Results 3,641-3,660 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: It is not for me to decide here on the floor of the House whether I should hold a referendum. That is a matter for Government to propose and for the Oireachtas to dispose of. The Government has no plans to hold a referendum on blasphemy in the immediate future. However, as the Deputy knows, the programme for Government did indicate the possibility of referendums on a number of issues being...
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: No, I did not.
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: To answer the first part of the Deputy's question, the last words of my original reply to the House were: "I would be happy to propose to the Government a referendum on blasphemy at the appropriate time." I did say that, given the fact that the programme for Government indicated there would be two or three referendums in the lifetime of the Government, if memory serves, it may be appropriate...
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: I am sorry?
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: No; I referred to the referendum taking place at the appropriate time.
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: No decision has been made in that respect. As the Deputy knows, having been in Government for a short time-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: -----a Minister cannot make such a decision in the House. It must be made by Government. To come to the second part of the Deputy's question about how we would deal with the article in the Constitution - whether to remove it altogether and say nothing on the subject, or go along with the recommendations of the Joint Committee on the Constitution - all of these things will be taken into...
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: No, I am sorry-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: I just want to indicate what the Deputy said in the committee.
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: I am not filibustering. Deputy Flanagan said on 25 May, on Committee Stage-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: I asked him a direct question about whether it is Fine Gael policy to have a referendum on blasphemy at the same time as the referendum on the Lisbon treaty and he said he was not saying that.
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: I am just making the point that there was a suggestion, back at that time, that we would tack it on to the Lisbon treaty referendum. The wiser-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: No, it was not from me - absolutely. The Deputy agreed with any suggestion-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: That suggestion was out in the ether-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: -----but the Government was absolutely adamant that we did not want a referendum to be tacked on to the Lisbon treaty referendum, and we were quite right. As I said, there may be an appropriate time at a later stage-----
- Referendum on Blasphemy. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: -----between now and the end of this Government's term to hold such a referendum. I am more than willing to present a proposal to Government to have a referendum on that article. I do not know whether it will be held along with the referendum on the rights of the child, the one on the court of civil appeal, some other referendum, or perhaps in conjunction with all of these. We will wait...
- Jury Intimidation. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: Jury intimidation is a serious matter which goes to the heart of our criminal justice system. The Government is committed to ensuring the integrity of the jury system, and it was because of my concern about this matter that I introduced specific legislative measures to counteract this problem. Section 41 of the Criminal Justice Act 1999 creates the offence of harming, threatening or menacing...
- Jury Intimidation. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: The idea of availability of panels of jurors is governed by section 16 of the Juries Act 1976, which provides that every person is entitled to inspect a panel of jurors and that a party to any proceedings, criminal or civil, to be tried with a jury is entitled to a copy of the panel. My view on the intimidation of witnesses is clearly-----
- Jury Intimidation. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: -----dictated to by the way in which I heralded the amending legislation to the Criminal Justice Act through this House.
- Jury Intimidation. (25 Mar 2010)
Dermot Ahern: The portent of this question is the intimidation of witnesses.