Results 16,321-16,340 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The victim can write to the Minister and, in practice, the Minister has considerable regard for what the victim has to say in a matter of this kind. I would not wish to have it on the record of the House that the Minister accepts that victims are not consulted. In any serious matter the victim can, through the relevant probation liaison officer in the prison, insist on being contacted and...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: In a sense, the Senator has correctly hinted at the legislative scheme of the Bill because if one looks at subsection (1), it clearly empowers the Minister, who "may direct" temporary release. As the Senator outlined, it then outlines the positive reasons that temporary release might be granted. An example would be reintegration upon release or temporary circumstances relating to health or...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As I outlined to the House in relation to the last amendment, to insert this paragraph in the relevant section would be to give the Minister a reason to refuse to make a direction. Apart from that, I take it that the substance of the amendment is to ensure that the Minister would not rule out temporary release solely because of the element of risk. The difficulty is that by its nature,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is a distinction between the remanding and sentencing of a prisoner by the courts. The system of temporary release operates in relation to sentenced prisoners. Where a prisoner is on remand for trial for an offence, clearly the prisoner is within the jurisdiction of the courts system and the trial, conviction and punishment of criminal offenders is a matter reserved to the courts under...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Not all victims want to be informed of the temporary release of the offender. It may bring back memories of the pain and hurt he or she experienced. To accept the amendment in this form would be to cast a very definite legal obligation on the Minister to notify the victim in every case where the temporary release of an offender takes place. That would cause considerable practical difficulty...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As Senator Terry pointed out, the Law Reform Commission recommended there should generally be greater use of the active instead of the passive voice. It is more appropriate on occasion to use the passive voice to emphasise an act rather than its agent. The present drafting style makes too much use of the passive voice, often obscuring the central message of a section. However, having examined...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator is correct that I had a narrow miss because of a procedural difficulty. The Senator is right to say that to include "the Minister" in place of "him" in this Bill will not do any damage to the consistency of the legislation.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (22 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I abide by the ruling of the Cathaoirleach. I replied to various queries on Second Stage. I would like to thank Senators for their co-operation in the subsequent evolution of this Bill. We have had an interesting discussion. It was very focused on the rights of victims in the criminal justice process.

Seanad: Order of Business. - OECD Education Report: Statements. (16 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I welcome the opportunity to address the House on the publication of the OECD report, Education at a Glance. My colleague, the Minister for Education and Children, Deputy Noel Dempsey, accompanied the President on her State visit to China and is not here today.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The provision, as currently framed, allows the Minister to direct the temporary release of a prisoner having regard to the purpose of such release and the considerations the Minister must take into account before deciding whether to grant temporary release. The Senator is seeking a written direction but it is always open to a Minister to make a decision orally and provision has been made in a...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The formula of words used in the subsection was chosen with deliberation by the Parliamentary Counsel. The wording introduces the notion of a direction being issued by the Minister. This is important when one remembers the reason for the Bill, which is to provide a clearer legislative basis for the powers of the Minister to grant temporary release. The approach used introduces and defines the...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I assume that the intention of this amendment is to provide that, within a certain overall time period – I am not sure how or in what circumstances this would be determined – a prisoner can be granted specific periods, or blocks, of temporary release. Presumably, the Senator is referring to cases where temporary release is granted for specific hours each day and for a specific number of...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I assume the purpose of the Senator's amendments is to gender-proof this particular Bill. All new legislation is now gender-proofed in that it always refers to "he or she". Where the purpose of the legislation is to amend older legislation, such as in this case, amendments are drafted in the same gender as the original Act. This is the particular issue highlighted by the amendment. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Department is embarking on a programme for the consolidation of the entire criminal law, which will be dealt with on a gender-proofed basis because it will be a consolidation of the entire corpus of criminal law. It will afford the Department the opportunity of gender-proofing many of the older enactments which were not gender-proofed at the time. As I said in my initial reply, all new...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The amendment provides for a person to be allowed temporary release to an enforcement authority other than the Garda and for a person to be made available to foreign law enforcement authorities. The Garda Síochána has overall responsibility in this jurisdiction for the prevention, detection and investigation of offences. This amendment would only serve to add confusion to that. The Garda,...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I take the Senator's explanation of the intention and thinking behind the amendment. I take it that the Senator is not opening the wider question of the removal from the jurisdiction of a prisoner for questioning. However, on the narrow question, the Garda Síochána is the primary investigative authority in the State. Furthermore, some investigative authorities, such as the Office for...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As I indicated on Second Stage, I have considerable sympathy with the proposed amendment and I said I would look forward to it with interest. There are difficulties with this matter, however, because when we talk about the interests of the victim in the criminal justice system, the person who is convicted and sentenced for an offence has a definitive sentence imposed upon them. In imposing...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: This legislation entrusts a grave and fundamental power in the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. He would be a foolish man if he did not consult with the Garda Síochána or the victim. That is not the issue here. Victims make representations to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. The Minister makes the most minute inquiries, particularly in the case of serious...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The granting of temporary release is not a right but a privilege for which a person serving a term of imprisonment can apply and which is granted at the discretion of the Minister. The amendment tabled by the Deputy provides that the Minister should have regard to representations made by the prisoner or on behalf of the prisoner. The former is already dealt with under the current system. The...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Temporary Release of Prisoners) Bill 2001: Committee Stage. (15 Oct 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Having disagreed with Senator Terry about the position of the victim I now have to disagree with Senator Tuffy about the position of the prisoner. The Bill deals with what is viewed by us in the Oireachtas as a privilege, not a right. It is not a right to apply for temporary release. We would send out the wrong signal if we were to so legislate. If Senator Tuffy's amendment was accepted, it...