Results 16,361-16,380 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr

Seanad: Opticians (Amendment) Bill 2002 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages. (26 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Opticians (Amendment) Bill has been amended by the deletion of the word "containing" in section 2. Section 2(b) originally described contact lenses as "whether containing afocal or focal lenses". Following consultation with my Department, the Opticians Board advised that the word "containing" should be omitted. This amendment was proposed and accepted on Report Stage in Dáil Éireann,...

Seanad: Opticians (Amendment) Bill 2002 [ Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil ] : Report and Final Stages. (26 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I thank Senators for their contributions. I had the privilege of piloting this Bill through both Houses at various stages. It seems that it will meet the requirements of opticians and also of the consumers and users of optical services for some generations to come. Question put and agreed to.

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is difficult to explain in any greater detail the reason the Government cannot accede to this amendment. The matter was explored in some detail in the Lower House and on Committee Stage in this House. The primary issue is that it is not the practice to include a reference in legislation of this type – that is, a Bill which proposes to give effect to rights – to an international...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I regret there are no signs of conversion, although I do not accept the Government is on a deathbed.

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: How well we know it. Here we have no abiding city. When considering this amendment, we must start with the European Convention on Human Rights. The fundamental principle, common to the legal tradition of all member states – more markedly to those of a civil than a common law tradition – is the distinction between public and private law. In this provision of the Bill the Minister is trying...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator rightly traced the very varied history of many of these institutions. That history concluded in recent decades with an increasing assimilation to the State and to the public sphere, but it is difficult to say with legal certitude in the case of any of these entities. The health boards and all the hospitals within them are clearly established by law, but the voluntary hospitals...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The definition of organ of State includes any body which is established by law. I went through the various implications of that with the Senator.

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is open to the courts to make those interpretations. I do not want to be giving an interpretation in advance of a concrete adjudication. I raised the issue about the hospitals and I gave the example that many of the older voluntary hospitals clearly had a foundation in statute. Where some of the newer private hospitals are established by companies under the Companies Act, I suspect an...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator is correct. The Constitution has supremacy in relation to the particular Bill and, upon enactment, over this legislation and there is no question about that. A wider question could conceivably arise where the court in Strasbourg decided that a provision of the Constitution itself was in contravention of the European Convention and that would be a horrible vista for any Irish...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have received the advice of the Attorney General. The previous Attorney General, now Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, has taken a huge interest in this measure. The legal advice the Government has received is that the legislation is in accordance with the Constitution.

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: These are very technical amendments, as the Senator rightly acknowledges. They relate to the doctrine of judicial notice, which is that branch of the law of evidence that says to the court: "What can we know without having to have it proved before us?". For example, the Act of the Oireachtas has to be proved by simply handing in a Stationery Office copy. There are many wonderful branches of...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Senator Tuffy has raised a very interesting question about the operation of this legislation. The core provision is section 5(1) which gives the High Court or, on appeal, the Supreme Court, the power to make a declaration of incompatibility between a statutory provision or rule of law – I presume a rule of law would relate to a rule of common law – that it is incompatible with the State's...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: When this matter was discussed on Committee Stage, I suggested that the Government's view is that it should be addressed by the making of an appropriate rule by the rules committee of the superior courts. I said I would bring the matter to the attention of the committee. I still believe that is the best way to deal with this issue. I do not believe we should clutter up legislation with...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is important for the Senator to know that under this legislation, the Attorney General, the legal adviser to the Government, and the Human Rights Commission must be given notice of proceedings in accordance with the rules of court that will have to be made following the enactment of this Bill. Upon enactment, the rules of court, which are statutory instruments adopted under the courts and...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator's point is relevant and well made. What happens in the case of a person who has a valid conviction in terms of national law but where there is incompatibility with the system of the convention? That is the net point which these amendments seek to address. The question of payments, be they ex gratia or otherwise, does not arise under these amendments. What does arise, however, is...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: Senator Henry is under a misapprehension on one specific point – that there is an intention in the proposal before the House to reverse the DG case, either in substance or as to procedure. The proceedings in the DG case were taken to Strasbourg where the State was found to be in breach of the European convention and an award of damages and costs made, with which the State is in the course...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Senator has raised a much wider issue. The court in Strasbourg makes declarations of incompatibility. Under this Bill, the Irish courts will be empowered to make similar declarations. The Senator has disavowed any interest in conferring a jurisdiction on our courts to award damages, stating further or other relief may be appropriate. However, under the Constitution, the Supreme Court has...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: The purpose behind this amendment is to provide for the Minister to make and publish a written statement on compatibility or incompatibility. It seems to be based on section 19 of the United Kingdom Human Rights Act where a Minister must either make a statement about the Bill and whether it is compatible or whether the Government wishes to proceed with the Bill in the absence of making a...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: I confess to some confusion in relation to this amendment because it seems that the provision embodied in the Bill confers the entire substance of what is required, namely, the rights, liberties and freedoms conferred on or guaranteed to persons by the convention provisions within the meaning of the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003. There is a clear definition of the convention,...

Seanad: European Convention on Human Rights Bill 2001: Report and Final Stages. (24 Jun 2003)

Brian Lenihan Jnr: As regards the issue raised by Senator Henry, the Human Rights Commission has the power to grant legal aid. As regards the European convention system, in the event of a petition to Strasbourg, the commission also has the power to grant legal aid. The Senator can rest assured on the issue. I thank all the Senators who contributed to the debate. I did not think the amendments tabled by the...