Results 9,001-9,020 of 9,393 for speaker:Alex White

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: If there is to be a quorum, it should be a requirement that the majority of the seven members of the quorum be public interest representatives. In those circumstances Senator Mullen's proposal is not unreasonable. The Minister might suggest that type of governance issue might be more properly left to the Press Council itself — I cannot anticipate what he might say. It seems to have...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Freedom of the press is a very important element of any democracy. This legislation has been vitally important to that debate and in securing a robust regime — if I can use that word — of freedom of expression in this jurisdiction. We know it also has an important constitutional underpinning. We have better tuned the balance that needs to be provided for as to a person's good name and...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I move amendmentNo. 35: In page 20, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: "(d) as far as practicable, he or she made a reasonable attempt to obtain in advance and publish a response from the person to whom the publication related, and". I am still gathering myself after all the confusion and excitement of the vote. I will wait to hear what the Minister has to say about the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: That is correct and I do not propose to press the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I thank the Minister for taking on board the points made on Committee Stage by my party on this aspect of the legislation. From what he has said, he appears to have taken on board our points very well. In such circumstances, I do not propose to press my amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I also welcome the amendment brought forward by the Government side. It meets a considerable amount of the debate we had on Committee Stage. I strongly support the general direction of this Bill, as I indicated before. I also support section 22 and what it seeks to achieve, in particular the change in our law such that the carrying of an apology will not be relevant to the determination of...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Am I correct that amendments Nos. 31 and 32 are being dealt with within this group?

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I realise that. However, I was unsure what amendments we were discussing now. Are amendments Nos. 31 and 32 included in this group?

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I want to record my support for section 24. Regrettably, I find myself in disagreement with some of my colleagues on this side of the House. However, that happens. I await the Minister's response on the rationale for this section as outlined by him in previous debates. I believe there is clear rationale and logic for making a distinction in respect of what is often referred to as "the...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: Whatever the issues before the Supreme Court, this section has merit. I do not support those who seek that it be arrested. There exists an unanswerable logic and rationale for saying that we ought to regard, in the spirit of promoting public debate on matters of public concern, a man or woman in the public arena as being in a somewhat different position to the so-called little man referred...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: They both are my friends. Senator Norris said he was surprised — I know he was only teasing me but this issue is important as there is a serious aspect to it — that the Labour Party appeared to be aligning itself with the big media bosses and the press barons. On occasion, one finds oneself in the same camp as people with whom one does not particularly want to dine or be associated,...

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: While I might have a few minutes to reflect on the Minister's response, I understand that my party's amendments will fall if the Minister's amendment is accepted.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I will have a moment to consider them and reflect on the Minister's response.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I second the amendment.

Seanad: Defamation Bill 2006: Report and Final Stages (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I understand the argument made by Senator Norris in respect of this provision. On this occasion, as on the last, I respectfully must disagree with him. As I indicated when this was discussed on Committee Stage, the widest possible latitude must be given to the media in respect of the publication of opinion consistent with fundamental principles, such as the right of a plaintiff or a citizen...

Seanad: Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I would like to add my voice and that of the Labour Party to the tributes that have been paid to the former Senator and Deputy Kit Ahern. I was struck by a point made by Senator Harris, with which I strongly agree, that there is a tendency in our public debate and discourse to almost to write off people at a relatively young age or increasingly at a younger age. In particular in political...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: I, and I believe others, share the concerns expressed about how Cathal Ó Searcaigh has been treated by some sections of the media in recent weeks. I agree with remarks made in this House last week that an extraordinary suggestion appeared to have been made that his poetry should be taken off the leaving certificate syllabus. I disagree with that. It is not appropriate for this House to...

Seanad: Order of Business (11 Mar 2008)

Alex White: It is not appropriate that a committee of the Oireachtas should take on itself the role of deciding whether a programme should be broadcast. If there are concerns about illegality——