Results 3,301-3,320 of 4,915 for speaker:Jim O'Keeffe

Judicial Misconduct. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: That is not an excuse for inaction.

Judicial Misconduct. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: It must not be too pleased with the Tánaiste.

Garda Equipment. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: Does the Minister accept he is dealing with the issue in his usual abstract, academic way? An operational approach to the issue is needed, as Deputy Cuffe rightly highlighted. We discussed this issue last week in the context of an amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill 2007 and the Minister was at the same level referring to difficulties. Something must be done about this because it is not...

Garda Equipment. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: The Hogan report said this was doubtful and I tabled an enabling amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill in case it was needed. The second issue is practical. As Deputy Cuffe pointed out, one-way mirrors are used in most other countries. We do not have to reinvent the wheel. Can the Government not learn from what they are doing and implement a similar system?

Garda Deployment. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: Was that following a discussion at the Fianna Fáil Ard-Fheis?

Garda Deployment. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: He was not the only one consulted.

Garda Deployment. (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: It is needed now.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I have a different approach from the Minister. It is not the job of the judges to provide a database any more than it is their job to provide a courthouse. It is the job of the Executive and the Oireachtas to provide the means by which the judges do their job. One of those means is the provision of courthouses, the other is the provision of databases or registers of sentences, which is...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I am glad of the source of the accusation. I would be quite prepared to accept, provided the enabling provision was there, that the detail is probably something that would be better spelled out in regulation. This is all the more reason to start, as was rightly pointed out by the Minister, with certain basic things on a register, subject to the development of the appropriate technology....

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I will mark Deputy Howlin down for the next round.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: Is the Minister saying that the judges or the Courts Service or both should establish this register?

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: Is the Minister in favour of a prosecution's submission on sentencing, which is a basic part of my approach?

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: Should he not now be able to highlight aggravating factors?

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: The Bar Council is blocking that.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I made my pitch. The Tánaiste takes a different philosophical approach from mine. Although we may not be 100 miles apart in our objective, I believe that there is a better way of achieving it. We will have to agree to differ on that. I agree with him on the issue of rape and the decision of the Supreme Court. Rape is one of the most heinous crimes imaginable and anybody convicted of...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: It is not often I fully agree with our Sinn Féin colleagues, but certainly I am in total agreement on the issue of adequate time to debate the approach in section 24.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: That is a step too far. Section 24 is a concept that was pulled out of the blue by the Minister and it is a matter for him to stand it up, not in a tabloid headline but on whether the approach adopted is the appropriate one for inclusion in our criminal justice system. My basic approach is that it is necessary for the Minister to show that what he is proposing will have sensible, good,...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I agree with the Minister and Deputy Howlin.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: We are discussing a criminal justice matter. The changes referred to by the Minister would vastly improve the section. The original section, as I highlighted, takes a blunderbuss approach which would be ineffective, would not achieve the objectives outlined by the Minister, which I support, and would probably be unconstitutional. The new approach has a much better chance of standing up...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Jim O'Keeffe: I do not dismiss any lobby on this issue. The Oireachtas has established bodies such as the Irish Human Rights Commission which have a role and function in highlighting issues that may make us uncomfortable at times but need to be highlighted. I have spoken to genuine individuals from the Bar and Law Society who have highlighted genuine concerns, not least regarding this provision. Due to...