Results 1,321-1,340 of 1,421 for speaker:Barry Ward

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Second Stage (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I welcome the Bill. We recently had statements on exactly this issue and the Bill was discussed extensively on that occasion as well. This is very important legislation and I will not repeat what other speakers have said about its import. Suffice it to say that most people find it astonishing that this kind of activity is not already against the law. We are behind the curve on the...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I have great sympathy with the proposal Senator Ruane has put forward. I know she has recognised that there is a certain reality to the proposal being put but the definition of these offences is a very difficult issue to grapple with and is technical, and the notion that one has to cover every eventuality is very difficult because one has to imagine offences that have not even been committed...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: Section 2 is a relatively measured section, but I still think there are issues in terms of the manner in which it was drafted. I raise the same issues that I did in respect of the definition section, that there may be scope, in particular in subsection 2(a), for example, to overly broadly create an offence.Subsection (2) states: For the purposes of subsection (1), [which deals with the...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I speak on amendment No. 11, which proposes to substitute a new paragraph (b) in subsection (1). I like this amendment and I think it sets up exactly the type of test a court should conduct. The amendment would see the section essentially stating that, subject to subsection (2), a person is guilty of an offence where he or she has been responsible for the distribution or publication of an...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I endorse what Senator Seery Kearney said. I was speaking to a female colleague in the Dáil, who has two relatively young female staff in her office. She indicated to me that it is a routine matter that they receive fairly offensive and profane images by email in her office every day. One of the points she was making was exactly what Senator Seery Kearney said, that in a strange way,...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I wish to raise a matter. The Minister of State referred to the importance of the Constitution's freedom of speech provisions and the protection of same. I have a concern about the way section 4 is phrased in that it is overly broad. This matter was raised on Second Stage. The section reads: (1) A person who— (a) by any means— ... (ii) sends any threatening or grossly...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: The amendment specifically refers to proceedings in the Circuit Court. The offences in the Act can be tried summarily or on indictment. Therefore, it seems to me that this amendment precludes the action intended from applying to summary proceedings in the District Court. The basis on which somebody might wish to make his or her name public in that court is just as strong. I am surprised...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: On subsection 5(2), the Minister of State has mentioned in his reply on amendment No. 18 the fact that the judge in proceedings is obliged to take into account the view of the alleged victim of the offence before making a direction under subsection (2). I have mentioned that I find it confusing that a victim is, on the face of it in the Bill, precluded from going public with his or her...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I welcome the provisions of section 6. They create a liability for the directors and officers of corporate bodies. I have two questions for the Minister of State. There was much discussion during the debate on Second Stage about the need for regulation of social media platforms, many of which essentially provide the base on which much of the abuse, harassment and so forth take place. Is...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: Amendments Nos. 19 to 21, inclusive, put forward by Senator Ruane are alternate to each other. I like the provisions of section 21. I have grave misgivings about the notion that we would extend the Statute of Limitations to seven years. However, my interpretation is that this can only apply in respect of summary prosecutions, that is, prosecutions in the District Court. In circumstances...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I am unsure whether I understand the reference to the Children Act. I wish to make a drafting point in respect of section 8. It begins "notwithstanding section 52(4) of the Children Act 2001". Section 52 was substituted for a new section 52 by section 129 of the Criminal Justice Act 2006. The reason I make the point is that one of the difficulties I have with the way we are passing...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I agree with what the other Senators said. I spoke at length with Deputy Howlin after one of the recent meetings of the Joint Committee on Justice about this matter. I understand that the Department believes that civil and criminal remedies should not be mixed. I do not agree with that. There are many statutes in Ireland that have both criminal offences and civil aspects to them. I agree...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: Section 9 amends the Schedule to the Bail Act to list the offences under this Bill as being serious offences for the purposes of section 2. Sometimes there is a political rush to suggest that people should not get bail. I am aware of Private Members' Bills that have come before the Houses providing that on the third strike people should not be allowed to get bail, which to my view is...

Seanad: Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Bill 2017: Committee and Remaining Stages (18 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: With regard to this section, I welcome what is being proposed to broaden the scope of section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997. I am fully in agreement with what the Minister of State is proposing to do in section 10(a) of this Bill with regard to subsection (1) of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act, which essentially creates the offence of harassment....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: Insurance companies and other financial institutions, including our retail banks, occupy a privileged position within our economy. It is a privileged position because they operate within a regulated, profitable and fair environment in this jurisdiction. I am not saying they should not be allowed to make profits but the recent report from the Central Bank shows the contempt in which they...

Seanad: Deportation Moratorium (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (9 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I second the amendment. The words "compassion" and "discretion" have featured particularly in this debate. That is the most important way we can approach this very sensitive issue. In that regard, I fully support the Bill's aims. It is an entirely meritorious matter to bring before the House. I understand the circumstances behind the Senators' decision to sponsor this important Bill....

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I wish to raise the issue of non-geographic numbers and premium rate services, which are provided by various institutions, companies and organisations throughout the country. Non-geographic numbers begin with 1800, 1850, 1890, 0818 or 076. These are reduced-cost services, often those provided by State agencies. This week marks one year since ComReg stepped in to ensure that the costs of...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I just wanted to make one point in respect of Senator Higgins's comments. In the first instance, I recognise the intention behind the amendments because she identifies some important issues. Section 121 of the Bill inserts into the Act of 2015 three new sections, 51A, 51B and 51C. Section 51B refers to the power of an immigration officer or member of An Garda Síochána to arrest a...

Seanad: Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Bill 2020: Committee Stage (3 Dec 2020)

Barry Ward: I am sympathetic to Senator Higgins' comments and she is quite right that we need to err on the side of consideration, protection and caution, particularly when it comes to minors or young people who are the subject of the proposed section 51B. This amendment applies to the proposed inserted section 51B, and particularly subsections (4) and (5) of that section. The difficulty I have is that...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Nov 2020)

Barry Ward: This morning we heard the unfortunate news from the Environmental Protection Agency that there are significant risks to the environment throughout the country. We have been made aware now that there are particular identifiable aspects that are causing damage to the environment and to water quality in particular. One of the references made by the chief executive, Laura Burke, on RTÉ's...