Results 161-180 of 981 for speaker:Barry Ward

Seanad: EU Regulations (Europol): Motion (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit ar ais go dtí an Seanad. It is entirely appropriate that the Houses of the Oireachtas have a say in the Government's response to the regulation and that a motion be passed in both Chambers. On behalf of the Fine Gael Party, I say that we support the Government's motion and the regulation. When looking at the matter, and in the context of...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: In response to what Senator McDowell said, I must point out that this is very important legislation which provides a vehicle for all practitioners but probably principally defence practitioners to explore evidential issues before getting to the trial stage. Many of these issues are now resolved at the beginning of a trial after the jury has been empanelled and very often while they are...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 1: In page 8, to delete lines 1 to 7 and substitute the following: “(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), the trial court shall, where— (a) an accused is charged with a relevant offence, and (b) the prosecution or the accused makes an application to the court for a preliminary trial hearing to be held, hold such a preliminary...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 2: In page 8, to delete lines 28 to 30. The amendment relates to section 6(6), which states: Where an accused has not been arraigned prior to a preliminary trial hearing in the proceedings concerned, the trial court may, where it considers it appropriate, direct that he or she shall be arraigned at the commencement of such a hearing. The amendment proposes the...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: To be clear, the reality as it stands is that a person is not required to indicate that he or she is pleading not guilty until he or she is put in charge of the jury at the beginning of the trial. While Senator McDowell has perhaps selected the example that would cause me to change my mind and I would not want a situation where a person was allowed to essentially pillory another person to...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I will not press it.

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, line 31, after “matters” to insert “inter alia”. The two amendments are linked in terms of the amending of section 2(7). This section sets down what the trial court may assess at a preliminary trial hearing. I have a small concern that it is unduly fettering the discretion of a judge. Amendment No. 3 inserts the words...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: In respect to what Senator Bacik said, I am not a Government Senator; I may be a member of a Government party but I have no more power over the Government in this House than Senator Bacik or any other Senator. Much is the pity, in my view, but that is the reality of the situation. It would be a real shame if we adopted the position that Government Senators should not table amendments. We...

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 4: In page 8, between lines 40 and 41, to insert the following: “(e) such other matter as the trial judge shall deem appropriate.”.

Seanad: Criminal Procedure Bill 2021: Committee Stage (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I suggest that already happens. It is already the case that when an accused goes to trial, it is open to him or her to challenge the evidence before the judge, in voir dire- in the absence of the jury - and to invite the judge to assess whether the evidence is appropriate to go before the jury. That two-step process, or the two bites of the cherry that Senator McDowell described, is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Data Protection Regulation: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: My question is primarily for the commissioner. I welcome the commissioner and acknowledge she has a very difficult position. I notice in the Data Protection Commission's annual report 2020 is referred to as being a platform or a stage for moving forward. I also acknowledge what the commissioner said today and I welcome that she said data protection is not an absolute right. Very often it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Data Protection Regulation: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: Does the Chairman mind if I follow up briefly on that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: General Data Protection Regulation: Discussion (27 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I am thinking of electoral registers that are legitimately available but there might also be copies of marked registers which show whether a person has voted, and they can go back a large number of years. Consolidating them compiles a great deal of information about the voters. Is it legitimate for that information to be brought together without the knowledge of those voters and perhaps for...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Code (30 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I thank the Minister of State for coming in to speak about this important subject. The Minister of State will be aware of the current rates of stamp duty being charged on the purchase of homes in Ireland. We are aware also that there is a significant shortage of housing which accounts for the rise in property prices in recent months and years. Stamp duty is, in real terms, a tax on...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Tax Code (30 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I understand the point the Minister of State is making but the figures he has given are half what they were in 2009. There is no mistake but that stamp duty is a tax on mobility and it disproportionately affects young people in Dublin. For people who want to buy a house in the Dún Laoghaire area, it is a very significant burden and it particularly affects first-time buyers, young...

Seanad: Personal Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2020: Report and Final Stages (30 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: I am very conscious of what Senator McDowell has said about not pushing his amendment and the basis for that. I know that the amendment is well intentioned but I feel that it would be appropriate to mention my concern. To pass this amendment would be to put on a statutory basis a need for the debtor to engage with the lender before ever going to a personal insolvency practitioner or to seek...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (7 May 2021)

Barry Ward: In the first instance, I seek leave of the House to move an amendment to the Order of Business to take No. 11, which is the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2021, before No. 1. The Leader will be aware of recent moves in parliaments throughout the world in terms of Taiwan and China's attitude towards Taiwan. Last night, I attended a meeting of the co-chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary...

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2021: First Stage (7 May 2021)

Barry Ward: I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 to modify evidential presumptions in a Tenancy Tribunal and to clarify where the burden of proof lies at such a tribunal.

Seanad: Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Bill 2021: First Stage (7 May 2021)

Barry Ward: Dé Máirt seo chugainn.

Seanad: Education (Leaving Certificate Examinations) (Accredited Grades) Bill 2021: Second Stage (7 May 2021)

Barry Ward: Ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an Aire freisin as ucht teacht anseo don tarna uair. Taispeánann sé dúinn an tsuim atá aici san ábhar seo agus an tábhacht atá ceangailte leis an ábhar seo freisin. We all recognise how important this is. Earlier, when I was speaking to a colleague, I asked him what he thought about the leaving...