Results 6,861-6,880 of 16,849 for speaker:Dermot Ahern

Seanad: Land and Conveyancing Law Reform Bill 2008 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages. (9 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I thank everyone concerned, my officials in particular, whom I forgot to thank as regards the Defamation Bill. They have laboured long and I want to put on record my thanks for the work they did on that legislation. Equally, I am thankful for the work the officials behind me did in relation to this Bill. I want to thank the Law Reform Commission. A number of people attached to the...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We did not draft it.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I thank Senators for acknowledging that we have put significant checks and balances in the Bill concerning the implications of the Laffoy judgment. In my 21 years as a practising solicitor, from 1976 to 1997, I had some practical experience of the use of instalment orders, garnishee orders and judgment mortgages, to try to use every trick in the legal book to get money or, as they say, blood...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Did I say "debtor"? I meant to say "creditor". The 1940 Act is an old Act but we have put in a range of balanced safeguards and protections. We took into account what Senators said yesterday. We consulted the Attorney General on the safeguards and we are satisfied those built into the Bill are correct. We have gone further in the legislation in that no debtor can be imprisoned until the...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: As I mentioned in dealing with Senator Regan's amendment, in light of discussions yesterday, we talked overnight to the Attorney General on this. There were two helpful amendments from Senators Bacik and Alex White and we have incorporated the main points made in those into this amended paragraph. New paragraph (c) provides that the summons will set out in ordinary language the options...

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: It is a bit like the Minister.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: In defence of the Leader of the House, to be fair I had no conversation with him on this matter. We listened to the comments that were made by Senators overnight. We are amenable to amend legislation based on the comments people make.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: To be fair to the Leader of the House, obviously because of the time pressure we wanted this legislation finished as soon as possible so we could take it into the Dáil on Friday.

Seanad: Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Bill 2009: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Overnight we consulted with the Office of the Attorney General on the amendment and it sees no necessity to amend the section. Section 6(10) commences "Where a debtor is imprisoned on foot of an order made under subsection (7)(c) or (d)". We believe that is sufficient in that it links the two and there should be no doubt as to the amounts payable, the sum of money consisting of the amount...

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The Deputy had a contract.

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Absolutely.

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: They are soundbites.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: Including in the GMS.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I am advised by the Parliamentary Counsel that the words Deputy Ó Snodaigh proposes to insert are superfluous and, therefore, unnecessary. The definition of "press council" is framed on the basis of the meaning assigned to it by section 44. That section, in turn, already refers to the minimum requirements of the press council, as detailed in Schedule 2. It is not considered necessary to...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We discussed this matter previously. The idea of the Bill is that membership of the Press Council would be voluntary, but the Deputy's amendment suggests that it be obligatory. While we would all like every media organ to be a member of the Press Council, it would not be correct to force it. I cannot accept the amendment.

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, to delete lines 5 and 6 and substitute the following: "5.-(1) The Minister shall, not later than 5 years after the passing of this Act, commence a review of its operation. (2) A review under subsection (1) shall be completed not later than one year after its commencement.". On Committee Stage we inserted a new section 5, which provides for a review of the...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The amendment states: "The Minister shall, not later than 5 years after the passing of this Act, commence a review of its operation." As a review could commence after one year, it is wrong to suggest that the time might be six years. I would hazard a guess that six years would be at the outside. I accept that, since the Press Council is a non-statutory organisation, it is important to pass...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: According to the article, "The Irish Times and the Sunday Tribune are refusing to publish Press Council judgments that partially upheld complaints against stories written by their journalists". Professor Mitchell stated: "Failure to do so not only flies in the face of the articles of association under which the Press Council has been established, but also may fall to be considered under the...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: We discussed this matter on Committee Stage. We believe the amendment to be unnecessary as we are unaware of any instance of a person who had only a secretarial involvement in the handling or preparation of a statement alleged to be defamatory being the subject of a defamation action. My advice is that it would be unwise and impractical on the basis proposed to exempt any party as a...

Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages (8 Jul 2009)

Dermot Ahern: The advice from Parliamentary Counsel is that the proposed deletion of "in particular" would remove the requirement that a possible defamatory statement should be clearly understood to refer to a particular person within a class of persons. As I pointed out on Committee Stage, the proposed deletion could conceivably allow a multiplicity of actions by all members of a particular class of...