Results 10,161-10,180 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It has. It worked in the area of witnesses who had recanted their statements. Their previous statements were accepted by the court. It has worked in a number of other cases also. It has worked and the world has not fallen in. All the hullabaloo predicted at the time by the 200 lawyers did not happen. I hazard a guess the same will be true in this case. This Bill has been criticised...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The issue of alternatives was considered and we received advice from the Garda. However, the alternatives are impractical in a country the size of Ireland because these gangs have tentacles in different parts of the country and that has been proven in some high profile cases. Alternatives related to jury intimidation are not possible because of the size of the country. They work well in...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy had time last Friday.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy had five hours last Friday.

Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Notice taken that 20 Members were not present; House counted and 20 Members being present,

Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I thank the House for agreeing to consider this legislation this afternoon. Members will be aware that the need for this short Bill results from the issues raised in the recent High Court judgment in the McCann case in which the applicant successfully challenged the constitutionality of section 6 of the Enforcement of Court Orders Act 1940. The High Court delivered its judgment on 18 June...

Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am not so sure about the "expert" bit.

Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I thank the Deputies for their comments on this Bill. We all share the same objective, to address a relatively urgent matter. When this judgment was handed down we had some forewarning that it might be negative and the Department made preparations in the event the case went against us. Case law in this area has developed over the years and imprisonment is regarded as a last resort. I wish...

Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Second Stage (10 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Yes. This man and wife were subjected to a very serious assault by their neighbour and the Director of Public Prosecutions decided not to prosecute because he said there was not enough evidence. We took a civil action against the neighbour in which I acted for the couple and succeeded in the Circuit Court in getting judgment against the neighbour for $5,000 and £2,500, which was a lot of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am glad to present this Bill to the House. There has been much debate and commentary, inside and outside these Houses, concerning the content of the Bill and the process of its enactment. Regrettably, much of it has been misleading and, for that reason, I wish to clarify again the background to and purpose of this Bill and to confirm my conviction that there should be no delay in its...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Consequently, it is ludicrous to suggest delaying the Bill's passage until September because the courts are not sitting at present. Were passage of the Bill to be delayed until September and were something to happen in the next week or so, we would not be able to charge people with directing or participating in a gangland crime. The retrospectivity of legislation is very important in...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We also need to amend the provisions in regard to the offence of participation to effect the successful investigation of and prosecution for this offence. We cannot afford to delay such matters as this legislation is needed now. The Bill before the House also introduces amendments to detention and search powers that will, among other matters, address problems that have arisen during the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: That is not in the Bill and I wish people would stop stating it.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is true that we were asked to include it in the Bill but we did not do so because it is completely different to try to prove that someone is a member of a terrorist or paramilitary organisation than to prove that someone is a member of a criminal gang; it is far more difficult to prove that somebody is a member of a criminal gang. That is why as an alternative to opinion evidence the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It does not. The court has to establish whether the person has the expertise or the information.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: They could not get 12.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I thank Senators for their comments. Senator Regan said I referred to this legislation as a panacea, which I did not. At no stage did I say that.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am not naive enough to think this Bill will cure all the ills of our society or get rid of all the gangland crime in the country. Of course it will not. Senators Harris and Walsh mentioned the possibility of going further. I would not exclude this possibility, nor should the Oireachtas. I reiterate that the Bill is not what some people have made it out to be. It is not a seismic change...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We did not make that decision based on comments from judges, State solicitors or Paul Williams, who is well-respected and who holds strong views on this issue.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We based it on the hard evidence given to us by the Garda Commissioner and a large number of the testimonies provided by individuals such as the Minister for Defence, Deputy O'Dea.