Results 5,181-5,200 of 6,375 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 157:In page 34, between lines 29 and 30, to insert the following: “Notice of appointment to be published 50.(1) Notice of an appointment to judicial office shall be published in Iris Oifigiúil and the notice shall, if it be the case, include a statement that the name of the person was—(a) recommended by the relevant committee to the Minister in...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Deputy O'Callaghan put it well. I ought to have acknowledged that he had included this in his original Bill, although it was brought to my attention via Dr. Patrick O'Brien. We have had a debate around whether or not the Government could be constrained. I am not convinced that it is unconstitutional but we have arrived at a decision in regard to that. What this does is clearly quite...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The point was made that it would be interfering with the unfettered discretion of the Government. The entire Bill is about putting fetters, to some extent, on the discretion of the Government. That is the purpose of the legislation. If the Government wanted unfettered discretion in appointing people to the Judiciary, then we would not have processes of this kind. It is perfectly...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I move amendment No. 160:In page 34, after line 36, to insert the following: “Statement to Houses of the Oireachtas 51.(1) Within 30 days after the end of each year, the Minister shall cause to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas a statement of appointments to judicial office made by the President during the previous year (not being appointments made before the commencement...

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: It is.

Select Committee on Justice and Equality: Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017: Committee Stage (Resumed) (15 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I support the amendment, with which I agree. As the provision is inserted after the words "have regard to", it is already implied.

Central Bank (Amendment) Bill 2018: Second Stage [Private Members] (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Déanaim comhghairdeachas leis an Teachta Doherty faoin mBille luachmhar agus tábhachtach seo. Tá ceart agus cóir ag baint leis. This State has never taken white-collar crime seriously enough. This Bill is a step in the right direction and a significant addition to the law. There is much more we need to do, however. What we need in particular is a shift in culture...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Like Deputy O'Callaghan and the Chair, I extend my sympathies to the Garda. I also congratulate the Garda on the quite considerable recent success in tackling the distribution of child abuse material. It was a considerable success in combatting a heinous crime. That is worth noting. I have a number of questions, some of which arise from Deputy O'Callaghan's questions and the first of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: The Garda Síochána opening statement states "that in July 2016, the Garda National Protective Services Bureau asked the Garda analysis service to conduct a comprehensive analysis of homicides with a domestic motive in the Republic of Ireland over a ten-year period". How did this issue first arise? How did it come to the attention of An Garda Síochána that there was a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I wish to clarify before Dr. Singh comments. Obviously there was something in those records and in the recording of cases which caused this review to begin, so what-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Is it fair to say that the concerns around the recording of data arose primarily due to discrepancies between files from the Office of the State Pathologist and the PULSE records?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Dr. Singh. My next question concerns the review. I do not refer to the independent peer review that has been announced, but the review of the initial group of cases. My understanding is that the Garda data analysts checked how deaths were classified in the crime records but did not have sight of the full case files. It was therefore not possible to check if homicide investigations...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Is it fair to say that one of the criticisms the Policing Authority made of this approach was that the people who were contacted with any further queries were in fact the same superintendents who were in charge of those initial investigations? As such, there was not really any independent oversight. They confirmed that they were satisfied that these investigations were carried out to the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Can Dr. Singh comment on this? Is what I have described an accurate characterisation? Does he agree that there were flaws in the independence of the process or with the people who were asked to clarify any possible queries?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I just want clarification on this peer review. Obviously, a review was under way already. An independent peer review has been announced. Is this a consolidated process or will two processes run parallel?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: This independent peer review will use all the previous work that has been done until now.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Obviously, what everyone wants to achieve is the full restoration of confidence in the process, the recording of offences and so on. One of the issues that I think is causing concern is the fact that we do not have even an indicative timeline. Is it possible to give an outside timeline, the latest date by which we could expect this to be completed? We have very little sense of when it will...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am afraid it does not. I appreciate the explanation and I am better enlightened but there was a specific question. When one is putting together a group such as this, there must be some sense of how long the process will take. If Mr. Sutton could offer either a minimum or a maximum, I think it would improve our confidence and the public confidence in this process. This cannot be an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Can Dr. Singh give even a minimum timeframe for the analysis part of this process?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Garda Homicide Statistics: Discussion (14 Feb 2018)

Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I have a number of other brief questions. I found the description of the events during Deputy O'Callaghan's questioning quite extraordinary. I find it remarkable that there was to be a discussion at the Policing Authority on 27 April and a report was furnished to the Policing Authority specifically on these matters and that Dr. Singh and his team did not have sight of it. I find this...