Results 9,101-9,120 of 15,268 for speaker:Kathleen Lynch

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I believe that the Minister has moved significantly, especially with regard to the waiting period. If we were to go along with the recommendation of the Law Reform Commission, a body for which I have a great deal of time and respect, the waiting period would be longer. The Minister has moved significantly on this and, as Senator Bradford said, this legislation is not set in stone. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Amendment No. 35 replaces Schedule 3, as Parts 1 and 2 of that Schedule are redundant with the linking of the Bill to the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Bill 2012, as per amendment No. 19. Part 3 of Schedule 3 has been amended to provide for membership of the Reserve Defence Forces and the Garda Reserve, which are not covered by the references to employment in the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: We had this discussion at the start. We cannot control what other countries demand of people who wish to live there and they cannot control what we do. The reason we have differences, in terms of lengths of time and length of convictions covered, is that different jurisdictions treat things differently. An offence in another country, which we may consider very serious, may well be treated...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Amendment No. 28 provides that a person applying for an authorisation as a driving tester must disclose all convictions. The relevant regulations had not been commenced when the Bill was published last May but were commenced recently. Amendments Nos. 29 and 30 are minor drafting amendments to take account of the insertion of new paragraph (b).

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Amendment No. 32 corrects a drafting error. The word "not" was omitted in error from paragraph (4) of Part 1 of Schedule 1. The offence under section 3 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 2006 of defilement of a child under the age of 17 provides that where the person over 17 is not more than 24 months older than the person under 17, the person may not be subject to the provision of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Having listened to the arguments made in the House and by interested parties outside it, the Minister has decided to reduce the maximum relevant or waiting period by two years from seven to five years and to make consequential changes to all other relevant periods so that the minimum time a person must wait before a spent conviction becomes spent will be just two years. I think most people...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: If the amendment had been drafted differently, it would still have had unintended consequences which we could not possibly allow.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I point out a typographical error in the amendment. The (a) on line 1 of page 4 is superfluous and should be deleted, with the subparagraph renumbered accordingly. In the first instance, the amendment is designed to limit the disclosure required in respect of insurance fraud to convictions relating to such fraud. The Bill, as drafted, would require a person who had been convicted of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Generally speaking, unless states have reciprocal arrangements for the recognition of spent convictions, they do not recognise spent convictions in their respective jurisdictions. This is done for good reason, namely, that penal systems vary greatly around the world and that which merits a lenient sentence in one country may merit a harsh sentence in another country and vice versa. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Amendment No. 26 is being inserted for the avoidance of doubt. It is possible to read section 9(5) as requiring anyone moving between any of two positions with the same employer to disclose any spent conviction, if asked. Instead, what is intended is that this only applies where a person is moving to relevant work, as defined in the Bill, with the same employer. For example, it may be the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: We all know people like the person outlined in Senator Cullinane's contribution but the Sinn Féin amendment seeks to remove the two conviction limit from the legislation altogether. The Government has made it clear from the start that the legislation is aimed at the person who makes a mistake, perhaps in his youth, and who now wants to get on with his life. There is no argument there. It...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Sometimes, no matter how one wishes to address particular issues, one must also be conscious of what is the public mood at any particular time. I was glad to hear Senator Cullinane observe the Minister with overall responsibility probably is one of the most liberal. In addition, he does not assume that he knows all things or that no one else has reasonable or good suggestions and he has...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Amendments Nos. 8 and 12 are minor drafting amendments. Amendment No. 8 deletes the phrase "in respect of the offence", which is unnecessary as it is used in the introductory part of the definition. Amendment No 12 inserts the phrase "for a period specified by" for consistency between paragraphs (b) and (d) of this definition.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: The Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill is closely related to the National Vetting Bureau (Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act 2012 that was enacted before Christmas. In respect of children and vulnerable persons, the Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill requires that any person wishing to work with such persons must disclose all past convictions, including any that would...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: No, they will not stand.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Basically, the Government is not asking that this be done under this legislation but under the vetting legislation.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Yes.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: Report Stage is scheduled for next Tuesday and it is normally followed by the Fifth and final Stage. The Department hopes the Bill will be enacted as soon as possible and no one wishes to delay it. I will read out the lengthy official response as it explains the reasoning behind the Government's position. As Senator Bradford has rightly pointed out, the proposal is not entirely new. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Spent Convictions) Bill 2012: Committee Stage (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: I thank the Cathaoirleach. As Members will be aware, the Minister for Justice and Equality is detained elsewhere this evening. Amendments Nos. 1, 2, 16 and 18 address an oversight in the Bill. The Bill provides, in the definition of effective date of conviction, that where a community service order is revoked under section 11 of the Criminal Justice (Community Service) Act 1983, the...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Motorised Transport Grants (30 Jan 2013)

Kathleen Lynch: The Ombudsman recommended that the Department should revise the definition of disability in the circular governing the Motorised Transport Grant having regard to the broad definition of disability set out in the Equal Status Acts. In addition she requested, among other things, the HSE to review applications previously made in Donegal having regard to the broad definition of disability in the...