Results 3,581-3,600 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: He is unusual in that diocese.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I give this Bill a guarded welcome. Like most people who tell the truth, I regard the shared experience of sexual pleasure with another human being in a loving relationship as one of the highest forms of physical and spiritual ecstasy, and we should say that.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: Those people who are privileged to have that experience should cherish it but there is a danger, because of the language being used now, that we automatically equate "sexual" and "indecent" as if they are replaceable terms, and they are not. I am not saying there is not sexual exploitation but let us not pretend that sexual pleasure is dirty or reprehensible. It is a wonderful gift. That...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I remember that.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: The Minister is the very one who wants newspapers to be able to lie about politicians as much as they want.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: On a jocular note, I prefer "inserted". It is much clearer and thinking back to some of the other sexual Bills, if the terms are absolutely substitutable and one is the same as the other, we could have odd references about substituting instruments into various people's anatomies.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I would like to tease out the amendment because I cannot remember whether the Minister had returned or whether his replacement was dealing with the issue on his behalf. I did make the point that he spoke about mens rea and how it was such a fundamental part of the Constitution and so forth and that it was implied that it would be taken so by the courts and so on and then that we had the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: With the greatest respect, I do not accept that Senator Terry is the only one with high standards. I think mine are reasonably high too. I accept and sympathise with the fact that one can have horrible cases, particularly in England, where, because they were wearing mini skirts, judges held that young adult women were inviting rape and that there was contributory negligence. These kinds of...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: May I make a quick point?

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I commend the committee and the Minister on the suggestion about the age of consent of 16. This was a forward-looking, realistic and courageous thing to do. I despise the Opposition for the ignorant, disgusting and hypocritical way it behaved. I wish to serve notice on it that if it tries these kinds of prurient and hypocritical tactics again, it will get the same dose it got when it tried...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: For electoral advantage, the Opposition tried to introduce a discriminatory age of consent. Let us have none of this election politics about this serious issue.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: We know that. If he could, he would take their seats as well.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: We should not think that grooming is exclusively confined to the Internet. Grooming over a period of years was part of the process of clerical abuse and that was not reliant on technical advances such as the Internet.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: Senator Ryan has identified a weak clause. I invoked the reference in The Tailor and Ansty to taking the nephew out to watch the bull covering the cow. The section refers to "inviting, inducing or coercing the child to participate in or observe any activity of a sexual or indecent nature". This could involve inviting a child of 16 years and 11 months to a film. Many films have explicit...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: With regard to the campaign against AIDS among gay males, the most effective method of inhibiting the spread of the disease has involved the use of fairly explicit material. Will the Minister reassure me that this will be protected? It is an important health issue. However, I agree with the Minister's example of dirty old men showing blue movies to children to get them excited and have...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I thank the Minister for taking a direct and personal interest in the matter and ensuring he was available for the debate. I also thank him for dealing with it in his usual vigorous and informative manner. I am glad he has indicated that fuller sexual offences legislation will be introduced. Whatever the make-up of the next Government, it will be charged with that responsibility. I am...

Seanad: Order of Business (20 Mar 2007)

David Norris: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (20 Mar 2007)

David Norris: I agree with my colleague, Senator Ryan, that we should recognise this terrible and shameful day, the fourth anniversary of the declaration of what this House has described as an illegal, immoral and unjustifiable war. The regime which made that declaration has since shown itself to be deeply criminal and shameful in terms of the way in which the values of the West have been destroyed or...

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (20 Mar 2007)

David Norris: Was I doing something wrong?

Seanad: Order of Business (Resumed) (20 Mar 2007)

David Norris: How unusual.