Results 10,681-10,700 of 11,444 for speaker:Ivana Bacik

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am conscious of the amendment to section 72A(7) but I was wondering whether the Minister had an answer on the point on consultation with a solicitor. I do not think that provision was changed and certainly I did not see any change to it between the initial version of the Bill and the Bill we have now. It seems that section 72A(2) remained the same and that all that is required is that a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I support Senator Regan's amendment and have already stated the reasons for my opposition to section 7 and the fundamental premise on which it is based. Senator Regan's amendment would not address my concerns but would improve matters in that it would certainly confirm existing case law on the nearest parallel, section 3(2) of the 1972 Act, thereby requiring the provision of corroborating...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: My opposition to section 7 relates to subsections (1), (2) and (3) of the proposed new section 71B. The fundamental premise is that the opinion of a garda will constitute evidence as to the existence of a particular criminal organisation. I do not have the same objections regarding subsections (4) and (5) of the proposed new section. The fundamental premise of the first three subsections...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I have already stated clearly on the record why I oppose the section. My concerns focus particularly on the proposed new subsections (1) to (3) of the proposed new section 71B of the 2006 Act, which relate to the opinion evidence of a garda as to the existence of a criminal organisation.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Offences Against the State (Amendment) Act 1998.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I record that I oppose this section. I support Senator Alex White's amendment, which is a sensible and proportionate response to the concerns the Minister expressed about potential jury intimidation. I support what Senator Alex White said about the need to show some evidence for that. We have not been given that sort of evidence. Given that we can accept that there are genuine concerns...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I echo the words of Senators Regan and Alex White. I refer to the Minister's comments on the cross-examination of a garda on the beat or the garda who proposes to give this evidence. The difficulty is that a garda, of chief superintendent or another rank, routinely claims privilege. Perhaps I will wait until I have the Minister's attention. The garda claims privilege over sources or...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, is this a Second Stage speech?

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I thank the Cathaoirleach.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am opposed to section 7. While either amendments No. 1 or No. 2 would go some way towards improving it, I am fundamentally opposed to the principle expressed in the section that a garda or former garda of any rank may give evidence as to the existence of a particular criminal organisation and that this evidence shall be admissible as expert evidence. As I explained earlier, this flies in...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I am speaking to the amendments. If we are going to go down the road of declaring people to be expert at the very least the persons concerned should be of a high enough rank in An Garda Síochána for their opinions to carry a certain weight. Even then, I am against the principle of section 7, in particular subsection (1) which seeks to insert a new section 71B. I see the Minister has a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Committee and Remaining Stages (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Is the Senator anticipating something?

Seanad: Northern Ireland: Statements (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: As the Independent group's nominee on the all-party Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, I appreciate the Taoiseach's kind words of acknowledgement of the work done by the committee's members. It is a privilege to sit on it alongside colleagues from Northern Ireland and I look forward to continuing to work on it to end the divisions that have scarred the island...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: On a point of order, there are also people on the Independent benches who wish to speak.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Minister should have introduced it sooner.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: The Bill does nothing for witnesses.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I wish to share time with Senator Quinn. I welcome the Minister. I declare an interest in that I am a barrister who practises in the area of criminal law and who has done some work in the Special Criminal Court. To respond to the Minister's speech, I have read the Bill in full. The Minister stated some individuals who had commented on it had not. Having read the Bill, I welcome the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009: Second Stage (14 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: It is very difficult to see how a court will establish that in any proper way without going into the nature of the evidence. The gardaí have expressed some concerns that following cutbacks in the force and early retirements, the insertion of the "former" member may be recognition that many experienced gardaí will have retired by the time the Bill comes into effect. I accept that the...

Seanad: Order of Business (9 Jul 2009)

Ivana Bacik: I echo the words of Senator Coghlan and again call on the Leader to ensure we have a debate on the pharmacy issue with the Minister for Health and Children next week. I believe he has already promised and I would like him to confirm it. I also support Senator Ó Murchú's call for an all-party motion to be adopted in this House on the need for humanitarian relief to get through to the...