Results 1,661-1,680 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I believe it will be sent to the President.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank the Senators for their contributions. I appreciate that this legislation has been brought forward with great speed. It is not an emergency Act, as has been canvassed in the media and in the other House, rather it is an Act of the Oireachtas. It is important that we give due consideration to this legislation. I assure Senators that the Government and the Attorney General gave a...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: ——rather they are issues that require considerable deliberation. Even to produce legislation which deals with the immediate need to address the shortcomings that exist in our law as a result of the Supreme Court judgment requires a great deal of consideration. I assure Senators that the Government met on numerous occasions and required advice from the Attorney General on quite a range of...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I appreciate the point made by Senators Norris and Ormonde regarding the functions of Seanad Éireann, which primarily relate to the revision of legislation. In the Government's defence, it has agreed that many of the issues that cannot be visited in this legislation will be revisited in the context of all-party consultations. In addition, extensive all-party consultations preceded the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I entirely understand the spirit in which this amendment has been tabled. If one examines the legislation within its four corners, the obvious question arises of whether one is creating a difficulty by having two distinct offences. First, it should be noted that the offence in section 2 can be committed only regarding a person under the age of 16 at the time. Section 3 can apply only where...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I very much appreciate that the amendment was tabled. A similar amendment was tabled in the Dáil and, because of time constraints, it was not elucidated adequately——

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: ——in the one minute that remained in which to do so. The position is that section 7 addresses specifically the issue in question by adding offences to the list captured by the alternative verdicts legislation and other legislation. Notwithstanding Senator Norris's reservations that the Seanad has been short-changed, the fact that we can elucidate this point is very valuable. I appreciate...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: A number of issues have been raised by Senator Maurice Hayes. Under the Constitution, the Houses of the Oireachtas cannot declare acts to be infringements of the law retrospectively. That is very clear. Therefore, between the time of the Supreme Court judgment and this evening — I am assuming the President will accede to our request to sign the Bill into law but I do not want to be...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Absolutely. That is the position. All valid offences on the existing Statute Book are available to the prosecuting authorities. The exercise we are engaged upon in the Oireachtas today is to increase the armoury of the prosecuting authorities from the time the President signs this Bill. A substantial amount of legislation and a number of designated offences can be availed of. As the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank the Senators for their contribution on the section. Senator Mooney raised the point that every protection and assistance should be given to witnesses in a criminal trial involving a sexual offence and under the Criminal Evidence Act 1992 an ample legislative foundation has been laid for that. Under Part 3 of the 1992 Act, evidence by way of video link can be given by any child victim...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The victim has the right to be accompanied by a legal aid solicitor in this type of case and that has been the practice in recent years. Every criminal trial is a prosecution instituted in the name of the people of Ireland against a particular accused person. Counsel for the Director of Public Prosecutions, solicitors and necessary support staff represent the public interest in that context....

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Does the Senator want the peer group not to be subject to the Act?

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Yes.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I agree with Senator Maurice Hayes. An interesting question was raised by Senators Cox and Norris but it is one that must be raised in the context of the all-party discussions. It is clear from the debate in both Houses that there is no consensus on what should be the age of responsibility. Fine Gael has tabled an amendment suggesting there should be a lesser penalty, but its leader made an...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Section 258 of the Children Act 2001, which is commenced, deals with this position and provides for the expunging of the record of an offence committed by a person who has not attained the age of 18. There is, in effect, a detailed statutory scheme, under section 258 of the Children Act 2001, for the elimination of such records.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed). (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Senator Cummins's amendment refers to Part 7 of the Children Act 2001 and the Children's Court. That is, of course, a part of the Children Act 2001 which has been commenced and it places the Children's Court and its procedures on a statutory basis. The Children's Court deals with children who are charged summarily. That would exclude most offences under this Bill from its jurisdiction but...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: To which section is the Senator referring?

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: We are dealing not with section 5 but with section 3. I will be delighted to deal with the former in a few moments. I was addressing Senator Norris's amendments to section 3, which have no connection withsection 5. Senator Norris has tabled amendments seeking to substitute the word "reasonably" for that of "honestly" in the subsections relating to a defence of honest mistake regarding a...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The issues Senator Norris has raised are very important and the Government has agreed that they can be discussed on an all-party basis. However, they go beyond the scope of the legislation being introduced. Were the House to accept the proposals, it would remove substantially the protections afforded in existing legislation to persons under 17.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages. (2 Jun 2006)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I assure Senator Mooney that the Attorney General will be as thorough in his investigation into the matter in question as he was in the preparation of this Bill. On Senator Kenneally's point, the question of sentencing by the Judiciary is very far-reaching, but any fair-minded person looking at this legislation will see that very extensive maximum sentences have been laid down for the...