Results 1,861-1,880 of 2,396 for speaker:Barry Ward

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Now.

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Now.

Seanad: Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: A substantial amount of work went into the Bill and it is important legislation. I congratulate the Departments involved, as well as the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, on bringing this through. It will do quite a lot of good.

Seanad: Civil Law Miscellaneous Provisions Bill 2022: Motion for Earlier Signature (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I move: That, pursuant to subsection 2° of section 2 of Article 25 of the Constitution, Seanad Éireann concurs with the Government in a request to the President to sign the Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022 on a date which is earlier than the fifth day after the date on which the Bill shall have been presented to him.

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I have some sympathy with the notion that clarity is required and I agree that CJEU jurisprudence indicates that. There is a difference between saying there must be clear criteria, which is what the court has said, and the requirement for a clear definition. I do not believe there is any ambiguity. The difficulty is that nowhere in any of our legislation is the term "security of the State"...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: When I first read this amendment, I did not understand where the Senator was coming from. Having heard what the Senator said, I understand much better. I do not know whether the proposal is that there should be no default period once the law passes, for example, before the Minister had a chance to make regulations. I would have thought there should be provision. The Senator may feel that...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: As I understand it, amendment No. 11, which seeks to amend the proposed substituted section 6(3)(a), proposes to replace “committed a revenue offence” with “committed a serious revenue offence”. However, the term “revenue offence” is defined in section 1(1) of the principal Act, which sets out exactly what sections apply. I think adding...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: It is important to remember that this Bill reacts to the jurisprudential framework that has been put in place. In fact, it puts in place greater safeguards for the citizens. I am very much in favour of a framework that is put in place to prevent the mass surveillance of citizenry. I do not hold with that at all. As I said during our Second Stage debate, this country has a very reasonable...

Seanad: Communications (Retention of Data) (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee and Remaining Stages (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I am sympathetic to what is being discussed in the amendment. Perhaps I have missed it but the words "journalist" and "journalism" are not defined. Am I correct in this? Does this not leave it wide open to interpretation in a way that was never intended?

Seanad: Night-time Economy: Motion (13 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after “notes that” and substitute the following: - the Night-Time Economy is a hugely important sector, contributing to the economy and Ireland’s cultural and creative sectors, which can bring vibrancy to city and town centres and that it is important to protect, support and sustain this part of the economy by attracting...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: We may need to hear from the Minister of State at this stage. It was anticipated that amendments to section 1 would be proposed because in early course in the discussion on the Bill the Minister of State had identified that the Department felt there were drafting errors that needed to be corrected. I do not have difficulty with that. The suggestions were reasoned ones. As we came here...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I have to agree with Senator Boyhan. I am disappointed. There was previously a very clear indication from the Government that it was in favour of this legislation. In fact, I am aware of correspondence between the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State at the Department of Justice, Deputy James Browne, which was put into the public...

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Dé Máirt seo chugainn.

Seanad: National Lottery (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: For the avoidance of doubt, it is always a pleasure to see my Dún Laoghaire colleague here. I am not insulted by him. He has carried the yoke on this Bill from the get-go and I appreciate his bona fides. I do not agree with him and that is okay because we have disagreed in the past but have agreed and continue to agree on a lot. I thank him for coming here and dealing with the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I am actually very sympathetic to much of what has been said here. As somebody who works in the criminal justice system, primarily as a criminal defence barrister, I come across people in different categories in regard to drugs offences. Obviously, we are talking about people in a particular category, namely, possession for personal use. I am extremely alive to what has been said about the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Mr. Condon seems anxious to answer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Would Mr. Condon propose that it only be available to patients or would he have it widely available through that model?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: That gives rise to another difficulty. I do not think anybody is suggesting that cannabis or any other drugs are good for people. The argument is that the consequences of cannabis use are worse for people than the damage the drug does to society or individuals. Do we really want to promote a situation whereby the State is sponsoring the distribution of a substance we know is not good for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: Do any of the other witnesses agree with that?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality: Sanctions for the Possession of Certain Amounts of Drugs for Personal Use: Discussion (12 Jul 2022)

Barry Ward: I do not disagree that they are two separate issues. As Dr. McGovern said, they are related. If we decide to decriminalise the personal use of cannabis, for example, the reality is that people who are using it for personal reasons will obtain it from people who grow it in contravention of the law, operate outside of the law and are, invariably, but not exclusively, involved in illegal...