Results 1,801-1,820 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Inevitably, this discrimination will give rise to a constitutional challenge or a challenge under the European Convention of Human Rights.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: On the basis of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights in the Dudgeon and Norris cases, where the court rejected the idea that certain acts which were lawful for heterosexuals were unlawful for homosexuals, a strong case can and will be made for the proposition that it is illegal to provide that an act which is lawful for a girl is unlawful for a boy.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Our advice is that this outright discrimination will fail the test of constitutionality and of compliance with the European Convention on Human Rights.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Does that include injury time, Sir? On that basis the Government is just setting up the law, on which the public depends for certainty, for further crisis and challenge. That is above and beyond the bizarre and absurd position that girls will be criminally liable for foreplay but not for sex. To put it bluntly, the incoherence behind the current proposals is demonstrated by pointing to three...
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Even more bizarrely, if attempted sexââ
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: The Minister, Deputy O'Donoghue, should read the Bill himself. This is a fact. I know it is a surprise to him.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Even more bizarrely, if attempted sex takes place between two 16 year olds, they are both guiltyââ
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: ââof a serious crime, but if actual sex happens, they are not.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: It appears that girls can only achieve innocence if they perform full sex. I wish to raise another anomaly I have seen in the Bill. If the defendant believes a 14 year old is 15, it is a complete defence to a charge under section 2. Since section 3 is limited to sexual acts with persons over 15, a defendant cannot be charged with an offence under that section. Therefore, if somebody is...
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: The Minister should think before he mouths off.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: That is the advice I have given him for the past week.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: I also wish to refer to section 16 of the Criminal Evidence Act 1992. The Minister told the House at the end of last year virtually what he told us this morning. He sat on this proposal for years. Nothing has happened. Apparently, he telephoned the HSE this morning and was told it would come forward with its proposals shortly. On 29 November last year he also informed the House that the HSE...
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: I do not think so.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: I thought we were speaking about child safety.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Not by me.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: Two senior counsels have argued differently.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: It is contained in section 14 of the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act 1935.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: If I mayââ
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: If he consents, it is not a crime. That is the issue.
- Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2006: Second Stage. (2 Jun 2006)
Brendan Howlin: It was under the 1993 Act which is being repealed.