Results 9,461-9,480 of 18,729 for speaker:Michael McDowell

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

Michael McDowell: It says that a garda not below the rank of superintendent can issue a search warrant.

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

Michael McDowell: Section 29 of the Offences Against the State Act allows for the issue of warrants on a non-judicial basis by senior Garda officers in certain circumstances. The committee that examined the Offences Against the State Act in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement examined that provision and in its report noted that: "The power to issue a warrant under section 29 is a vital weapon in the...

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

Michael McDowell: I am removing most of the bits of section 6 that deal with the issuance of non-judicial warrants and I am leaving the judicial bits of the section intact.

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

Michael McDowell: Apart from existing exceptions, in the Offences against the State Acts and under the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, I propose to remove the general proposal contained in my original amendment as set out on page 19 of the Bill, subsections (2), (3), (5) and the first four words of subsection (4).

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

Michael McDowell: They are coming up next, amendment No. 20 and subsequent amendments.

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

Michael McDowell: I am simply explaining what I am doing, I am not trying to discuss them.

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

Michael McDowell: I propose to remove subsections (2) and (3), the first four words of (4) and subsection (5), and to leave the rest of the section intact.

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

Michael McDowell: I confirm that is the case.

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

Michael McDowell: Yes, from recollection the gravamen of the report was that there should be qualifications on the general right to issue section 29 warrants.

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

Michael McDowell: I am not in a position to do it in a measured balanced way right across the board.

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

Michael McDowell: I will act in a balanced manner when I am in a position to explain to the House exactly what the issues are. It would be unfair of me to say that I am changing the law without saying exactly why.

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

Michael McDowell: It is very unsatisfactory but that is the position in which I find myself.

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann declines to give a second reading to the Bill in order that consideration be given to the issues raised in this Bill and another Private Members Bill recently introduced in the Seanad on the same issue, and to allow time for examination, reflection and debate of the matters therein with a...

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: If this is the case, it means that in an action for damages, a trespasser cannot rebut the fact that massive and excessive force was used against him or her, for example, if his or her legs were broken or he or she was beaten to a pulp, because he or she refused to leave someone's home. Moreover, section 7 requires the court, in determining whether the actions were reasonable, to take into...

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: ——and one that most people would consider unreasonable, however tabloid the appeal the Deputy may consider it to have.

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: This is what the Deputy told us. He was clear. He intervened in my speech to say that——

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: ——no civil liability would attach.

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy is huffing and puffing. A dwelling is defined as including any building or part of a building used as a dwelling, including caravans. Funnily enough, Deputy Jim O'Keeffe would not allow this force to be used in the curtilage of a dwelling. Unlike Senator Morrissey's Bill, in which a person would have the same rights in his or her garden if someone was setting about that house or if...

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: We must consider why this Bill is being cast in these terms. In contrast with section 18 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, section 3 does not set out the purposes for which force could be lawfully used. This would significantly widen the circumstances in which force could be used. For example, it is not stated that force must be in the defence of life or property or to prevent...

Criminal Law (Home Defence) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (27 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: Manslaughter is committed by any unlawful use of force resulting in the death of the victim. The Deputy is saying that in those circumstances, none of the protections in this Bill would apply.