Results 10,361-10,380 of 28,255 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: My view is that the only people the Minister should be able to authorise in his stead would be officials of the Department, and not anyone outside the Department. My understanding is that the Minister can appoint as authorised officers people involved in animal welfare, for example, who are not employees of the Department.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There may be a mistake in the draft.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: There seems to be a flaw in the drafting of the amendment. Section 37(1) reads: "The Minister may for the purpose of enforcing this Act or an EU measure, appoint in writing, such persons or classes of person as he or she considers appropriate to be authorised officers for the exercise of all or any of the functions conferred on an authorised officer under this Act specified in the appointment."

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I will resubmit a corrected amendment.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I move amendment No. 68: In page 34, subsection (3), line 27, after “Minister” to insert “or an authorised officer of the Department”.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I move amendment No. 69: In page 34, subsection (3), lines 29 to 32, to delete all words from and including “appoint” in line 29 down to and including “agreement.” in line 32 and substitute the following: “submit the names of persons he or she considers appropriately qualified to be authorised officers for the purpose of all or any of the functions that the...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I move amendment No. 75: In page 39, subsection (1), line 13, to delete “authorised officer” and substitute the following:“inspector, or an authorised officer on the advice of a veterinary practitioner”.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I presume that for those who have no religion, an oath is just an affirmation.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Personally, I believe that the sooner the court system takes the Bible out of the court, the better. I believe that for those who do not believe, it is an insult and for those who do believe, it is double the insult because more people seem to take the Bible into their hands and then swear the opposite. I must state my belief that a courtroom is no place for a Bible.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not expect the Minister to change it.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: However, when one sees this provision in front of one, it shows how archaic are the Four Courts.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I move amendment No. 78a: In page 45, subsection (1), line 20, to delete “has reasonable grounds” and substitute “evidence”.My basic point is there should be evidence rather than reasonable grounds in this section, which gives far too much power to fine people willy-nilly. I also indicated my intention to oppose this section and that Fianna Fáil would not...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The Minister is making great play about people wondering about trigger happy authorised officers. I have witnessed trigger happy gardaí who have caught people. With something as black and white as speeding, it is like shooting fish in a barrel given the places they pick on a good wide road on a fine day to set up a speed trap. They catch enough people to fill their quota of fines....

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Then the Minister should delete the section. Can the Minister imagine what would happen in this country if careless or dangerous driving offences were the subject of on-the-spot fines and motorists had to go to court to defend themselves? It would be outrageous.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not altogether agree with the Minister because authorised officers in this legislation can come from a wide variety of sources. Some people think human and animal comfort are the same thing and want one to build very enclosed sheds whereas if one puts the animals in the part of the world in which I live into a closed shed, they get pneumonia. They would survive better on a mountain...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: People will go to court to appeal.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The only alternative to not paying is to go to court.

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If someone told me that he or she had been fined €250 and if I was aware of the process, I might tell the person to sit tight and see whether the authorities prosecute. Most people who did not get good technical advice would believe that solicitors would not defend their cases for less than €1,000, and that would even be before they passed through the court door. People might...

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The reality is-----

Select Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Animal Health and Welfare Bill 2012: Committee Stage (Resumed) (11 Dec 2012)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No. In many cases, people will be fined on the spot through reasonable grounds while the Department will know not to go to court because it does not have sufficient evidence. Therefore, the risk of going to court is thrown from the Department onto the person. This is the problem.