Results 3,241-3,260 of 4,787 for speaker:Aodhán Ó Ríordáin

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: In this Bill.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: There is more than just this Bill when it comes to the working group report.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am pre-empting the Senator's-----

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I have a good guess.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: In response to Senator Norris, the rights of the child are implicit and explicit throughout this Bill. As for amendment No. 31, I again revert to the entire point of this Bill, which is that someone who is seeking asylum in this country, be that an asylum seeker or someone seeking protection, will, as a result of this Bill, be in the system for six months. Therefore, all these reasonable...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: Members are giving examples from the current position, which is not working, as opposed to the position the Government hopes and expects will work when somebody is in the system for a number of months only. I also note it is very seldom that an applicant is made subject to reporting requirements and there normally is a good reason for this. In practice, An Garda Síochána already...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: In effect.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: It is not specified in the Bill that applications will be processed within six months. There is no specific timeline in the Bill but the entire intent of the Bill is to ensure the putting in place of a single procedure to avoid a repeat of what I might suggest is the current chaotic system.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The intent is for six months. I totally accept the Senator's point that direct provision, for example, was supposed to be a six-month holding situation but has turned into a long-term solution, if one likes. It is just like how, when rent allowance initially was brought in, it was meant to be an emergency payment for people at risk of homelessness but has turned into a 12-year or 15-year...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I will not be responding further.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: It is not usual in legislation of this nature to have timelines installed.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: It is not what is generally done. That is the whole point of the Bill. There would be no point in having a Bill with a single procedure unless we were trying to speed up the entire process and make the system work an awful lot better. The biggest problem that people come back to us with repeatedly is the length of time. The whole point of this Bill is the length of time, so to suggest...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I cannot agree with the Senators’ amendment as all applicants have access to legal assistance within the meaning of the Civil Legal Aid Act 1995.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I cannot agree to the proposed changes as section 20 clearly provides for the circumstances in which an applicant can be detained. Section 20(1) states:(a) poses a threat to public security or public order in the State, (b) has committed a serious non-political crime outside the State, (c) has not made reasonable efforts to establish his or her identity, (d) intends to leave the State and...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: The garda or immigration officer has to comply with one of the reasons as stated in the Bill. The very suggestion that somebody would be arrested for the sole reason of seeking asylum is preposterous.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: That is the determination that we give the garda to make a reasonable case in that regard.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: In all these cases, gardaí will have to show reasonable cause. This is what happens in all these instances. They cannot arrest somebody without reasonable cause whereby one of the listed criteria is met. Without reasonable cause, they would be outside the remit of the Bill. They have to establish reasonable cause.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: With regard to amendment No. 42, I cannot agree to the deletion of the reference to “arrest without warrant” at the start of section 20. This is a necessary first step and provision is also made, in any event, for a person having been so detained to be brought before the District Court as soon as is practicable. The court would have to be satisfied as to the justification of...

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (7 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: This is a minor amendment to subsection (14) to effectively replace the term "solicitor" with the term "legal representative". The term "legal representative" is preferred because it is defined in the interpretation section of the Bill as meaning a practising solicitor or barrister.

Seanad: International Protection Bill 2015: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2015)

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin: I am not going to read out the report for the Senator. I am not going to go through the 26 recommendations that are covered and those that are not. I am here to speak on the Bill. If the Senator wants me to speak on amendments, I will do so. If he wants me to go through the entirety of the working group report on the protection process, I will not do so. The report is an historic...