Results 10,401-10,420 of 11,710 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Order of Business. (29 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I call for a debate on prison conditions in the light of the forced resignation this week of the former governor of the Dóchas Centre and in the context of the opening today of the Prison Officers Association conference. On the resignation of the governor of the Dóchas Centre, I do not agree with her apparent equation of lesbianism with bullying and depression. She was quoted in the...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I welcome the Minister of State. The Labour Party broadly welcomes the purpose of the Bill. Ireland is obliged to pass legislation on foot of the 2006 directive. It is unfortunate, however, that the European Court of Justice has found Ireland to be in breach of our obligations due to the delay in transposing the directive. The Minister of State indicated one of the reasons for the delay...

Seanad: Order of Business. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: First, I thank the Leader and other colleagues in the House for such an excellent debate yesterday on women's participation in politics. It was historic and was the first time this matter had ever been debated formally in either House of the Oireachtas since the foundation of the State and I am delighted it took place. I also am delighted there was so much interest that it will be...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: Before coming to amendment No. 1, I wish to have a matter clarified. The schedule we were given refers to "Committee and Remaining Stages". I believe we are only taking Committee Stage today.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I was present for the Order of Business but do not recall that happening.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, subsection (2), line 29, after "provisions" to insert the following: ", provided that Part 2 shall come into operation in its entirety on a specified day". There is something of a contradiction in giving the Minister power in section 1(2) to commence the Bill in an open-ended fashion and to commence different sections at different times. However, the...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: " "maximum fine", in respect of a specified amount or within a specified range, includes a fixed fine of that amount or within that range.". As the expression "maximum fine" is used in other places, for example, in section 8, an ambiguity arises as to whether this means a particular maximum or whether it also...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following subsection: "(2) The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform may, by order, vary the amounts of money specified in subsection (1) from time to time having regard to changes in the value of money since the commencement date.". This provides that the Minister may by order vary the amounts of money...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I accept the Minister's point, it is better to err on the side of caution but most of these amendments are technical in nature and are being offered in a constructive spirit to strengthen the Bill. As I said on Second Stage, we welcome the Bill. The Irish Penal Reform Trust has also welcomed it. Any measure that reduces the number of people imprisoned for non-payment of fines must be...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 4: In page 4, subsection (1), line 20, after "enactment" to insert "amended by this Act or". The first amendment is a drafting amendment to facilitate the interpretation of the legislation amended by section 9 of the Bill so in future legislation will use the simple expression "class A fine" rather than the more unwieldy expression "class A fine within the meaning of this...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to the Minister that he considered the matter and consulted the drafting counsel on this. As a matter of general principle, it is preferable to have more accessible and concise language in criminal legislation. There is a huge amount of unwieldy language and an unnecessary number of different Acts on the Statute Book. A consolidation project is underway but here we are trying...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I am grateful to the Minister for accepting and acknowledging the Labour Party amendments. We tabled amendment No. 5 and the same point is made in the other amendments. We were concerned that in the absence of these amendments there would be an anomaly in respect of offences committed under Acts on the commencement date. It is a technical amendment but I am grateful the Minister accepted...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I support Senator Regan's points. In the context of what the Minister said about the caution with which the Attorney General approached the issue of primary versus secondary legislation, it is interesting it was thought better, for example, to make changes to the value of money in the Bill through primary rather than secondary legislation. In my earlier response to the Minister on amendment...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I will add to Senator Regan's comments. Given the wording of section 11 as a whole, a difficulty arises with the use of the word "modify" in subsection (1). I accept Senator Regan's statement to the effect that his amendment No. 31 is closely linked with amendment No. 30. In respect of the provision generally, however, the Minister has given different legislation as a precedent for the...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 32: In page 10, between lines 36 and 37, to insert the following subsection: "(3) In particular, the Minister may by regulation provide for a centralised system of data collection and retention on sentences handed down in the District and Circuit Courts.". This amendment relates to a matter I raised on Second Stage. As the Minister indicated, this legislation is...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Minister for providing an update, although he did not indicate when this project is likely to come to fruition. We have been awaiting some time for information relating to its outcome. I am aware that a number of pilot projects were conducted. Unfortunately, there have been many such projects in the field of criminal justice, for example, the drug treatment courts, etc., but we...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I move amendment No. 33: In page 11, line 7, after "income" to insert the following: "and the amount and nature of the person's annual outgoings". The purpose of amendment No. 33 is to provide greater clarity in respect of the workings of section 12, which sets down the criteria by which a court will assess the financial circumstances of a person who has been convicted of an offence. Section...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: While I have not tabled an amendment to the section, I flag for Report Stage that section 13(3) reads as though, even after all the circumstances are taken into consideration and the court decides a level of fine that will not have a detrimental effect on the situation of the defendant and his or her dependants, the court may still impose a fine greater than one that is reasonable in the...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to tease this out because it is an important point. I am trying to put myself in the shoes of a court or a district judge who is trying to reach a figure for a fine and considering the terms of section 13. I note that section 13(8) states this only applies where the court has discretion in determining the amount of the fine. Section 13(9) states: "otherwise appropriate fine" means...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Ivana Bacik: As I am thinking on my feet somewhat, I apologise for not being a little more coherent but to clarify, one must have regard to the standard drafting principle that where an ambiguity arises when one is dealing with a criminal statute, it must be interpreted in favour of the accused. As the Minister noted, the context is that the purpose of the Bill is to deal with those persons who cannot...