Results 9,901-9,920 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: According to the article, "The Irish Times and the Sunday Tribune are refusing to publish Press Council judgments that partially upheld complaints against stories written by their journalists". Professor Mitchell stated: "Failure to do so not only flies in the face of the articles of association under which the Press Council has been established, but also may fall to be considered under the...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We discussed this matter on Committee Stage. We believe the amendment to be unnecessary as we are unaware of any instance of a person who had only a secretarial involvement in the handling or preparation of a statement alleged to be defamatory being the subject of a defamation action. My advice is that it would be unwise and impractical on the basis proposed to exempt any party as a...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The advice from Parliamentary Counsel is that the proposed deletion of "in particular" would remove the requirement that a possible defamatory statement should be clearly understood to refer to a particular person within a class of persons. As I pointed out on Committee Stage, the proposed deletion could conceivably allow a multiplicity of actions by all members of a particular class of...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I have some sympathy with the Deputy in respect of the amendment. Naturally one would say I would say that. The Deputy proposes to insert, "Proceedings taken pursuant to this Act shall not have the effect of excluding persons from elected public office by virtue only of their being made bankrupt". He is trying to suggest that if any Member of the Oireachtas sues or is sued for defamation...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I have been in national public life for 22 years and in that period there were occasions on which I felt inclined to take legal action. I can well recall an article in respect of which a senior counsel told me there were eight different instances of clear libel against me. I was advised by my brother, who is also a solicitor, and he asked me whether I believed the people of County Louth...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I accept that - I mean it can be made relatively quickly. My experience of dealing with clients over the years shows that the media clam up when there is a potential action against them. They clam up and deny everything because they must take legal advice. Under this legislation, the media will be able to make a judgment themselves and issue an apology. Many people, because they are...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Section 15 was inserted on Committee Stage as a consequence of an amendment made to section 3 of the Bill. The section was inserted for the avoidance of any doubt following consultation with the Office of the Attorney General and Parliamentary Counsel. The new section abolishes any defence that might have been pleaded in a libel or slander action under common law immediately before the...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Section 16(2) is essentially a restatement of the existing law in respect of the defence of justification which is now known as truth. It is an important provision in that it provides that a defence shall not fail if some of the details of this statement are found to be untrue as long as the substantive issue is proven to be true. The defendant must prove that the defamatory imputation was...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The issue being addressed by amendment No. 9 from Deputy O'Snodaigh is the prominence of the apology. This was debated very significantly, particularly in the Seanad, and my predecessor as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Deputy Brian Lenihan, introduced amendments on Report Stage there which ensured that where an apology is made and published by a defendant, the apology would...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I cannot accept amendment No. 9 because the matter to which it relates is already comprehended in the legislation. However, I would be prepared to accept amendment No. 10 in the names of Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Rabbitte. It must be emphasised that this amendment relates to an action.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The section states that in a defamation action, a defendant may give evidence that an apology has been provided. However, the amendment places a slightly stronger onus on a defendant to make an apology sooner than might otherwise be the case. In certain circumstances, there may be a reason for tactics to be employed with regard to how a defendant might address this issue, particularly in...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Perhaps, with the consent of the House, Members will finish with these three minutes.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The House divided on this issue this morning and it was decided that debate would conclude after an hour. Moreover, were any more time to become available tomorrow, my priority would be to allocate it to the Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill rather than to the Defamation Bill. Members have debated this Bill endlessly and it now is time to pass it.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: There is an understanding that it will and should pass before the summer. Many of the following amendments are simply a regurgitation of what Members discussed on Committee Stage ad nauseam and of what has been debated in the Seanad and the Dáil over the past two years.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes. Moreover, I suggest that Members finish the allotted three minutes and simply get on with it.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Do Members consent to go on or do they wish to come back for three minutes?

Written Answers — Illegal Immigrants: Illegal Immigrants (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As was indicated at Dail Committee Stage by my colleague, Minister of State John Moloney, T.D., the provision referred to by the Deputy is under consideration in my Department in consultation with the Office of the Attorney General. The matter is one that has, in addition to the debate at Committee Stage, been brought to my attention by the Irish Human Rights Commission and indeed by the...

Written Answers — Garda Deployment: Garda Deployment (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am informed by the Garda authorities that the personnel strength in Waterford Garda Station as at 31 December 2004 - 2008 and as at the 31 May, the latest date in 2009 for which figures are readily available, was as set out in the table: 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 135 134 149 161 170 171