Results 2,621-2,640 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, line 20, to delete "inserted" and substitute "as substituted". I will not spend long on this amendment, as some of the others are more substantive. I am advised the word "inserted" should not be used and the appropriate legal term would be "as substituted". While I will not start a big row with as eminent a lawyer as the Minister, I have great faith in the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The Minister's belief in the consistency of parliamentary draftsmen is touching but it is not my experience.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: "(3) A defence available under the Act of 2006 shall be available in respect of an offence under this Act.". As I think the Minister addressed this issue in his contribution on Second Stage I do not propose to pursue the amendment.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 4: In page 5, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following subsection: "(3) The Schedule to the Act of 2006 is amended, in the row relating to the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993, in the third column of that row, by the deletion of "Sections 3 and 4" and the substitution therefor of "Section 3".". The Acting Chairman need only read out my name for the next...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Not at all. This amendment concerns the offence of gross indecency, which is a matter of controversy between my party and the Minister. The amendment attempts to restore an offence which has been deleted either by accident or design. That is the nub of the issue.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 5: In page 5, paragraph (a), between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following: "(1A) (a) A person commits an offence if— (i) he or she intentionally arranges or facilitates something that he intends to do, intends another person to do, or believes that another person will do, in any part of the world, and (ii) doing it will involve the commission of an offence under...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: From what I hear, he is better than the Government's draftsman.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: How does the Minister believe the offence of grooming, as distinct from the consequences of grooming, is illegal? That is what I do not understand. We do not have any dispute with all the other issues. The offence of grooming is the process of making contact maliciously with the intent of doing something else.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: At the risk of being beaten up by Labour Party lawyers, the Minister has a point in his argument about the amendment as it is drafted. I will deal with the consequences of this, I am well able for it. The Minister is conceding that grooming is not, per se, illegal in this country. That is a matter of concern. In party political nonsense I could beat the Minister over the head with this...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 6: In page 5, lines 38 to 40, to delete all words from and including ", having" in line 38 down to and including "occasions" in line 40. The Minister made a valid case in respect of a pattern of behaviour. The Labour Party was concerned about the person having to meet the child more than once.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I move amendment No. 7: In page 6, line 31, before "inviting" to insert the following: "in the case of a child who is more than 5 years younger than the person concerned,". The wording of section 6(b)(e), concerning the definition of sexual exploitation, is peculiar. The Minister stated that no court would entertain a charge but the Bill concerns the consequences of grooming. The section...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The Bill suggests any activity of a sexual nature is a form of exploitation. I will not engage in autobiography because it could be a banned book. It could be a case similar to the The Tailor and Ansty, with a large chunk of the Official Report being deleted because we do not want the nation to be corrupted.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Not yet, although it will be withdrawn due to time.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: Nobody argues with what the Minister says. However, I am thinking of the irate father who comes home to find his 16 and a half year old daughter, slightly dishevelled, with her 17 and a half year old boyfriend. The father is angry and knows the local Garda sergeant. I believe it would be possible to prosecute the 17 and a half year old for this if it were the couple's second or third date....

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: ——demanding that 17 year olds be prosecuted, but we ought to be clear about what the legislation means. I believe it means that teenagers, where one is over age and the other is under age or where both are under age, could be prosecuted for things which, to put it bluntly, most of us did.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: No.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: I will when I am ready. I will not hold up the House. I know what the Minister is trying to do but I also know that it means something different. I was a Member of this House when the first pro-life amendment was passed. We were going to defend this nation against abortion. However, that section of the Constitution ultimately resulted in the legalisation of abortion. One cannot have...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: The Chair is very keen for me to withdraw it. Is there some reason for that?

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Committee and Remaining Stages (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: While I fight with the Minister on everything and disagree with him about most matters, he is one of the more forthcoming members of the Government. It is worthwhile to engage with him on Committee Stage. I believe the Bill will present problems in criminalising matters that are not intended to be. The sooner proper codified sexual offences legislation is introduced the better because we...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2007: Second Stage (7 Mar 2007)

Brendan Ryan: That is hardly likely to have happened in the city as Bishop Murphy was in charge and he was a long way from such nonsense.