Results 2,601-2,620 of 5,871 for speaker:James Lawless

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: That concludes the Deputy's time slot, but Mr. Minish wanted to speak before we move on to the next member.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: Senator, you will have your chance when we do the next round.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I will move on to the next speaker. I see people shaking their heads. That is part of the process here. We have a debate and people express their opinions. They are entitled to do so. Other people may have different opinions and are equally entitled to express them. Deputy Costello has the floor.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I thank Deputy Costello and I welcome Deputy Gino Kenny. He has seven minutes to put his questions and comments.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I know Dr. McGovern made the point in a rhetorical sense, but we are not doing the same that we have always done. That is why we are here today; to have the discussion to see where we should go next.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: We are out of time for this block, so we will not have time for a question-and-answer session between witnesses.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: That concludes the round. I will invite members to come in a second time if they wish. Before that, I will take the opportunity to put my own questions. We have touched on this matter already but something that often comes to mind is that there is a drug which many enjoy socially, and have it with friends and family, at licensed premises and at home. A small minority struggle with it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: To what extent is it an accident of history? At one stage, opium dens were popular in polite society and cocaine, according to Sherlock Holmes, was frequently used in Baker Street and other places. Maybe there were economic, trade or political reasons that some substances were bad and some were not.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: Witnesses may feel free to disagree on different points. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have another question that arises from something Mr. Minish said earlier. It was an interesting observation on plant-based substances. Is there an argument for considering materials that grow organically in the ground whether mushrooms, as he suggested, a herb or weed, rather than something...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: Members wishing to contribute in the second round will have a shorter time of three minutes.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I will go to Deputy-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I call Deputy Gino Kenny. This is the final-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I know a couple of witnesses have their hands up or have indicated. They can come back in as part of this round.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I will give the last word to Mr. Minish who has been indicating for a while on the screen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I thank all the witnesses who came before us today. That concludes our examination of this topic. It was a very useful debate with many strong views. It is interesting that it is one of the more vehemently argued topics that we have had, and we have many topics across a range of issues at this committee. Certainly, the strong views are on all sides of the House on this one, which is good,...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: National Broadband Plan (7 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: 164. To ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment when the national broadband plan will be rolled out at an address (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36941/22]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: 210. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if he will expedite a passport application for a child (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36810/22]

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (7 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: 211. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if a passport application (details supplied) will be expedited; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36814/22]

Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: Under the 1996 Act, it was common practice to have codes of practice for different sectors. That is a good idea. The stakeholders in this Bill, in the telecommunications and other sectors, said it would be very helpful. It was always done in the past under previous legislation. It would be helpful if the Minister would consider accepting that amendment. That would help the legislation to...

Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (6 Jul 2022)

James Lawless: I am afraid that I do not quite follow the argument that things and personnel can change. We accept the Minister's good faith in terms of her intent to bring forward legislation in six or 12 months. If that was the case, we would all be relieved. It is not second-guessing the Minister. It is second-guessing events because we do not know what the future holds, what Minister may be in...