Results 6,241-6,260 of 7,777 for speaker:Joe Costello

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: Judge Henchy reported in 1978. It has taken us a while to get around to this but I compliment the Minister on addressing the issue and on his willingness to listen to our contributions. Sometimes we complain that Ministers do not listen to us but, on this occasion, the Minister has listened carefully and I thank him.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I move amendment No. 12: In page 4, between lines 15 and 16, to insert the following: 2.—Every order made by the Minister or by the Minister for Health and Children under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made. This is a fairly standard proposal to ensure there is some level of accountability in respect of these orders. We need some...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I thank the Minister. He is in good form this morning.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: This is a vexed issue. On Committee Stage we spent some time discussing the appropriateness of the designation of a prison or part thereof as a suitable designated centre. The recommendation in the Henchy report of almost 30 years ago was that special units would be established to provide for persons who needed some care and detention facilities. We do not have even one special unit. The...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: Do we know the current figure?

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I probably put a bad thought in the Minister's head.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: The thorny question is whether we need to go down the road outlined by the Minister. We need some clarification. What happens at the moment? Is there any statutory underpinning of the transfer system between the Central Mental Hospital and Mountjoy for exceptional cases? How often has this happened? What is the best medical advice on this? What are the numbers involved? Do we need a unit at...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I move amendment No. 22: In page 5, to delete lines 41 to 48, and substitute the following: "(c) If the determination under paragraph (b) is that the accused person is fit to be tried, the person shall be sent back by the court of trial to the District Court to enable that court to exercise its functions under the Criminal Procedure Act 1967.". I tabled this amendment on Committee Stage, and...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I move amendment No. 29: In page 7, between lines 33 and 34, to insert the following: "(2) Where a person has been found guilty of an offence, but prior to passing sentence the court becomes of opinion that the person is suffering from a mental disorder, the court having imposed a sentence may recommend that the sentence shall be served in a specified designated centre until such time as the...

Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: When the Tánaiste became Minister for Health and Children 18 months ago, she drew up a ten-point policy plan and foremost in the plan was the elimination of the crisis in accident and emergency departments, but that has not been done. Does she intend to review the plan or has it become a nine-point plan?

Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: This is a policy matter.

Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: The Tánaiste stated the Government's success would be judged on how she dealt with accident and emergency departments. This refers to policy and legislation. I deal with the Mater Hospital, in particular, in the Taoiseach's constituency. When will the accident and emergency department waiting lists in all Dublin hospitals be eliminated, which was her priority? When is a priority a priority?...

Order of Business. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: The Tánaiste should go back to her ten-point plan. She promised results within six months.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: What the Minister proposes is right, but it hinges on the definition of "mental disorder". A number of amendments to that definition are proposed also. The definition in the legislation reads: "mental disorder" includes mental illness, mental handicap, dementia, or any disease of the mind but does not include intoxication. The term "disease of the mind" is strange. The proposed amendment is...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: It is a pity that the grouping of amendment's could not have been divided up, as they cover much ground. Amendment No. 3 relates to the definition of "intoxication". I welcome the Minister's amendment on this. It improves the situation we debated on Committee Stage. However, I do not like definitions where the same word is used as a noun and an adjective. In the Minister's proposal, the noun...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: One could indeed. It could be a hallucination. Some sinister statistics might appear, which one knows are quite untrue but which may not appear to be quite untrue. To my mind, that could be a mental condition but I am not so sure that it is a mental disorder, so we should explore that particular definition.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: That would be an interesting addition to our definition. We could examine that but I suppose that is easily solved. One can deflate or puncture an ego fairly quickly too, so there are solutions to that condition without having recourse to medical practitioners. This House is a great way to ensure egos do not get beyond their normal, average size. I have some concerns about the definition...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I will graciously accept that.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: I move amendment No. 3: In page 4, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: ""intoxication" means in a state or condition induced by alcohol, a drug, or a combination of the two;". Will the Minister define "intoxication" in this context? Can the great minds of the draftspeople in the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform not find a synonym for this word?

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Joe Costello: Those are categories for a definition, this is an interpretation.