Results 4,701-4,720 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The Government and I can agree fully with the sentiments expressed in regard to the needs of victims of crime, innocent people who, through no fault of their own, have suffered hurt, isolation and unbearable trauma, all because something completely outside their control happened. We, as a society, must help them cope and, where possible, overcome this. The impact of their experience can be...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: My Bill will also include measures to restrict unjustified and vexatious imputations at trial against the character of a deceased or incapacitated victim or witness. It will also provide additional protection for victims at pre-trial stage. I believe the courts should have stronger powers, for example, to order an accused to refrain from contact with the victim, his or her family and other...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: ——with additions relating to the setting up of a statutory authority. The Bill has been resurrected six years later with the additional provision for a commission for the support of victims of crime, which has been reproduced from the Fianna Fáil manifesto and our agreed programme for Government.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: That is the only addition the Deputy has made to the so-called Bill. The truth is that the Bill appears reasonable because it is, in essence, a replication of New Zealand's Victims' Rights Act 2002. Virtually every section, line by line and word by word, is a replication of the New Zealand Act.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: The only two sections Deputy Shatter did not reproduce are the second section that outlines that the New Zealand Act is subject to royal assent——

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: ——and section 6, which states that when passed the New Zealand Act will be binding on the crown.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: They are the only two sections Deputy Shatter did not include in his Bill. The truth is that, in effect, the Bill is a replication of the New Zealand Victims' Rights Act. I urge Members of the House to examine the contents of that Act. In New Zealand, the legislation is credited with having improved the position of crime victims in that jurisdiction and I have no doubt it is appropriate to...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: ——demonstrably be appropriate to this jurisdiction.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: One cannot just import legislation from another jurisdiction, which is part of a different legislative, never mind social and cultural framework——

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: ——no matter how appropriate that legislation may be in that jurisdiction. There is no such thing as a single transferable Act between jurisdictions and Deputy Shatter should know that better than most.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: A report from December 2007 in New Zealand called for a review of the 2002 Act after six years. That is the very same Act Deputy Shatter has reproduced today.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: A parliamentary committee of the legislature in New Zealand has asked for that legislation to be reviewed.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Lest one think that other jurisdictions are more committed to the rights of victims than we are, I draw attention to the fact that the New Zealand legislation does not create enforceable rights of victims. Where Fine Gael has deviated in the Bill from the New Zealand legislation, it has hardly been radical or far-reaching.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It has substituted the word "shall" for "should" in sections 5 and 6 of the Bill.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Section 5 provides that any person who deals with a victim shall treat the victim with courtesy, compassion and respect for dignity and privacy. Section 6 provides that a victim shall have access to services that are responsive to needs in so far as resources are available. The equivalent provisions in the New Zealand legislation use the word "should".

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: That is the only change Fine Gael made.

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: Most important, the "original" sections of the Fine Gael scheme do not even require legislation in Ireland. It is the Government's aim — through the Garda Síochána, in particular, and also through the national crime victims helpline, which is supported and promoted as a first port of call for victims of crime by the Commission for the Support of Victims of Crime — that victims of crime...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: In a recent speech on 19 April, my counterpart, the Justice and Police Minister, Annette King, said, This year, a victims' charter will be developed to build awareness of the standard of service that victims can expect from government agencies. The victims' charter will be a significant step in ensuring that victims of crime are aware of their rights under the Victims Rights Act. We in this...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: ——with a revision of the earlier charter being carried out in 1999, which provides a written framework of entitlements against which crime victims can measure the level and standard of treatment received in their dealings across all sections of the criminal justice system. The fact New Zealand is now turning its attention to a victims' charter shows that each jurisdiction must choose its...

Victims' Rights Bill 2008: Second Stage. (24 Jun 2008)

Dermot Ahern: It is better to provide flexible structures which can be responsive to the needs of victims of crime and to bring real substantive improvements to the law, which is what we are doing.