Results 15,641-15,660 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: In substance.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Minister is strengthening the role of gardaí but he is not entirely absolving the members of the centre. That is still there.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Under the Mental Health Act 2001 the clinical director may arrange for members of staff——

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am referring to section 27 of the Mental Health Act. That is different legislation. The Garda Síochána is also given the power of arrest. The situation envisaged is that the officers or servants of a designated centre decide for themselves, having regard to any risks to their own safety, whether or not to carry out an arrest. Gardaí will have a positive obligation imposed upon them to...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Gardaí have that power under common law in any event.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: This amendment was originally proposed by Senator Terry on Committee Stage. The Minister indicated he would table an amendment on Report Stage to incorporate its proposals. The substance of the amendment is similar to amendment No. 148. However, it should be noted that amendment No. 147 does not contain any reference to the provision in subsection (3) of amendment No. 148, which deals with...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: No.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senators for their kind remarks regarding the Minister and his officials and also their industry in considering the legislation. I also single out Senator Henry for her extraordinary interest in the measure. The Trial of Lunatics Act was enacted in 1883. While some time has elapsed since the Minister of State has given effect to the bulk of recommendations in Mr. Justice Henchy's...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Of course the Minister wants everyone detained under these provisions to have care and treatment in the ordinary sense. However, words we use in the ordinary sense do not always translate in the extraordinary sense of an Act of the Oireachtas. The Minister is convinced that the words must be used disjunctively in this context to ensure the maximum protection for the person and to ensure that...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Let us examine what could happen were the amendment accepted. The courts would require the consent of the clinical director of the designated centre concerned before a person could be committed or referred to it. What would the courts do if they found that no clinical director would accept the person? As the Minister said in the course of an earlier debate, it is appreciated that the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform mentioned on Committee Stage that an amendment would be introduced on Report Stage to remove the word "or" in line 30 of section 3(b). It is a correction of a typographical error in the text.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: This is a technical amendment recommended by the Parliamentary Counsel.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Yes.

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As Senator Henry has accepted, the same considerations that arose in my last substantive reply apply to this. The courts would require the consent of the clinical director of the designated centre concerned before a person could be referred there for examination by an approved medical officer. What would the court do if it found that no clinical director would accept the person? I will draw...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: During the Committee Stage debate on amendments Nos. 20 and 24, as moved by Senator Henry, in the context of the involvement of the clinical director of a designated centre in the court process, particularly in regard to whether the particular institution would assume responsibility for a person, the Minister said that the period of referral, as provided for in the sections, could be reduced...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I take it the Senator is referring to the 2001 Act and to this legislation in referring to these inconsistencies. Of course, there is a fundamental distinction between this Bill and the 2001 Act. This Bill deals with persons who come before the courts and it provides a "regime", if I can use that somewhat sinister word, for them. The purpose of the 2001 Act is quite different and it deals...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The thinking behind these amendments relates to the point that the word "committed" carries a connotation that people might have known what they were doing when they committed the act giving rise to the offence. It could be argued the word "did" is more neutral in that regard and would be more appropriate for use in the Bill. The other reason is that the word "did" is used in the Bill. As the...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Senator Tuffy tabled an amendment on Committee Stage which is similar in terms to this amendment. The Minister noted that it raised an interesting point and said he would consider the matter further. Having reflected on Senator Tuffy's proposed amendment, the Minister is of the view that, as drafted, there is potential in section 3(8) for a court to conclude, without the benefit of a full...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator Tuffy. In regard to what Senator Henry said, this Bill was initiated in the Seanad and I am prepared to look again at the issue she raised as to whether the protection of medical records is sufficient. The Minister used the phrase "where evidence is adduced before the court" and I envisage that in the general run of cases, that is exactly what has happened to the medical...

Seanad: Criminal Law (Insanity) Bill 2002: Report and Final Stages. (19 Apr 2005)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The point of departure is that the Minister has decided to slot this Bill and his definitions therein into the settled case law and the judicial decision on this branch of the law. The Minister may have erred but so did the Supreme Court in Doyle v. Wicklow County Council, in which the court incidentally approved the views of Mr. Justice Henchy in an earlier decision. The report which Mr....