Results 6,621-6,640 of 24,635 for speaker:Mary Harney

Seanad: Public Hospital Land: Motion. (31 May 2006)

Mary Harney: I welcome the opportunity to set out the motivation, facts and benefits of the policy initiative I have brought forward to achieve 1,000 new public hospital beds by encouraging private sector investment. I must say, with regret, that the motion before the House is inaccurate. Not one square inch of public land will be given away to anyone. Public land will be leased or sold at commercial...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: It is proposed to take No. 12, motion re referral to joint committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of a Council decision concerning the signing of the agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Iceland and the Kingdom of Norway on the surrender procedure between the member states of the European Union and Iceland and Norway; No. 12a, motion re sittings and business of...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: Is this a speech?

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: The Government Chief Whip has told me that next week's business has been agreed with the other party Whips. The deadline for questions for Thursday is 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: Yes.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: I wish to add to what I said earlier. The deadline for receipt of oral questions for answer on Wednesday, 7 June 2006, is today at1 p.m. and for Thursday, 8 June 2006, is 11 a.m. tomorrow.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: I agree with Deputy Kenny that we are dealing with children who have been the victims of very serious crimes that have stolen their childhood and innocence. That is the reason it is serious and urgent and the reason all the legal expertise available to the Government is being marshalled to have appropriate legislation put in place. I acknowledge the co-operation of the Opposition parties in...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: Obviously there will be a decision in the Supreme Court but I do not know when. The case will be fought in the Supreme Court tomorrow in respect of Mr. A and much will depend on the outcome. I said yesterday it was open to the Director of Public Prosecutions, the independent officer, who I am confident has a legal strategy, to rearrest and recharge those individuals but that is solely a...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: It covers a huge majority of those who work with children. In fact one of the complaints I get in my job relates to the delay it sometimes takes to clear a person to work in this area. As late as this week a Deputy approached me in respect of a delay in trying to approve persons to work with children. We need to strengthen the vetting process further and that is happening. Clearly there is a...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: I will deal first with the legislation. For 70 years, it has stood the test of time, and the High Court maintained it was constitutional and appropriate. Until 12 May of this year, the DPP was bringing charges against persons under this provision. A total of 20 charges were brought this year, up to 12 May, against eight individuals, so clearly the DPP was not anticipating the section could be...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: I am not blaming anybody. Even after the Supreme Court case, the Ombudsman for Children, Emily Logan, is not in favour of what we have to do constitutionally. If we were doing it in the absence of having to do it constitutionally, I do not believe we would have proceeded against that kind of strong advice, because people would have said we were weakening the law. We now have no alternative....

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: No, it should take a matter of days. We will have the information later today from the Irish Prison Service with regard to section 2(1) and when we have it, we will seek in a professional way to identify those persons and offer them counselling if that is their wish.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform is working hard, as he has been for the past week, to have this legislation available for the Government meeting later this morning.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: We have done much for children. We have appointed the first ever Ombudsman for Children. Comprehensive legislation in child welfare has been introduced. We now have the first Minister of State with responsibility for children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, who sits at Cabinet. He has got responsibility for and is working hard in drafting legislation on the register of persons unsafe to work with...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: No one was highlighting that this provision was unconstitutional. We are dealing with the unconstitutionality of it. No one was arguing it was unconstitutional.

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: The Law Reform Commission said it was too harsh that one cannot have a defence in such cases. That is a different issue. I genuinely believe if Members had stood up and seen the response of the Ombudsman for Children and other groups, they would have thought again and decided not to go down such a road and weaken the law. Every Member is working hard to close off the loophole that has...

Order of Business. (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: I will use my best endeavours to have the Bill with the Opposition at lunchtime. I know lunchtime is a moveable feast but it should be somewhere between 1 o'clock and 2 o'clock. After the Opposition has had a chance to consider the proposed legislation, the Whips will be in discussion on the timing of the different Stages. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform will be in the...

Order of Business (Resumed). (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: While I share Deputy Higgins's view that there must be appropriate legislation, in the context in the which we find ourselves, which is responding to the decision of the Supreme Court in a matter now declared unconstitutional, we will not be able to deal with all of the issues that arise in this area and this Bill will form part of work in progress, and other legislation may follow in due course.

Order of Business (Resumed). (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: The Government will be passing an early signature motion. The President, as the Deputy has acknowledged, normally has ten days to sign legislation into law but if an early signature motion is passed by the Cabinet, then it is expedited. We will certainly do that. I repeat what I stated earlier. This problem was not identified in the Law Reform Commission report. Nobody, including the Law...

Order of Business (Resumed). (1 Jun 2006)

Mary Harney: In answer to Deputy Crawford, the Coroners Bill will be published later this year. The legal costs Bill will be published next year. The issue is not one of opposing a new inquest; it is, I understand, about looking for a different coroner.