Results 12,901-12,920 of 15,908 for speaker:Helen McEntee

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It is going back to when the crime was committed, not when the person is being sentenced. That is what it is looking at.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The amendment specifically refers to murder, which is not referenced in the 2001 Act for children. Deputy Howlin's amendment would include that where it is not included at the moment.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The amendment refers to it. That is the challenge here.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: The amendment states: “(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to the sentencing of a person convicted of murder who was under the age of 18 years when he or she committed the murder but has attained that age on or before the date of such sentencing."

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: I am sorry, I was looking at the wrong section. It still applies in the same way because it is silent to murder. There is no need to change it because it already applies. When it is disapplied, it will apply to the child because the offence was committed before the child was 18. This is the very clear advice I have.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It disapplies it. The same approach will be applied.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It will revert to the same common law that is used by the Children Act. It would be the same approach.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: By disapplying it, it will revert to common law which is exactly-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: -----what it falls under in the 2001 Act. It is the same. It will align with and be applied in the same way as the 2001 Act. Again, I have been assured that there is no need to specify that any particular type of sentence or order can be applied because this is already the case.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: We need to engage further on this in terms of the wider picture and the discussion. In order to comply with the equality principle that is underpinned in the High Court ruling, it was made clear to me that children who are aged out and children are treated the same. There cannot be a statutory sentence for children who are aged out because that does not exist specifically for murder for...

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: No. We are disapplying it.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: Any sentence can be imposed.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It is silent on it.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: In relation to murder specifically, it is silent on that.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: If we were to accept this amendment, there would be statutory sentencing for murder.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: No. It will fall back on the common law.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: There is an option there but-----

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It is this Act that we are amending, not the 2001 Act.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: It will default to the way in which it is defined under the Children Act in relation to murder, which is common law.

Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (25 Sep 2024)

Helen McEntee: There is already.