Results 61-80 of 11,812 for speaker:Denis O'Donovan

Seanad: Seafood Industry: Statements (21 Nov 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: As one of the Senators who sought this debate, I am pleased the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Deputy Coughlan, has come to the House to facilitate it. I take this opportunity to wish her well. I also welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, who is familiar with this portfolio. It was a good decision to place fisheries under the remit of the same Department as...

Seanad: Seafood Industry: Statements (21 Nov 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: Blockades were planned and they were going to protest and bring their fight to Paris, blocking up streets.

Seanad: Seafood Industry: Statements (21 Nov 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I have only just started but I will finish. If it is true President Sarkozy has done a sweetheart deal with French fishermen regarding subsidising fuel, this Government should consider that closely as well. We cannot let the French fishing industry be subsidised in such fashion, particularly with the cost of fuel now. We are extremely lucky the dollar is weak, although the price of oil is...

Seanad: Order of Business (22 Nov 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I fully concur with Senator Quinn's remarks and I appreciate the Leader allowing a debate yesterday on the Cawley report which covered the future of fishing in the country. I come from a coastal community and it a source of serious concern to me that, this year alone, at least eight vessels have sunk. It gave me no satisfaction last January to visit the widows of two victims of the cruel...

Seanad: Realising Equality and the Traveller Community: Statements (28 Nov 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I welcome the Minister of State and thank him for his enlightened contribution. When I was a boy, Travellers used to frequent rural areas. They were welcome in people's houses, were usually given dinner and on many occasions were provided with accommodation, perhaps in a shed or barn. There was mutual respect between the two communities. A significant amount has been done in recent years....

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I wish to raise two issues. First, I ask the Leader, before it is too late, to have a debate on the issue of the Cork-Swansea ferry. Perhaps the relevant Minister should be asked to come to the House to ascertain whether the situation in which we find ourselves can be retrieved. This matter is of the utmost importance to the area that I represent.

Seanad: Order of Business (4 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: Second, I wish to consider an issue of constitutional importance regarding tribunals. While I will not go into specifics, some years ago the Houses of the Oireachtas set up a particular tribunal to inquire into certain allegations. Having regard to the separation of powers and the functions of the Dáil and Seanad, it is important that Members should find out where they stand in respect of...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I agree that legislation should not be retrospective. Does the Minister believe there are instances in which it would be appropriate? I refer in particular to a recent High Court challenge on a case regarding the drink driving laws, which created havoc in district courts throughout the country. Certain aspects of a recent criminal justice Act regarding the term of suspension off the road...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (4 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I am reminded of some old maxims by the comments of Senator Walsh and others, the first being, "He who comes into equity must come with clean hands." I wonder where reputation starts if one is taking a case on one's reputation and stating that one is a person of high integrity and honesty. Second, in the context of one's reputation and history, the following is an old saying in the west...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I was lost in the wonderful outlinings of my colleague, Senator Norris. He has distracted me from my train of thought and diverted me in another direction. Will the Minister clarify the issue of costs? Senator Walsh gave the example of a successful plaintiff who subsequently incurs the costs of an appeal by the defendant on the basis of the award granted. In the event of the Supreme Court...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: The Taoiseach is a socialist.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I accept what the Minister said earlier that the Bill did not fall out of the sky or originate as a result of a considerable media lobby. There has been considerable thought by successive Governments and the Law Reform Commission. The Minister also mentioned Mr. Mohan's input on the matter. We are enlarging on the old phrase, "justification". I may be wrong in this. However, my...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I understand the reason Senator Norris tabled this amendment. In effect he asks for the removal of all protection from the Judiciary, which would be similar to taking a sledgehammer to crack a nut. However, I can see where he is coming from. I refer to the court case yesterday involving three ladies who were taking drugs back to County Cork and who went astray. The judge made certain...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I wish all judges had that rule.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I am sure the Minister is more capable of responding to this amendment than I but I support the gist of it. Defamation can cause a great deal of damage. I raised in this House the case brought by a Ukrainian interpreter against a number of newspapers after the death of our former colleague, Liam Lawlor. The accident happened at a weekend and that Sunday morning a most appalling story was...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Committee and Remaining Stages (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: Tá an t-am nach mór istigh. I do not want to labour the point but I concur with Senator Norris's comments about the other example. I picked the case of the reporting of the late Liam Lawlor's death. I will clarify my point. I only met Liam Lawlor's widow on one occasion and I would not know the lady very well. Responsible journalism should have reacted at editorial level in the...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: Last week I called for a debate on the question of the Cork-Swansea ferry. As I am not sure whether it is too late for such a debate, I ask the Leader to urgently intervene with the Minister in question since I understand a boat has been identified and there is a window of opportunity. We missed the boat, so to speak. The situation has cost the west Cork and Kerry economy upwards of €70...

Seanad: Defamation Bill: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: One could argue that in any instance, be it personal injuries or defamation of character, a lodgement denotes an admission of liability and is in some way an apology. I have some support for Senator Walsh's argument. Defamation is a tort and an unusual hybrid creation from a legal perspective. For the first time in our legal or political lifetime, we have a chance to deal with this issue...

Seanad: Defamation Bill: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: I take a slightly different view from my colleague in that I regard the press council or press ombudsman as having the role of monitoring the conduct, code of ethics and standards of the media. When we talk of giving powers to the press council, I envisage its role as one of admonishing a certain newspaper, radio station or television channel, pointing out it has sinned and crossed the...

Seanad: Defamation Bill: Committee Stage (Resumed). (11 Dec 2007)

Denis O'Donovan: The press council is in a test mode at this stage. There has been a debate for the past 30 to 40 years about freedom of speech and all the trappings that go with that, as well as the natural curtailment to ensure that people are not defamed and that freedom of speech is not abused. I accept that the press council must act independently of this House, but the spotlight will be on this...