Results 221-240 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Youth Services. (22 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator Tuffy for raising this matter on the Adjournment. The motion appears to have been tabled to the Minister for Education and Science. I am happy to have the opportunity to reply to the matter raised on behalf of the Ministers for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and Education and Science. The Senator will be aware that the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform has...

Seanad: Youth Services. (22 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: While this appears to have been tabled to the Department of Education and Science, the reply was drafted by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform as well as by the Department of Education and Science.

Seanad: Hospital Services. (22 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It says very little for the INO.

Seanad: Hospital Services. (22 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator McHugh for raising this matter and I am replying to it on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Martin. I was delighted by the Senator's statement that there is a top class hospital in Letterkenny and I know that the staff there work hard to ensure that it retains this status and that there are no accidents waiting to happen. However, I understand the Senator's concerns about the...

Seanad: Accident and Emergency Services. (22 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator Leyden for raising this matter. I commend his industry both as chairman of the Western Health Board and as a Senator in championing the cause of Roscommon Hospital. He never misses an opportunity to do it. I assure him that just as the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has no plans to close the prison at Castlerea, the Minister for Health and Children has no plans...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Bill before the House aims to address matters arising from the High Court judgment of 22 January last in the case of Leontjava and Chang. The net effect of the judgment has been to cast serious doubt on the validity of all statutory provisions dealing with the control of entry to and stay in the State by non-nationals. There has been criticism of officers of the Department of Justice,...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The very exercise of democracy in a sovereign State is a responsibility cast upon both Houses of the Oireachtas. These Houses have to exercise powers in the common good of the Irish people as well.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As I indicated at the outset, the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, takes full political responsibility for the decision to proceed with this measure as he believes it is in the interests of the common good——

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: ——of this sovereign State. There is no question of an agenda on the part of officials or officers in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is necessary to take what is in essence an emergency measure to address the position arising from last week's judgment. The effect of the Bill before the House is to restate in primary statute, and with the minimum of necessary changes, the contents of the Aliens Order 1946 as it was presumed to be in effect up to the day of the High Court judgment. In order for this legislation to be...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There must be the prospect of immediate and serious harm. That is very clear.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is not misleading the House.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator should read the 2001 Act.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Aliens Order 1946 was the foundation for practice in this area, one which is fundamental to any sovereign state. There is nothing new in the legislation, other than on the question of fees, where I accept a new element has been introduced into the equation. This is why the measure has been brought before the House. It contains nothing that was not in the foundation of our practice in this...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: With respect, Senator, that does not indicate a parsimonious approach.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am proud of this record. As a Minister and Deputy I work for the integration of these communities into Irish life. The question of our attitude to immigration in this country is an entirely distinct issue from the matters that arise within the province of the Bill. To maintain confidence among the public when we have immigration on that scale, it is all the more important that——

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: ——we have essential legal safeguards in place to ensure any immigration system favours those who wish to work here, comply with our laws and become citizens, not those who do not so wish. Some 40,000 work permits were issued or renewed last year. The record of the Government and its predecessor in this matter is not one of parsimony and is not characterised by parsimony. We live in a time...

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: This Schedule was inserted by the 1975 amendment.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I want to correct myself as, having read from a consolidated copy of the measure, I referred to the international organisation. These were the 1975 provisions. Nothing is being added to in this legislation. If anything, the reference to the 2001 Act is a subtraction from what is in the 1975 amendment. I want to deal specifically with the issue raised by Senator O'Toole.

Seanad: Immigration Bill 2004: Second Stage. (30 Jan 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Instead of referring to disability, under section 3(1)(a) a mental disorder "means a mental illness, severe dementia or significant intellectual disability where [that is the key noun] because of the illness, disability or dementia there is a serious likelihood of the person concerned causing immediate and serious harm to himself, herself, or other persons".