Results 13,121-13,140 of 20,459 for speaker:Frances Fitzgerald
- Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: No.
- Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: Before I address the Bill, in accordance with Standing Order 136, I am requesting the Acting Chairman to direct that the following correction be made to the text. In section 19, page 19, line 5, the reference to section 9 should read section 10, as this is the section which inserted section 7C into the Act of 1961.
- Seanad: Court of Appeal Bill 2014: Second Stage (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: It gives me great pleasure to be in this Chamber to discuss the Court of Appeal Bill 2014. Members may recall that last July the House dealt with the Thirty-third Amendment of the Constitution (Court of Appeal) Bill 2013. Subsequently, on foot of the passage of that Bill, a referendum was held last October on the proposition that a court of appeal should be established. That proposition...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: Yes.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: What is being looked for is an effective remedy. The other word I should have used was "efficient". The European Court of Human Rights has a role in the determination of the matter when an action on behalf of a State agent has led to a fatality. The question Deputy McGrath raised will, I assume, be part of the commission of investigation. I imagine the commission will examine all the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: That was raised in a civil action, but I could prejudice the outcome of the commission of investigation if I were to go into any details on that.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: Deputy Farrell will appreciate that it is a matter for the courts. We will have the investigation and there will be an outcome. The civil action will proceed as normal. How the two might or might not interact is for the court to decide.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: It should be possible for the guidelines to be circulated. Certain costs have been agreed already by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform in respect of the commission. They break down between the costs of the sole member and legal costs, which, at this stage, are assumed to include administrative costs. They were included in the figure I quoted.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: I expect to be in a position shortly to name the person. Obviously, the person would have to be agreeable to undertake it.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: First, to meet the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights we had to establish this commission because, as I stated already, there was no effective remedy in the first place. The establishment of the commission meets our international obligations. The internal investigations of the three bodies I referred to were deemed to be unacceptable. A commitment was given in respect of the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: I am sure they will be. Yes, I think so.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: At its meeting on 1 July the Government decided that matters relating to the fatal shooting of Ronan MacLochlainn in Ashford, County Wicklow, in May 1998 were of significant public concern. It also agreed to the processes relating to the establishment of the commission as defined in the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004 on this matter, including the bringing of a resolution before the...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: I understand they have been sent to the Deputy
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: If the Deputy would like to have further details of the incident, I can provide them.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: There is a precedent and, at the end of the day, it is a Government decision.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: It is a matter for the sole member to decide how to run the commission.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: A civil case is outstanding.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: The costs are carried in the normal course by the Attorney General and Department of Foreign Affairs. I can check the costs.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: Like many commissions of investigation, the person appointed can have a point of view on that matter. There is a legal precedent for such costs being carried.
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Draft Commission of Investigation (Mr. Ronan MacLochlainn) Order 2014: Motion (16 Jul 2014)
Frances Fitzgerald: Guidelines will be developed, but the key issue is that there is a precedent for this to happen.