment No. 42, the phrase "as soon as practicable" has a legal sense. The Judiciary knows what is meant by it and will apply it sensibly in individual cases. A 12-hour limit may not be as soon as practicable in some cases and may be more than is practicable in some extreme cases. It does not add much to the provision to impose a...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 44: In page 25, to delete lines 10 to 13, and substitute the following: "six months", (ii) by the substitution of the following subsections for subsection (3): "(3) Where proceedings have been so instituted and— (a) the person is acquitted, (b) the charge against the person in respect of the offence concerned is dismissed under section 4E of the Criminal Procedure Act...