Results 9,141-9,160 of 11,861 for speaker:Brian Hayes

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Report and Final Stages. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Is it not the case that the only amendments the Minister of State can present to the other House are those put in this House? The Bill has already passed through the Dáil.

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Report and Final Stages. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: I thank the Minister of State and his officials for the time they put into the Bill which, as the Minister knows well, is a long time coming. While it is a technical Bill it is very important. It is important that there is consistency and absolute certainty in the courts in terms of the meanings we put on Acts of the Oireachtas. I stress to the Minister that when it comes to the issue of...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Report and Final Stages. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Hear, hear.

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Acting Chairman, on a point of order, is it not the case that for a motion to be moved it requires a seconder to be present in the House?

Seanad: National Consumer Agency: Motion. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Given that the cavalry has arrived, I do not think there will be a problem but to formally move a motion requires a seconder to be present in the Chamber.

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 13: In page 7, before section 7, to insert the following new section: "7.—The original and authentic version of an Act is that which— (a) in the case of an Act of the Oireachtas, is the signed text of such law as is enrolled for record in the Office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court pursuant to Article 25.4.5° of the Constitution, (b) in the case of an Act of the...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: They are similar but not the same. I propose a new section to give a straightforward interpretation, a literal definition of what is an authentic version of an Act. I am advised that reference is made in the Constitution to an authentic version but there is no literal interpretation in any Act of the Oireachtas including the Interpretation Act 1937 and the Bill being discussed today. As the...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Are we not continually told by the Supreme Court when it comes to controversial issues, examples of which I will not go into today, that legislators have failed to legislate for things that need to be legislated for? When many such controversial matters have gone to the Supreme Court we have received a collective rap on the knuckles, and rightly so. If as the Minister has confirmed this is in...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: The courts have the sole right of interpretation but it is our job to frame law around existing provisions within the Constitution.

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 14: In page 7, subsection (1), lines 28 to 40, to delete all words from and including "set out-" in line 28 down to and including "relates." in line 40 and substitute "in the authentic version of an Act.". Do the same arguments apply to amendment No.14 as to amendment No. 13, and will the reply be the same?

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Senator Ryan has raised an important issue. Frequently the Committee and Report Stages debates tease out and reflect many provisions, which will be enacted. When they are ultimately interpreted in a court case and an attempt is made by the Judiciary to fully interpret what the Houses meant when an Act was passed, either side of the argument in the case can use passages from the debates in...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Will the Minister of State explain why legislation passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas is not on the website the next day? Our first amendment sought to bring some efficiency to the operation of Government whereby legislation enacted would be on the website the next day. I accept however, that amendment No. 26 is ruled out of order on the basis that it would be a charge on the Exchequer....

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: How long does it take, on average, for an Act when passed to become available on a CD-ROM or whatever? If we do our business and pass legislation we have a responsibility to get it up and running as soon as possible, particularly for people who regularly use that information in an electronic format. If better regulation means anything it means that we improve our performance on this issue and...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: The problem is greater in regard to statutory instruments than in regard to Acts. Practitioners in this area who try to get general applications before going into court to argue a case say it is virtually impossible to access the statutory instruments expeditiously on a website soon after the Minister has signed them into law. Instead, they must go to the Government Publications Office and...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: I move amendment No. 29: In page 9, line 3, after "Act" to insert "in electronic or printed form". This section states,"An Act is a public document and shall be judicially noticed". In this amendment we suggest that judicial notice be taken of Acts in electronic as well as printed format, which is not the case now. The current situation is a paper trail. If the court notices an Act it is as a...

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: I understand from Article 25 that the President signs the legislation in English and Irish and it is then enrolled in the Supreme Court office. Is the Minister of State saying that for this to become applicable, we must change the Constitution?

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Many of the amendments the Minister of State is favouring are derived from recommendations of the Law Reform Commission. Has the commission been asked to examine the issue?

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: Am I correct in saying that printouts from CD versions of Acts are not admissible in courts, that it must be the actual physical text of an Act?

Seanad: Interpretation Bill 2000: Committee Stage. (29 Jun 2005)

Brian Hayes: That is crazy.