Results 4,121-4,140 of 8,986 for speaker:Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

Choice of Court (Hague Convention) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Second Stage (8 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill. It should ensure that the Hague Convention on choice of court functions smoothly in this jurisdiction. It should increase legal certainty in commercial relationships involving EU and non-EU parties. Party autonomy in a choice of forum promotes business-to-business efficiency by providing certainty and predictability in international transactions. When...

Sentencing Council Bill 2015: First Stage (8 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move:That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to establish a Sentencing Council and to provide for related matters. A Sentencing Council already operates in England and Wales, providing sentencing guidelines to the Judiciary. This has ensured that sentences handed out for criminal offences in their courts are consistent and accountable across the board. Concern has arisen...

Sentencing Council Bill 2015: First Stage (8 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Can I get a copy of the groupings please? I apologise for this, I thought I had a copy of them but it seems I do not.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 3:In page 7, line 15, to delete “the Minister” and substitute “a member of the judiciary, as delegated by the Chief Justice”. I attended a seminar organised by the Law Society of Ireland and Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Fitzgerald, spoke at the event. Conor Brady is a former member...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I am deeply disappointed with that response. I though the proposal put forward that day was a very good one. What we are trying to achieve here is not just another layer of accountability for the Garda Síochána but to have a policing authority which has real teeth and the power to hold An Garda Síochána to account and which can capture the imagination and, more...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: My concern is that one assumes there may be an occasion the Minister would have to consult with the Attorney General. Would that advice be privileged and, therefore, not be published?

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Yes.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I move amendment No. 6:In page 7, line 16, to delete “the Minister” and substitute “a member of the judiciary”.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I will argue along the same lines as Deputy Wallace. Dr. Vicky Conway made a submission to the justice committee in respect of authority in this area. It is appropriate and in order to do so. Respected analysts in the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, have been mentioned. It is important to take stock of why we are here. We have had a number of crises and scandals in my county...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I am. Everything I have said is connected to-----

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is very unfortunate that whoever makes these decisions has batched together a very large number of amendments.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I can speak only in general. I do not have time to go through each amendment.

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: If the Chairman is willing to work with me, I am willing to take as long-----

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: I appreciate that. I will take my time. The Chairman is correct. I probably should have been more specific. Amendments Nos. 9 to 21, inclusive, deal with the Garda Commissioner. Amendments Nos. 23 to 35 refer to the deputy commissioner. Amendments Nos. 37 to 62 deal with the issue of directly appointing officers from sergeant up to superintendent. A provision in the Bill allows the...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: It is fairly self-evident what I did. My amendments deal with seven separate issues. The Government is severely undermining the independence of the policing authority with the powers it is retaining. Our amendments aim to give the authority the independence it needs. If these are rejected, then the Opposition could not stand over the claim that there is an independent policing...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: This is an issue on which our committee did a good deal of work. We went to the North and to Scotland to examine their models and made recommendations. One of the issues we engaged with was separating policing from security responsibilities but what has come to pass now is that because An Garda Síochána is unique in the developed world in that its members retain responsibility...

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: Would the Minister of State be agreeable to receiving a submission for deliberation by the Minister ahead of Report Stage?

Select Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Síochána (Policing Authority and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2015: Committee Stage (7 Oct 2015)

Pádraig Mac Lochlainn: If the Attorney General receives the submission but continues to hold the position that her analysis is correct, I assume the Minister would take that guidance and continue on this course, as is the intention, but the implications are profound. We have a unique situation where the Garda is responsible for policing and security. I cannot emphasise the seriousness of that. Given the way we...