Results 521-540 of 18,726 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: They are equally serious issues but public confidence in the law must be maintained. If an individual is acquitted by reason of insanity, the public must know if it is appropriate for that person to be released. Until now, it has been my unhappy chalice to make a decision as to whether the individual should go free from the Central Mental Hospital on the basis that he is cured. When he signs...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: That is not necessarily the case. Section 3(1)(b) of the Mental Health Act 2001 allows them to be admitted for different reasons.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I understand where this amendment is coming from. I do not think it would assist the criminal justice process to set out five manifestations of mental illness and then say that is what "mental illness" actually means. The phrase "serious disorder of thought form", which is mentioned in the amendment, might be seen by some as setting the bar very low for criminal insanity cases.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: A decision to admit to Ireland a person who is mentally ill is not the same as a decision to acquit a person of a crime on the basis that he or she is mentally ill. The approach that was taken in the Immigration Act was adopted to guide immigration officers and to suggest to them what they should do or what they should be concerned with. The acceptance of amendment No. 6 would tie down the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: It is sometimes the case that definitions are included in the definitions section at the beginning of a Bill but it is also case that where a certain term is being given a meaning for a particular section this is sometimes done in the context of that section. This is a drafting-style amendment and I do not think it particularly affects the meaning or effectiveness of the Act. At this stage I...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: Section 20 permits me to commence the Act, while section 9, by contrast, permits me to appoint an establishment day for the purpose of section 10. How can we have a situation in which I would be obliged to come before the House and have the establishment day and the commencement revoked? I do not think it would be a good idea to provide for the possibility of my commencing this Act and then...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: The Senator is becoming Henry-esque in requiring me to be consistent in everything.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: Commencement orders are not normally capable of being revoked by either House. For some statutory instruments it is required that each House be given an opportunity to revoke them; for others this is not the case. If I select part of a prison as a designated centre for certain purposes under this Act, I do not think it is necessary to provide that the designation can be revoked within 21 days...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am grateful to the Senator for tabling this amendment. In principle I accept that the Minister for Health and Children should consult with the Mental Health Commission rather than the inspector, who is employed by the commission, before making a designation. I am not prepared to give the inspector a veto over my decision, which would be the result of the Senator's amendment. However, I will...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I was referring to myself but, for the purpose of clarity, I should have been referring to the Minister for Health and Children because the section vests this power in him, not in me.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: The designation of centres where persons will be accommodated, as covered by the terms of the Bill, is a matter for the Department of Health and Children in consultation with my Department in cases where such centres are located within a prison. That clearly illustrates the duality of responsibilities involved in the provision of care and treatment for persons who have been found by a court...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I have two main difficulties with the amendment. The first is that the functions of the inspector of mental services are set out in section 51 of the Mental Health Act 2001. It does not appear to me that they can be read as including or inferring a power or function such as is envisaged in the amendment with regard to the designation of conditions of security in psychiatric facilities....

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: Part 4 of the Mental Health Act 2001 relates to consent to treatment and its inclusion in this legislation ensures the protections in the Act regarding consent to treatment are also extended to persons who are treated in psychiatric centres under the legislation. It would not be appropriate, therefore, to extend the provisions of the remaining Parts of the Mental Health Act 2001, which relate...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: While I fully agree with the Senator that it is desirable that visiting should be facilitated, I cannot accept the amendment because the term "relevant designated centre" would mean the designated centre at the appropriate level of security for the part of the country where the patient ordinarily resides or the Central Mental Hospital. That means one could not be sent to an institution with...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I regret that I do not accept the amendment. It would introduce apresumption in an area where it is not necessary or desirable. The court should have an open mind on the issue of whether somebody is fit to be tried and should not make a presumption one way or another. De facto, there is a day to daypresumption that, unless the issue is raised, no inquiry is held into it. The amendment would...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am opposing this amendment and the more I hear the argument in favour of it, the more I am opposed to it. Section 3(2) states: An accused person shall be deemed unfit to be tried if he or she is unable by reason of mental disorder to understand the nature or course of the proceedings so as to- (a) plead to the charge, (b) instruct a legal representative, (c) make a proper defence, (d) in...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: With the permission of the Chair, I wish to indicate that I will introduce an amendment on Report Stage to remove the word "or" from the phrase "or commit him" at the beginning of line 30 in section 3(3)(b). Amendment No. 17 not moved.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: The word "or" at the end of line 12 in section 3(2)(d) suggests that they are disjunctive rather than conjunctive.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am opposed to this amendment for the reasons I mentioned before. The court has to make certain decisions, but the view of the person who is associated with the institution to which the person being dealt with by the court may be sent is not determinative of the issue. I do not want to give a veto or a quasi veto to psychiatrists in these institutions. I do not want a situation where...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Committee Stage (Resumed). (8 Apr 2004)

Michael McDowell: I am very well aware of the shortcomings of the Central Mental Hospital. I took the trouble to visit the institution which, although it is not directly under my remit, is very intimately connected with many of the functions of my Department. I was shown around by the staff.