Results 5,341-5,360 of 6,728 for speaker:John Curran

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I thank Senators for their comments and for their support of this amendment, which provides for the use of the word "shall" to channel the courts, in effect, towards the subsections I mentioned earlier.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I do not propose to accept the amendment. When we discussed the issue of attachment in the context of an earlier amendment, I gave a commitment to revert to the House on the matter tomorrow.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: No, it does not. It relates to the first amendment only. I envisage that the whole area of attachment orders etc., will be addressed in the Law Reform Commission's review. The legislation before the House is narrow in its scope. The most important point that has been made about the issue of attachment is that it is a necessary requirement. In that context, the constitutionality of the...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I understand where the Senator is coming from but I am advised that the amendment is unnecessary because it is already implicit in the order, where the debtor is imprisoned on foot of an order made under subsection (7)(c) or (7)(d).

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I am advised that it is unnecessary. To include it, from the drafters' viewpoint, would not achieve greater clarity because it forces one to refer back to the previous sections.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The advice is still the same to the effect that it is unnecessary, and I am not accepting the amendment.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: From the viewpoint of clarity, I do not want any misunderstanding. In reading out the phrase, the Senator added a bit that I do not have. He said, "for the avoidance of doubt, failure by a debtor to comply", whereas the amendment before me reads "Failure by a debtor to comply". I want to get clarity in that regard.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: That is all right. I do not wish to further confuse the matter.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I do not want to be accused of adding in something or taking something out. As the Senator reads the amendment, it is: "Failure by a debtor to comply with subsection (5)(a)(ii), without reasonable excuse, constitutes contempt of court, and the District Court judge may deal with the matter accordingly." I believe the objective is the same, namely, to provide a workable option for the...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The amendment is self-explanatory. The current provision obliges a Minister who is considering the release of a debtor in any circumstances to consult the District Court judge who ordered the debtor's imprisonment. The only condition currently is that the consultation may be practicable. The Attorney General has recommended the proposed amendment be incorporated to provide a workable...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I thank the Senators for their contributions.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: In my last point I said I did not envisage this provision having widespread use. The consultation with the judge is merely repeated from the 1940 Act. The amendment reduces the likelihood of any future consultation being undertaken. The Attorney General recommended that the proposed amendment be incorporated to provide a workable procedure to be followed in the future.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: Obviously I do not know if the section of the 1940 Act has been used. However, I reiterate that this comes with the advice of the Attorney General. As I said at the outset, the purpose of this legislation was not to revisit all the other issues that arose here today. I believe there will be more substantial legislation on foot of the Law Reform Commission's proposals in due course.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I accept the logic behind Senator Regan's amendment but we are primarily concentrating on amending the relevant portions of the 1940 Act, rather than the 1926 Act to which he referred. I do not intend accepting the amendment at the moment but the matter will be examined as part of the ongoing Law Reform Commission's review. Senator Regan made a point, which I intend to pursue, on the court...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee Stage (7 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I will reconsider it. I specifically asked my officials to examine it, particularly with relevance to the High Court ruling of 18 June and to make sure that the legislation complies with it. If necessary, an amendment will be brought forward when the Bill is taken in the Dáil.

Written Answers — Asylum Support Services: Asylum Support Services (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: I have received the report published by the Refugee Information Service in June. It provides a useful contribution to the debate on the post-second level education provided to adult refugees, persons with leave to remain and persons granted subsidiary protection. It does not, I believe, acknowledge the amount of initiatives that are already in place. Vocational Education Committees provide...

Written Answers — National Drugs Strategy: National Drugs Strategy (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: As the Deputy is aware, the Dial to Stop Drug Dealing Campaign was launched on September 30th of last year. To date, almost 4,000 calls have been made to the phone line, and over 1,000 information reports have been made to the Gardaí as a result. The Gardaí have confirmed that there have been 9 reports received to date in relation to Westmeath and 7 of these calls relate to Athlone. All of...

Written Answers — Security of the Elderly: Security of the Elderly (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Deputy will be aware that the decision to suspend the Scheme of Community Support for Older People was taken in the interests of stabilising the public finances and in the context of significant increases in demand under the Scheme in recent years. Applications to the value of €3.6m were approved under the Scheme in 2007 and this figure increased to €4.2m in 2008. On suspension of...

Written Answers — Community Development: Community Development (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The groups referred to by the Deputy would, in the normal course of events, be eligible to apply for funding under The Programme of Training Grants for Community and Voluntary Organisations operated by my Department. However, this Programme was suspended on the 27th February 2009 due to the current financial situation.

Written Answers — Security of the Elderly: Security of the Elderly (2 Jul 2009)

John Curran: The Scheme of Community Support for Older People was suspended on 7 April. This was done with a view to affording my Department the opportunity to review the Scheme's operation and to consult with interested parties over the next few months to address a number of concerns. My Department is in the course of processing applications received on or before this date in line with a commitment...