Results 1,161-1,180 of 1,981 for speaker:Conor Lenihan

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Unlike Senator Alex White, I am not a lawyer. I am not, therefore, a competent person in terms of the detailed legal issues raised. The Minister and I have been informed by the Attorney General that an amendment on these lines is not required. I do not propose, therefore, to accept the amendment. I am guided by the legal expertise made available to the Minister in this regard. I am not...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I am purely informing the House that I am not a lawyer unlike Senators Alex White and Eugene Regan. The Government is relying on the professional advice offered by the Attorney General's office through the Parliamentary Counsel at its disposal that such a clause is not required. Unlike Senators Alex White and Regan, I am not a genius in many different disciplines. I do not believe I am in...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I am acting on legal advice. I cannot add anything. Question, "That the words proposed to be deleted stand," put and declared carried.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I am not bored at all. I am intrigued.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: The Attorney General put a great deal of thought into this section at the drafting phase, for the good legal and civil liberties reasons Senator Bacik outlined. He found it appropriate to use in section 48A — the additional power about which Senator Bacik spoke — the phrase "reasonable cause". The garda involved can only act on this new power where he or she has a reasonable cause to...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I refer to section 48A. Senator Bacik spoke about an additional power being conferred on the Garda Síochána. The Senator is correct. An additional power is now being given to an individual member of the force to enter into a family home, in effect, or a domestic dwelling.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Senator Bacik did not specify the extra power that the Garda received. As I understand it, I am responding to a concern Senator Bacik has on civil liberties grounds in connection with this additional power being given to the Garda under section 48A to enter a home in limited circumstances where reasonable cause is the issue.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: This is the power to take away the cans or bottles of alcohol in a situation.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: That is the other power.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Does Senator Bacik think that is draconian or somehow in breach of civil liberties? That is why I am rather puzzled. I would have thought, coming from Senator Bacik's strong perspective of civil liberties, the issue of entering a house would be more important than a garda, anticipating an element of urban menace, deciding that he or she wishes to remove the can of alcohol.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: The Senator may be right, but I am reliant on the advice of the Attorney General, who deemed this part to be constitutional. I apologise if there was confusion between section 48A and section 19 8A.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: We believe this part is in conformity with the Constitution. That is the best advice we have received from the Attorney General. I emphasise, in order for Members and others outside the House to be clear about the discussion, that rather than consider the theoretical legal implications of a measure, we are discussing the powers conferred on the Garda to make assumptions about why a person...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I can answer only as best I can, short of allowing Senators to write my replies and utter them. This section applies to under-age and over-age people. It allows the Garda to anticipate the possibility of a public order offence. The purpose of this section is precisely so that the gardaí can anticipate such offences using their eyes, invaluable experience and judgment to form a clear view...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I have provided as complete an answer as I can offer at this stage. I am not refusing to answer questions, but I have offered as comprehensive a reply as I can in the circumstances.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Committee Stage (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Yesterday on Second Stage I remarked on the concept of pre-emption. I know the Senator is aware of such concepts as they apply both legally and otherwise. It does not require further explanation.

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I will reiterate what I stated on Committee Stage. I hope the code of practice will generate the result which is presumably intended by way of this amendment. The Minister, Deputy Dermot Ahern, has indicated his flexibility and pragmatism, as always. My experience of working with the Minister for the best part of four years is that he is flexible and pragmatic with regard to not commencing...

Seanad: Intoxicating Liquor Bill 2008: Report and Final Stages (10 Jul 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I had better be very careful about procedure. I thank Members for their contributions to this legislation. I hope this Bill and the legislation to follow in the autumn will begin the great journey of compliance in regard to the misuse of alcohol in Ireland. Hopefully, there will be many more occasions such as this where we will get the chance to negotiate and discuss a topic which has been...

Written Answers — Departmental Bodies: Departmental Bodies (24 Sep 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I hope to establish the Ministerial Council on Integration within the next month or so. I shall place the names of those appointed in the Oireachtas Library when the Council has been established.

Written Answers — Anti Racism Measures: Anti Racism Measures (24 Sep 2008)

Conor Lenihan: Under the auspices of the National Action Plan Against Racism, the following are bodies which have received funding to address racism in 2008 or to which funding has been committed: National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (which also gets its core funding from my Office), Model Education, Arambe Productions, The Africa Centre, Health Service Executive, Metro Eireann,...

Written Answers — Integration Strategy: Integration Strategy (24 Sep 2008)

Conor Lenihan: I propose to take Questions Nos. 968 and 969 together. I would refer the Deputy to my statement on integration strategy and diversity management, Migration Nation, which I published on 1 May and which discusses the issues to which these Questions refer. In that statement, I specifically referred to the need to avoid the creation of parallel societies, communities and urban ghettoes. I went...