Results 201-220 of 3,690 for speaker:Lynn Ruane

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I thank Mr. Leitão da Silva.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I am sorry, but I am going to have to move on, unfortunately.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: Deputy McNamara is next.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: Sometimes when conversation goes back and forth and there are so many discussions, be they about decriminalisation or increasing drug use, what people hear concerns me somewhat. I will repeat how I understand things to be. Drug use is not just increasing in places where decriminalisation exists. Sometimes there seems to be an effort in conversation to mention decriminalisation at the same...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I like the confidence with which Mr. Leitão da Silva speaks about the police force in Porto. Every time a concern is raised about the grey areas of policing and how you can follow that thread regarding whether someone is being used to carry drugs for a drug dealer under a certain model, Mr. Leitão da Silva keeps coming back to the point that this is an issue for policing. There is...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: On that social response, we think of harm reduction as a stand-alone thing and separate to decriminalisation. Some people may think that we can either invest in harm reduction and reduce the harm of problematic drug use for individuals or bring in decriminalisation, which some believe is somewhat separate. Would Mr. Leitão da Silva agree that decriminalisation is actually a harm...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the witness. I am aware that Mr. Leitão da Silva will need to leave our call but one member has come into the room. I apologise to Deputy McAuliffe. We have only a few minutes because the commander must cut off the call.

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the witnesses for the presentations. Sometimes, there is a fear. People fear that politicians moving towards a response to drug use in a health way is somehow saying that addiction or something is okay. There is this shift that does not seem to happen in people's head in that you cannot police your way out of addiction. The response to addiction is never a policeman, a judge or a...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: It is very interesting to read the Official Report of the Irish Parliament when it was introducing the drugs Act. It took a few years to pass. Most of the commentary at the time did not support criminalisation at all. Politicians very much spoke about how they did not feel people should be criminalised for possession of drugs. They then set up a special committee, which at the time - this...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation: Discussion (Resumed) (11 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: That trend will follow into those conversations with the Garda. I am always struck by the reluctance in Ireland. It is as if the Garda profession is somehow above criticism or reform. It does not sit well with me because I look at policing from the perspective of improving it in order to keep everyone safe and improve everyone's lives. It is not a personal thing. Rather, it is looking at...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: In practice, I know that Canada has a combination of civil and common law and I would have to compare our drugs Act here with how it would apply in British Columbia, but if the legislation were not an issue, what would be the ideal scenario from a policing perspective? Is it just that open-air use would be regulated in the same way as, say, the alcohol industry, rather than the rowing back...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I thank Ms Wilson. I will quickly address Mr. Russoniello. I visited Portland, Oregon, and met some of his colleagues early on. It definitely was not given enough time. Mr. Russoniello mentioned this in his statement but at the time, the funding to increase service provision was not introduced at the same time as the measure was passed. It also seemed that a specific area of downtown...

Committee on Drugs Use: Decriminalisation, Depenalisation, Diversion and Legalisation of Drugs: Discussion (Resumed) (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I thank the two contributors for their presentations. There is a lot to think about. On first listen, people might feel frightened or cautious but it should be taken as an opportunity to look at how to undertake decriminalisation, rather than reasons for not doing it. It is about what remits and regulations should and what service provision needs to coincide with that. It is interesting...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I move amendment No. 11: In page 20, line 35, to delete “any” and substitute “a”. This is a simple amendment that seeks to address the concerns we have in regard to the insertion of section 68KG and section 68KH into the principal Act. Section 68KG allows for recipients of jobseeker’s pay-related benefit to be cut or even for them to be disqualified if...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: When we seek to scrutinise policy, none of us is ever speaking about staff. When there is criticism of a policy, it is not about a lack of appreciation for staff. For the Minister then to say she knows her staff and how humane they are personalises the points someone else is making. It is as if they are being personal about employees when that is obviously not the case. It is not an...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: I fully understand and accept the intention but the experience is prescribed. It states that if you do not attend or participate in the scheme, you will potentially lose the benefit. Therefore, it is not of your own free will or off your own bat. The legislation actually implies that if you do not engage, you could lose your payment. That is a really big issue because it forces people...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: To be very clear, nobody is saying anything about people engaging or looking for work. I do not know whether the Minister is responding purposefully to confuse what we are saying or whether she does not actually understand what we are saying the legislation states. The legislation as it stands is not above scrutiny.The legislation states that it is if you do not engage with the prescribed...

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: Everything has changed.

Seanad: Social Welfare (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (9 Jul 2024)

Lynn Ruane: It does not matter. It existed previously but there are issues with it there too. Nobody should do work experience for whatever minimum or maximum rate of social welfare they are on. Work experience should not factor as an option to receive social welfare. If you are doing work experience in a factory, an office, Google or wherever, you should be doing it for the same rate of pay or...