Results 1,301-1,320 of 1,591 for speaker:Eugene Regan

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: Will this House uphold the standards of the Ombudsman-----

Seanad: Order of Business. (22 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: -----or the standards of Deputy Fahey?

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Second Stage. (22 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I welcome the Bill and the Minister's detailed exposition of it. The Bill contains a number of important considerations which justify it. The Minister has outlined the cases where due to oversight or otherwise people are imprisoned if only for short terms for non-payment of a fine. We have a problem with prisoner numbers and overcrowding in prisons. We have the extraordinary figure...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I move amendment No. 30: In page 10, subsection (1), lines 26 to 32, to delete all words from and including "or for securing" in line 26 down to and including "operation" in line 32. On Second Stage I mentioned the issue of delegated legislation. The Minister has said, regarding the amendment proposed by Senator Bacik for section 4, that he has concerns about overuse of delegated...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: That is the language. The Bill states "such regulations may modify any provision of this Part" so the legislation adopted in the Oireachtas could be changed. My concern, given the precedent referred to of the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999, is that we will have another precedent and it will become a standard practice whereby primary legislation can be amended by ministerial order. That...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I move amendment No. 31: In page 10, lines 33 to 36, to delete subsection (2). In a way, this amendment goes with the previous amendment because-----

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: Had the previous amendment been accepted, one would not have needed this provision, so they stand or fall together. I will not press the amendment, but I put it to the Minister that a reformulation of the term "modify any provision" could be considered for Report Stage. Some language could surmount the problem without necessarily deleting everything, but I will leave the matter with the...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I support the amendment and I accept Senator Bacik's observation regarding whether it should be included in this legislation. In light of the extent to which law is administered in the District Court and the Circuit Court, the matter to which the amendment relates is very important. A system such as that suggested would act as a guide to policy and would provide essential and useful...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: This is an important point. The Minister said the court has the latitude to impose a fine that it deems fit and what it would deem fit is what it would deem appropriate. This seems arbitrary. A judge could impose a fine that is more than appropriate. In other words, the judge would have come to a reasonable conclusion as to what would work, be appropriate and fit and could then increase...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I support this amendment. The Minister spoke about leaving discretion to the court to decide. This is one case where it can be left to the court to decide what is appropriate. This limit is regressive. In a way, it runs contrary to the purpose of the Bill which is to deal with situations where people find themselves unable to pay fines and face the threat of committal to prison. It does...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: The Minister mentioned road traffic offences and that people who are fined have a car and presumably some means. It could be confined to those types of offences and in that way, it would not cut across those who have a genuine problem paying a fine of €100.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: It could be confined to the type of offences to which the Minister referred.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: Yes.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister. We define the term "due date for payment" in a couple of sections of the Bill. As it is now a standard definition, I wonder whether it should be included in the defintions section in order that this overlap can be avoided. I appreciate that the point I made has been taken on board in the amendment. I know there have been many amendments, but having the same...

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: It is included in sections 15, 19 and 59. We also have the standard definition. This is not a point of principle. I am putting it to the Minister that as we are repeating the definition, perhaps a standard single definition could be inserted in the definitions section.

Seanad: Fines Bill 2009: Committee Stage. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: It is a fact that the same definition is included in three sections. I am not arguing with the Minister on the actual definition included, but rather that it would be more elegant if there was one common definition without repetition in each section. Perhaps, therefore, the phrase, "In this section "due date for payment" means," is unnecessary. It is a question of drafting. Amendment...

Seanad: Business of Seanad. (28 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I agree we could finish Committee Stage, but due to the intricacy of the Bill and the number of Government amendments made, it would be better not to move on to Report Stage. I am agreeable to completing Committee Stage.

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) Bill 2009: Second Stage (29 Apr 2010)

Eugene Regan: I thank the Minister of State for outlining the position in respect of the Bill. He indicated that nothing new is created in the Bill and that it does no more than extend, with some changes, existing obligations relating to telephony and Internet data. He then referred to the infringement proceedings and suggested we should get on with passing the legislation. Those proceedings came about...

Seanad: Order of Business. (5 May 2010)

Eugene Regan: I do not know why there is such opposition to a debate on the Greek bailout and the situation in Greece. The debate should be welcomed because this clearly is a new financial crisis and we have lessons to learn from it. Potentially it has very serious implications for this country. I want to draw the House's attention to an article in The Irish Times yesterday, "State cuts fund to help...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2010: Report and Final Stages (5 May 2010)

Eugene Regan: I second the amendment.