Results 3,161-3,180 of 4,787 for speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I thank Senators for their comments. When debating this Bill, we all are united in our attempts to tackle this most heinous of crimes. The Senator refers to explicit material. There is a deliberate attempt among commercial enterprises to sexualise young people and children, to shorten their childhood and to make them aware of their sexual power above any other power. It is quite...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The purpose of amendment No. 3 is to allow the court to impose a fine instead of, or in addition to, a term of imprisonment on a person who is convicted on indictment of an offence under this section. A fine is already available as a penalty or part thereof for summary convictions under this section but was omitted in respect of convictions on indictment. It is unusual to provide both a...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: This is standard legal practice, it is not unusual. To not do it would be an anomaly. The amendment is a standard framing of penalties in the State. A range of penalties are available for offences in the Bill and it is a standard in the drafting of penalties for offences. It is not in any way to suggest that a fine in this area is an appropriate sentence, it is just the way that...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: To clarify one matter, I do not live in the leafy suburbs but in Ballybough, an area that has leaves.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Yes, although my house is not as big as the Senator's house.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I do not wish to diminish the seriousness of the topic we are discussing. On the issue of fines and mandatory prison sentences, mandatory imprisonment is limited to a small number of offences, namely, certain drugs and firearms offences. The sexual exploitation of a child is addressed in the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 and carries a penalty of a life sentence. We are dealing...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I refer Senators to the comments I made previously. If further clarification is required on the issue of additional fines and imprisonment, then we will be happy to provide it on Report Stage.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: We can examine it in the context of providing clarification and I have no difficulty doing so. As Senators stated, the definition is a sensitive issue. It is also a difficult one because different instances require different responses. In order to ensure there is clarity, we have no difficult in doing as I have outlined.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The amendment is passed.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The amendment has been passed and the justification for the amendment has been given. I have given an undertaking on the language provided in respect of the uncertainty of some Senators on the question of fines versus imprisonment as well as in respect of the definition of a child. We are happy to return to this issue on Report Stage to allay whatever fears Senators have.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The issue in respect of age of consent is addressed in section 17. The proposed section 17 includes a new section 3(8) of the 2006 Act and provides for a proximity-of-age defence where a person is charged with an offence against a child between the ages of 15 and 17 years. It shall be a defence that where the child consented to the activity and the accused is younger or less than two years...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Amendment No. 4 brings additional clarification to section 8. Section 8 creates an offence where a person communicates by means of information and communications technology with another person for the purposes of facilitating the sexual exploitation of a child. The offence is committed whether the perpetrator contacts the child directly or contacts a third person to facilitate the sexual...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Article 2 of the EU directive obliges member states to define child pornography as: "any material that visually depicts a child engaged in real or simulated sexually explicit conduct". In other words it covers the case of any real depiction of a child. The definition also includes:Any depiction of the sexual organs of a child for primarily sexual purposes; or "any material that visually...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The Minister thanks Senator van Turnhout for this amendment and will re-examine the drafting of paragraphs (c) and (d) to ensure that they cover comprehensively all persons who are or have been in a position of authority through a relationship with the parent of a child.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: This addresses a concern regarding whether a reference to being charged with an offence should refer to a defendant being charged or a person being charged. Substituting the wording "Where, in proceedings for" removes this concern and is consistent with the approach already taken in section 17(4).

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: On Second Stage, the Minister informed the House that she would introduce amendments to Part 3 of the Bill relating to the purchase of sexual services that further decriminalised the women and men involved in prostitution by removing those who offered sexual services from the existing offences of soliciting and loitering for the purpose of prostitution. Amendment No. 26 makes the necessary...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I join others in commending the Turn Off the Red Light campaign for the manner in which it has approached and campaigned on this issue locally, nationally and internationally. This proposal is being made following an examination of the Swedish approach by the Joint Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality. The Minister and I have deliberated on the matter with various interest groups in...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Arguments are always welcome. The argument for decriminalisation is that the seller is the vulnerable person. Prostitution is a demeaning, undermining and nasty industry. There is nothing glorious or glorified about it, contrary to what seems to have been suggested.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am given to understand that in some circumstances the impression is almost being given that this is a liberating sort of profession. This is an industry that undermines, devalues, dehumanises and demeans those involved in it, most of whom are women but some of whom are men. In this amendment, we are attempting to decriminalise these individuals to ensure they know-----

Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: -----they can approach the authorities, that help and support are available to them and that they are not criminals by virtue of having been lured or forced into this industry. The great majority of those involved in this industry are involved in it for reasons of poverty or addiction.The amendment criminalises the buyer, which is an appropriate response. That enables gardaí to...