Results 9,421-9,440 of 18,729 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 80: In page 36, line 36, after "range" to insert the following: "or other place that stands authorised under section 2(5) of this Act".

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 84: In page 37, line 2, to delete "Minister" and substitute "Commissioner".

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: The Deputy has proposed four amendments to section 29 which proposes the insertion of a new section 2B in the Firearms Act 1925. The new section 2B provides that the Minister, in the interests of public safety and security, can make an order deeming certain firearms "to be restricted" by reference to specific criteria. Amendments Nos. 88, 90 and 91, in the name of Deputy Howlin, are related....

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am not prepared to put such a requirement in statute form. I keep the door open to the gun lobby, generally speaking, when it wants to make representations to me. The Deputy proposes in amendment No. 90 that when I am making an order restricting certain types of guns, I should be statutorily required to "have regard to the desirability of facilitating persons" who are engaged in shooting....

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: No.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: Amendment No. 91 proposes that a grievance mechanism should be put in place for people who are aggrieved by a ministerial order restricting certain firearms on safety and security grounds. This amendment would mean, in effect, that the High Court would have the capacity to reverse the order on the grounds of reasonableness or policy. I do not propose to hand over that function to the...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I might be. If I were sitting on the bench, I do not think I would aspire to get involved in this matter.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: Every order made can be reviewed immediately. None of these orders is set in stone.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: If it was made clear to me that I had simply got it wrong, or that I had been overly broad in restricting a category of weapons, I could bring an amending regulation into effect the very next day.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: I would have to accept that.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: Members tend to face an uphill battle with me in that regard.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: My successors will probably be much more error-prone than I am. There is no problem with the corrective mechanism. If the Minister of the day is convinced that he or she has got something wrong, he or she can reverse that decision and put it right. I respect and have no problem with the shooting, firearms and hunting lobby, which consists of people who engage in competitive shooting and...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: We live in a world in which the Minister must have the right to restrict certain firearms. Deputy Howlin asked why applications will have to be made centrally to the Garda Commissioner. I have included that provision because I want consistent results across the country. I do not want it to be the case that AK-47s, for example, are on issue in County Tipperary, while another superintendent is...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: It depends on the strength of the cartridge. Some people put more powder into their cartridges to adjust the velocity at which projectiles leave their guns. Even though the strength of the ammunition is, in general terms, one of the factors to be taken into account when determining whether a weapon has a certain muzzle velocity, it is possible to describe a weapon like an automatic rifle as a...

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: It was not. The difference between a high velocity and low velocity weapon is, in conventional terms, not just defined by reference to the strength of the ammunition used. It is also by reference to other characteristics of the weapon. A Kalashnikov rifle would be described as a high velocity weapon, no matter what bullets were used in it.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: The problem with the Labour Party is that it has not had an armed wing for a long time.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: Notwithstanding the arrival of Democratic Left.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: A democratic right exists to communicate with any officer of the State.

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: An individual can write to an officer of the State, claiming an unreasonable order has been made. Most Ministers would consider such letters——

Criminal Justice Bill 2004: Report Stage (Resumed). (28 Jun 2006)

Michael McDowell: ——unless it was manifestly unreasonable. If one feels one's post to a Minister is being diverted, there are other ways to contact directly him or her. Ministers are extremely accessible and I do not know of any Minister who is beyond communication. I have only experience of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform on a personal level since I became Minister. During my tenure, no...