Results 861-880 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I support the amendment. It is somewhat like the amendment that the Government has introduced on the judge issuing a warrant where the word "may" has been changed to "shall". This is inviting the judge to sit on his or her hands. It is not a question of limiting the judge's discretion, but it means he or she has to deal with the matter. The phrase "may deal with the matter as if it were",...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Minister of State has clarified the amendment, if not the Bill.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I am very surprised by this amendment. I think of a previous amendment in a Bill we dealt with only last week where a sitting High Court judge is asked to be an advisor to the Taoiseach on matters relating to surveillance. I find this merging of the Judiciary and the Executive inappropriate. This issue should not be politicised. We have had experiences in the past of ministerial...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: The 1940 Act was introduced three years after the Constitution was adopted. We have learnt some things in the intervening 70 years, of which we should take account. I do not understand how it is possible to simply transpose that section with a certain reformulation providing that a Minister may consult the judge who gave the order for imprisonment. While I will not repeat what has been...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I move amendment No. 6: In page 8, before section 3, to insert the following new section: "3.—The Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1926 is hereby amended by the insertion of the following section, after section 17: "17A.—All instalment orders made under the aforementioned section must be served, personally, on the judgment debtor and must contain a notification of the consequences of...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: The fact is that when we speak about the 1940 Act we also speak about the 1926 Act, because the principal Act is the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1926. The first section of the 1940 Act outlines that the "principal Act" means the 1926 Act. In all the amendments we are speaking about the 1926 and 1940 Court Orders Enforcement Acts. The 1940 Act amends the 1926 Act. The Bill seeks to...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: It will be pressed on Report Stage.

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I understand from Standing Orders that the Leader is responsible for ordering the business of the House. Will the Leader confirm that this is the case or whether this responsibility rests with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform? Given the procedure that has been followed this week, it certainly seems to be the latter who is deciding how we conduct our affairs. The Leader...

Seanad: Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: To take All Stages of a Bill on any particular day, as the Leader purported to do yesterday in respect of two Bills, is unacceptable. I note that the Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2006, important reforming legislation which was first initiated in 2006, has been removed from today's Order of Business. Will the Leader clarify whether we are to deal with All Stages of that Bill...

Seanad: Stardust Tragedy: Motion (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I, too, warmly welcome the motion which we in Fine Gael hope will give some solace to the families of the victims of this extraordinary tragedy and achieve some closure and finality on the issues they have had to deal with for so many years. This motion, on which all sides of the House agree and which corrects the record of the Seanad, is not a triumph for politics. It is a triumph for the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I support Senator Mullen's amendments Nos. 1, 2, 4 and 5 and commend my amendment No. 3 to the House. Subsection 4C(1), as inserted by section 33, states: "It is an offence for a person to facilitate or engage in the use of a firearm for the purposes of practical or dynamic shooting". My amendment proposes to insert "save and except any firearm used for legitimate and controlled sporting...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: We have now established that other EU member states recognise this sport and do not seek to ban or criminalise it. That tells us a good deal about the approach of the Minister. There is no objective justification for this measure. In a context of 233,000 firearms in the country, a small proportion of which are revolvers or pistols, it seems entirely disproportionate. The Bill seeks to...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: IPSC shooting is a recognised sport internationally and within the EU. It has been characterised by the Minister and in this legislation in a way which is not necessarily justifiable. I do not believe it is justifiable, however, by accepting the amendment I have tabled, the Minister could leave this open for review and further examination. The amendment leaves to him a discretion following...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: Partly.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Minister of State is scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: The Minister of State conceded that the rest of Europe recognises the IPSC's shooting sport as a legitimate sport. I referred to the position in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. I am not sure the Minister of State's point in retort to what I suggested is relevant to the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I move amendment No. 3: In page 24, line 22, after "shooting" to insert the following: "save and except any firearm used for legitimate and controlled sporting purposes as may be specified in Regulations". I am pressing my amendment.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 11 and 12, to insert the following: "2.—The Act of 1940 is amended— (a) by the repeal of sections 6 and 9, and (b) by the insertion of the following sections after section 5: 6.—Where a debtor is liable, by virtue of an instalment order, to pay a debt and costs either in one payment or by instalments and such debtor fails to make such...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: I wonder why we go to so much trouble in this Bill and not remedy this particular defect in existing legislation. The Minister has correctly outlined the number of safeguards that have been introduced in the Bill that deal with the outcome and the implications of the Laffoy judgment. However, he cannot pick and chose the bits that he wants to deal with. The judge has stated in express...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Eugene Regan: In that case, I will press the amendment.