Results 21-40 of 4,465 for speaker:Jim Walsh
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: Would the Senator agree that the Government accelerated it?
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: That is a village.
- Seanad: Order of Business (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I join my party's acting leader, Senator Mark Daly, in acknowledging that today is the 97th anniversary of the first Dáil, a body which embraced the Proclamation and the vision of our patriots of 1916. I refer to one of his comments. He said that Ireland is ranked the seventh best place to live according to the UN Human Development Index. As he said, such ranking is welcome. Ireland...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I move amendment No. 4:In page 7, lines 12 and 13, to delete "to a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years, or both" and substitute "to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 10 years". Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. The explanatory memorandum states that Part 2 "contains provisions to enhance the protection of children from sexual exploitation, including exploitation...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I thank the Minister for her response. I have found her concluding remarks very unsatisfactory and I would like to deal with some of the points that the Minister and Senator Norris made in this regard. Our knowledge now of paedophilia and of the effects it has on victims is far superior than it might have been some decades ago when some of this went on. Therefore, it is important that we...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I could name many of them. In this specific instance, the Minister has said that there is a range and that judicial discretion should be over a range of particular sanctions. Depending on the gravity, on indictment, and on the assessment of the judge, when a person is found guilty the judge will still have a range because the amendment states clearly that it is "imprisonment for a term not...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I would hate to think that such ideologies are influencing or being reflected here. I ask and appeal to the Minister to reflect upon what has been said and to put the best interests of the child in this legislation. That means clearly signalling that such behaviours are unacceptable, and that if a person is found guilty of such acts then he or she will face a term of imprisonment. The...
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: Why did it happen?
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: Yes, absolutely.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: May I-----
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I am allowed. Standing Orders-----
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: So the Acting Chairman is silencing me.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: In that situation I find what the Minister has said is unacceptable. I think it is a dereliction-----
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: -----of fulfilling our constitutional responsibilities.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I am going to press the amendment and it will be up to the Members on the other side to decide if they agree with the Minister's weak response.
- Seanad: Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill 2015: Report and Final Stages (21 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: Yes.
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Judicial Council (20 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I wish to preface my remarks by stating that, in general, the State has been well served by the Judiciary since its foundation. I am aware there are issues such as, for example, whether we would be better served by having the continental inquisitorial system rather than blindly following the very costly adversarial system we have, which is a throwback to...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Judicial Council (20 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: The Minister clearly signalled at the start that her response would be unsatisfactory. Obviously, it is. This Bill will fall with the fall of the Government and therefore will not be enacted in this term.That is an appalling situation, given the fact that we have been waiting for over ten years. The Minister of State was silent on whether it had been stalled by vested interests. That...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Judicial Council (20 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I did not interrupt the Minister of State. She will get her chance to speak. It is obvious to any objective observer why she did not address that in her reply. She mentioned no timeframe. We know it is going to fall, so in fact it has been long-fingered. It is reminiscent of the dereliction of this and the last Government in failing to implement the recommendations of the report from the...
- Seanad: Commencement Matters: Judicial Council (20 Jan 2016)
Jim Walsh: I never said that. I certainly have not said that. That is a poor kind of sophistry in which the Minister of State is engaging.