Results 14,001-14,020 of 18,736 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I tend to agree with the Hogan report that it is unsatisfactory for a prosecutor to say that we have heard all the weeping stuff, but we should remember A, B, C and D.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: It is not a Bar Council issue.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I will be brief. I do not think that speech is an aggravation or necessary. When imposing sentence, a judge should have obtained from the Garda the effects on the victim, the antecedents on the accused and he should have the facts of the case fairly clearly in his or her mind. A judge does not need speeches to remind him or her of that. We do not have to go down the road where people are...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I thank Deputies Jim O'Keeffe and Ó Snodaigh for what they said. The purpose of this section is as set out in the original scheme of the Bill which, as Deputy Jim O'Keeffe stated, sounds right. We must ask, however, whether this is the right way to do it. I am conscious of the fact that we began with the proposition that anybody who got a one-year sentence was walking into this repeat...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I regard the Constitution as something that we all have to uphold wholeheartedly, as we understand it.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: It strikes me that it is a reasonable approach to serious gangland crime that certain offences should attract substantial sentences if they, or offences of a similar category, are repeated. In that context, we should not be reluctant to provide a safety valve mechanism so that if the imposition of the three quarter sentence was gravely disproportionate, a court should not impose it. There...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I indicated it last week.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: The Deputies will appreciate the Bill will proceed through this House, go before the Seanad and return to the House.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: Yes. I do not want to do something which is unconstitutional or unworkable. I do not want to have window dressing which does not have much practical effect. I suggest to Deputies that while the purpose of the section has general support, we need to address the question of whether it will be effective in achieving its aim. I propose to review the section and if I can recalibrate it to make...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I accept that. If I recalibrate the provision, I will return to the House with the recalibrated version. I do not want to discard it on the hoof on the grounds of difficulty without consulting my colleagues in Government, whom it would be a courtesy to inform of any proposed change in this matter, and ensuring that a recalibrated section with a narrower focus is worth having in place. If...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I do not know if I am allowed to table an amendment for tomorrow to abandon the section.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 71: In page 18, line 27, to delete "12 months" and substitute "5 years".

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 72: In page 18, line 28, to delete "who commits" and substitute "who is convicted on indictment of".

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I will reconsider it.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 76: In page 18, between lines 41 and 42, to insert the following: "(a) section 2 of the Criminal Justice Act 1990;". The general rule is that where a person is convicted of an offence in the Second Schedule and within seven years commits another offence, then the sentence for the second offence must be at least three quarters of the prescribed maximum. That is the...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 81: In page 19, lines 36 and 37, to delete all words from and including "committed" in line 36 down to and including "years)" in line 37 and substitute the following: "of which a person (other than a person under the age of 18 years) is convicted on indictment". Amendments Nos. 81 to 83, inclusive, are consequential on amendment No. 72 in so far as they refer to...

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 82: In page 19, line 43, after "respect" to insert "of a conviction on indictment".

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 83: In page 20, line 7, after "of" to insert "a conviction on indictment of".

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: On the basis already discussed, it may stand part of the Bill for the present.

Criminal Justice Bill 2007: Report Stage (Resumed) (4 Apr 2007)

Michael McDowell: I saw it, but do not agree with it.