Results 8,281-8,300 of 19,162 for speaker:Alan Shatter

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I want to give some further thought to both those amendments. I want to explain the background to them but I will not press the amendments today. This is an issue that has arisen in other legislation. I have raised this more to note it and, if need be, we will return to it on Report Stage. There is a very important reference in the legislation which details the various members of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Amendments Nos. 7 and 8 are minor drafting amendments.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is important not to have the letter "e" missing.

Seanad: Defence Forces Personnel: Statement (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Following on from a decision made by the Government today, I wish to make an announcement to the House. On behalf of the State, the Government apologises for the manner in which those members of the Defence Forces who left to fight on the allied side during the Second World War, 1939 to 1945, were treated after the war by the State. The Government recognises the value and importance of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I again thank Senators for their considered contributions. I will first make a general point and then I will deal with the specific queries that have been raised. I wish to be absolutely clear, because there have been interesting reports in the media. I have seen two reports which contain a variety of different things. In one case there was a suggestion that the entire clergy in the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I know the Senator did not mean it in that way.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Yes, but not in the context of civil law, the role of the State and legislation. The Catholic Church is entitled to have its own canon law and the Jewish religion is entitled to have its own tenets. All of the Muslim and various Protestant faiths have different tenets and principles but when it comes to civil law, the State is agnostic of those. The State's position is to enact laws in the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: They are the same.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: I thank the Senators for their thoughtful contributions. In response to Senator Jim Walsh, I am also concerned that we do not over-emphasise this aspect of the issue. We know there has been a series of horrendous incidents of abuse perpetrated by members of the church which have resulted in prosecutions, convictions and the publication of many reports. To return to a point made during the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: A journalist is not exempt either. There is no journalistic privilege. On occasions Members of this House feel the need to confess to journalists, I think it is most unwise - - - - -

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: - - - - -because normally it appears in an inaccurate form in a Sunday newspaper that tries to sensationalise the mundane.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Then there would be the issue of whether the child wanted the abuse reported. If the child wanted the abuse to be reported, the child could report it and would not need to tell the priest. We can go round in circles. This legislation is as robust as it can be. I have no doubt that it may be tested in the courts. It provides a robust criminal law to try to ensure crucial information is...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Amendment No. 14 adds the offence under the Criminal Justice (Female Genital Mutilation) Act 2012 to the list of offences in Schedule 1. These offences are not being added to Schedule 2, as withholding information in relation to those offences against a vulnerable adult is already an offence under the Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998. In the context of this amendment, I wish...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Amendments Nos. 12 and 13 are minor drafting amendments, which in effect move the offence listed at No. 15 in Schedule 1 to No. 14 of that Schedule. This lists the offence in the same order as the same offences in Schedule 2 and provides for consistency.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Schedule 1 applies to children and Schedule 2 applies to vulnerable adults. There is a differentiation in some of the offences that would be applicable to them.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences Against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: This is a technical amendment to reflect the fact that the offences against children which are listed in Schedule 1 differ to a certain extent to the offences listed in Schedule 2 and which relate to vulnerable persons. This answers Senator Bradford's question. There are two reasons for the differences in the Schedules. First, a number of the offences in Schedule 1 are children-specific...

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: This is your legacy.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: It is your legacy.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: This is a speech.

Order of Business (13 Jun 2012)

Alan Shatter: Within four months the Government will introduce those changes.