Results 11,161-11,180 of 18,761 for speaker:Michael McDowell

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 38: In page 14, to delete lines 30 to 32.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 42: In page 14, line 46, to delete "indictable". The amendment only occurred to us following Committee Stage. The amendment seeks to remove the term "indictable" from section 12(3)(a). The reference should be to an offence because section 3 deals with summary offences, indictable offences triable summarily and indictable offences.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 44: In page 19, lines 30 and 31, to delete "Mental Health Act 2001" and substitute "Act of 2001". This is a technical drafting amendment.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 45: In page 20, line 21, before "The" where it firstly occurs to insert "Notwithstanding subsection (1),". This is another technical drafting amendment proposed by the Parliamentary Counsel. Its purpose is to make it clear that the review board is not reliant on the initiative of the Minister in regard to reviewing detentions pursuant to certification under section 14(2)...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 46: In page 20, between lines 30 and 31, to insert the following: 17.—Where the clinical director of a designated centre forms the opinion in relation to a prisoner detained in the centre pursuant to section 14 that he or she is no longer in need of in-patient care or treatment he or she shall, after consultation with the Minister, direct in writing— (a) the transfer...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 48: In page 21, line 49, after "2006" to insert ", unless the context otherwise requires". This is a technical drafting amendment, the purpose of which is to make it clear in the context of courts martial under the Defence Act 1954 that the two definitions of "mental disorder" must be borne in mind and that their application is dependent on the context in which they arise.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 49: In page 22, between lines 41 and 42, to insert the following: 20.—Section 1(3) of the Infanticide Act 1949 is hereby amended—— (a) in subsection (3)(c), by the substitution of "by reason of a mental disorder (within the meaning of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006)" for "by reason of the effect of lactation", and (b) by the substitution of "as for...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I fully appreciate what the Deputy is driving at but it is possible to add bodies by statutory instrument under the Freedom of Information Act 1997. Given the sensitive remit and functions of the new review board, I am not disposed to bringing it under the Act on a statutory basis. There is no suggestion that the mental health commission or the mental health tribunal operating under its...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I will bring the Deputy's suggestion to the attention of the Parliamentary Counsel but I will not attach a recommendation.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I thank my officials for the work they have put into this. A quarter of a century has passed since this matter was first dealt with by Judge Henchy. He is one of our great judges and he is still alive and well. It would be churlish not to thank him for all the work he and his committee put into the original document.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 14: In page 4, lines 16 and 17, to delete all words from and including "established" in line 16 down to and including "1845" in line 17. This is a drafting amendment as suggested by Parliamentary Counsel. There is no need to refer to the statutory basis for the Central Mental Hospital in the Bill because section 39 of the Mental Treatment Act 1961 already provides for the...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 15: In page 4, to delete lines 22 to 27 and substitute the following: "(2) The Minister for Health and Children, after consultation with the Mental Health Commission established under section 32 of the Act of 2001 by order may— (a) designate a psychiatric centre, or (b) with the consent of the Minister, designate part of a prison,". The issue of prisons or parts of...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I examined it carefully, and Deputy Ó Snodaigh has acknowledged that I have moved considerably from the original text, but in the last analysis what we are faced with is what it is reasonable to do with somebody who is beyond treatment, for whom therapy is no longer an issue and who is simply psychopathic to such an extraordinary extent that he or she is dangerous to anybody who might come...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: If an order of this kind were made, the Mental Health Commission would have to be involved in the process. It would not be the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform conveniencing himself. It would be the Minister for Health and Children of the day saying the facilities at the Central Mental Hospital were not appropriate for the person and that the person was effectively so dangerous...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I am resisting all bad thoughts at the moment. To reply to Deputy Ó Snodaigh, this is an exceptional power. There are designated centres in place. The Mental Health Commission would have to express a view on this and it is extremely unlikely, therefore, that it would be used in an abusive way because the Mental Health Commission would say we are going down the wrong track in this particular...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: The policy behind this dates back to 1996. This provision may cause more trouble than it is worth. In those circumstances, the appropriate thing to do would be to accept Deputy Ó Snódaigh's amendment and to withdraw my own.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I presume it is the case that all the paragraphs collapse into one if Deputy Ó Snódaigh's amendment is accepted. We do not have paragraph (a) sitting in the middle of nowhere. I believe that to be the case.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I move amendment No. 20: In page 5, to delete lines 14 to 25 and substitute the following: "(b) Subject to subsections (7) and (8), in a case to which paragraph (a) relates, the Court determines that an accused person is unfit to be tried, that Court shall adjourn the proceedings until further order, and may— (i) if it is satisfied, having considered the evidence of an approved medical...

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: Tá mé buíoch den Teachta.

Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002 [Seanad]: Report and Final Stages. (23 Mar 2006)

Michael McDowell: I considered this amendment, which the Deputy tendered previously. Senator Tuffy, on behalf of the Labour Party, tabled a similar amendment in the Seanad. I have accommodated it as far as I can. I went back, through my officials, to the Parliamentary Counsel, who felt that if we took the route suggested by the amendment, a game of ping-pong would start that would prove unsatisfactory. Having...