Results 16,121-16,140 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (29 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I agree with the Senator that the provisions are very complex. My instinct is to oppose the amendment because it appears to deal with issues concerning how and when correspondence of offences should be determined. Section 3 of the Bill has already dealt with that matter. In any event, the convention provides that the original sentence cannot be aggravated by increasing the sentence that was...

Seanad: Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (29 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Let us assume the unlikely argument that a state in the Council of Europe exists that has the penalty of hard labour during detention. The amendment proposed by the Senator states that the High Court should have no element of discretion in deleting that condition from the sentence. However, the High Court has to have discretion because that is its character. We cannot tell the High Court what...

Seanad: Transfer of Execution of Sentences Bill 2003: Committee Stage. (29 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I recognise the intendment of the amendment, which seems to be designed to give the person in detention the benefit of both our own system and that of the original sentencing state. However, I am not certain the implications have been fully worked out in the amendments. For example, paragraph (c)(ii), as proposed in amendment No. 29, provides: "For the purposes of such rules or practice,...

Seanad: Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (29 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: This Bill passed All Stages in Seanad Éireann on 9 December 2003. The Bill now returns to this House for a report from Dáil Éireann, having been amended in the Dáil where it was passed on 27 April. The Bill has been the subject of short but important amendments in the Dáil. As Senators will recall, the primary purpose of this Bill is to ensure that Judge Mahon, as chairperson of the...

Seanad: Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence) (Amendment) Bill 2003 [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil]: Report and Final Stages (29 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senators for their co-operation and assistance in dealing with this legislation which was initiated in this House. Senator Terry mentioned the delay in introducing this measure. Mr. Justice Flood resigned last summer and there is no doubt that an unprecedented situation was created by his resignation. It was necessary for the Government to obtain detailed legal advice on this measure....

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Deputy Stanton raised a specific point about passports. The administration of the passports system is a matter for the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The system has never rested on any statute. A passport is simply a request made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs to treat the bearer with respect in a foreign country. It contains the statement that it cannot be invoked in another country in which one is a national, in a case of dual nationality. The Minister has no power to protect one in such circumstances, as one is covered by the laws...

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That is not in the Constitution.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Pregnancy tests at the frontier.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: That is not correct. Mr. David Byrne was the Attorney General at that time.

Twenty-seventh Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2004: Second Stage (Resumed). (22 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It was mentioned by the leader of the Labour Party at the time.

Seanad: High Level of Alcohol Consumption by Young People: Statements. (1 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank the Senators for a constructive contribution to a very interesting debate. When someone seeks counselling for a drink problem the first advice is that he or she must face up to the problem. I am glad that the Seanad has recognised this morning in the light of contemporary statistics that as a nation we have a drinking problem that we must acknowledge. All counsellors advise that the...

Seanad: High Level of Alcohol Consumption by Young People: Statements. (1 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The current laws do not provide sufficient sanctions to deter this type of conduct. Reference was made to the Judiciary. I wish to salute a member of the Judiciary in County Clare who insists when a person is convicted of a public order offence related to alcohol that the person produces at his or her own cost an alcohol-free urine sample to gardaí two or three times a week. This measure has...

Seanad: High Level of Alcohol Consumption by Young People: Statements. (1 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I last spoke in this House on the high level of alcohol consumption on 11 December 2002 and listened to the very comprehensive and interesting debate which followed. Since that time the trial of four young people following the death of a young man, Mr. Brian Murphy, outside a nightclub in this city has tragically highlighted the extremes of what can happen as a result of the excessive misuse...

Seanad: High Level of Alcohol Consumption by Young People: Statements. (1 Apr 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator is safe enough in here.

Seanad: Ambulance Service. (31 Mar 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senator Kitt for raising this matter which is close to his heart and about which he has expressed much concern. The report of the strategic review of ambulance services 2001 is the basis for the development of pre-hospital emergency medical services in the future. It identifies aspects of the current emergency ambulance service which need to be addressed to bring the service into line...

Seanad: Ambulance Service. (31 Mar 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I will arrange for the Minister to do that.

Seanad: Smoking Ban: Motion (31 Mar 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Carlow has an excellent Caredoc facility.

Seanad: Smoking Ban: Motion (31 Mar 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I am happy to address the Seanad on this subject and I thank the various Members for their complimentary remarks about the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Martin. Senator Glynn wished to convey to the Minister and his officials his congratulations and I will do that. Today is a good news day for him on the subject, as was echoed by Senator Brady when he referred to the Office of...

Seanad: Smoking Ban: Motion (31 Mar 2004)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: In the turbulent political world of Cork South Central, the Senator should be careful about his remarks because no doubt the Minister has a powerful propaganda machine in the constituency which might echo the Senator's remarks.