Results 5,001-5,020 of 14,127 for speaker:David Stanton

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I was not frustrated.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: No.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I am pleased to introduce this amendment, which would provide for the right of a victim to be accompanied in court by a support worker when the victim is giving evidence during the accused person's application for bail, including in circumstances when the public has been excluded. A victim's right to be accompanied in court by a support worker was added into various other enactments within...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: It is an interesting amendment and debate. At present, training has been provided to all State solicitors. Both administrative and legal staff of the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions have received training. An Garda Síochána and prosecutors nationwide have received training. The Irish Prison Service and the Courts Service have also undergone training to enable...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: This is a large and very important group of amendments but the majority are of a technical nature. As all Members know, the Bill was published in December 2016. Two months later, in February 2017, the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2017 was enacted. Among the wide-ranging provisions introduced in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act were changes to the Criminal Evidence Act 1992...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: It is about a victim giving evidence through a live television link. That is the first subsection, as the Senator can see. Subsections (b) and (c) state: "whether, under section 14(1A), the interests of justice require that it direct that questions be put to the victim through an intermediary, or (c) whether, under section 14A(2), the interests of justice require that it direct that a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I thank the Senators for this amendment. Since 1992 it has been possible to use intermediaries in certain court proceedings to facilitate the questioning of witnesses. This Bill will extend that possibility, subject to the decision of the court, to all child victims. However, the use of intermediaries has not become common practice in the years since the statute was enacted. While there...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I have listened carefully and I do think the amendments have merit. They are worthy of consideration and there is no doubt about that. However, as drafted, there is a risk they could lead to inconsistent treatment of people in the same circumstances. We must give a lot of consideration to avoid unintended consequences or even the constitutionality of it. A better place to look at this...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: The Senator is right when he says we have the privilege of having expert analysis from the Department, the Office of the Attorney General and beyond. The expert advice to us is not to accept these amendments for the reasons given. This is the expert advice. I will be more than happy to accept amendments if I am advised otherwise, but I am advised by the Office of the Attorney General and...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I am not sure where that came from. It certainly did not come from me. I am happy to accept any amendments that I can accept and if I am persuaded that they will not pose difficulties or that they are necessary. Amendment No. 15 is to be inserted into section 13 of the Criminal Evidence Act. However, it is not exactly clear where it is supposed to go. The words "the relevant offence" do...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I note from the amendment that the prosecutor "shall inform the court of the outcome of that assessment at the beginning of the trial of the offence at the latest". There would be no choice. It would have to happen. Section 18 provides that the prosecution shall have regard to the assessment report in determining what, if any, special measures to apply for. The prosecution will be in a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: That is implied. As it stands, there is no reason the prosecution cannot have a free hand. If we were to include what is proposed, it would actually tie the prosecution to making information available that might not need to be made available and, in some cases, should not be.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I would have to consider it very carefully because there are other issues to be considered. There is a reference to an assessment at the beginning of the trial and information being prejudicial during it. There are other things implied also. I do not believe the amendment is needed. It is not necessary in the first place and would possibly do more harm than good.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I am open to any other suggestions. However, section 7(2)(d)(i) and (ii) state that information shall be provided in relation to a decision not to prosecute a person for the alleged offence and that a summary of the reasons for the decision must be given. It also refers to information regarding the victim's right to request a review of the decision referred to in section 7(2)(d)(i) and the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: Amendment No. 7 provides that the prosecutor shall inform the court of the outcome of an assessment where the assessment has identified special protection needs. It is not entirely clear what is meant by the outcome of the assessment. If the outcome of the assessment is understood as the report of the results of an assessment and that report were to be given to the judge, there would also...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I thank the Senators for their thoughts on this. The impact or the effect of the amendment would be to require that sufficient information be given to a victim to allow him or her to decide whether to request a review of any decision not to proceed with or to discontinue an investigation, not to prosecute or to discontinue a prosecution or a decision to deal with a person other than by...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: The Senator makes the point for me in many ways by saying that a person in an office will make the decision and that is sufficient information. I would hope that he or she would be encouraged to give as much information as is needed to a victim in the circumstances to enable the victim to decide whether to seek a review. That is what we are talking about here. It would be impossible for...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: Unfortunately, I cannot speak to an amendment that has been ruled out of order.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: Resources will be allocated as required. Perhaps we can talk about it afterwards but I cannot go into this here.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Victims of Crime) Bill 2016: Committee Stage (27 Sep 2017)

David Stanton: I thank the Senators for their sincerity, work and thinking on this matter. I am always open to considering what the last speaker has suggested. There are other issues. This is focused on offences that are criminal in nature and are investigated by the gardaí. We are focusing on this where there is a clear victim. We also have to think about the structures, powers and capacities of...