Results 1-20 of 225 for speaker:Tom Brabazon

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: I thank all of the witnesses for their contributions and presentations this morning. It is clear a significant amount of military experience is present in the room. While we have heard previously from academics, the practitioners of a field are probably more important than the academics. A lot of weight should be given to what the witnesses have said and the evidence they have given to the...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Some of the narrative in respect of what is proposed claims our neutrality and triple lock will be removed and that, accordingly, young Irish women and men will be engaged in imperialist combat around the world. What do the witnesses have to say about that?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Dr. Brennan has a lot of experience interacting with both the UN and the Government. Does he trust that no Irish Government would run headlong into such a scenario?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: They are not my fears.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Yes. Neutrality has been part of our core. It is one of those things that gives us international appeal for our peacekeeping troops. This is something that has been said. If we found some kind of legal wording to amend the Constitution to add in a wording that prevented us from becoming aligned to military alliances other than the UN, such as NATO – there seems to be a lot of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: I wish to echo the remarks of the previous speaker. I do not intend to repeat it but I share her sentiments. On the definition in the section which encapsulates incapacitation, is Mr. French happy this covers sufficient scenarios? To my mind, incapacity can be temporary or permanent and it can be physical or of a mental nature. Would he like to see the definition expanded in any way?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Section 6G(1) states: Where a guardian or parent of a child has been convicted of an offence:- (a) of murder or manslaughter of another parent or guardian of the child; or (b) of a serious offence resulting in the incapacitation of another parent...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: There is one other point I wish to raise with Mr. Quattrociocchi. I have a recollection of a case relating to succession law where the High Court held that a piece of legislation - I think it was the Guardianship of Infants Act or the original legislation itself - was retrospective in application. What is the intention here? Is it retrospective or prospective?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: It is in respect of this proposed legislation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Does the Department envisage that in a scenario where an offence took place prior to the enactment of the legislation, a person could apply to the court to extend the six-month period at that stage?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Home Affairs and Migration: General Scheme of the Guardianship of Infants (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (1 Jul 2025)

Tom Brabazon: It is necessary to apply within six months. Tusla must go to court and apply within six months of the date of the conviction. If, for example, the legislation is passed today, is it envisaged that the legislation would apply in the case of a person was convicted a year ago? Would Tusla be in a position to go to the court and ask for an extension of time because the six-month period has elapsed?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: I thank the witnesses for coming in and giving up their time. I have a number of short questions. First, to Mr. Noonan, if somehow we could cobble together some kind of constitutional wording to enshrine our neutrality and that amendment was passed by the people, would he be as concerned as he is now regarding the triple lock?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Based on Mr. Noonan's logic, we cannot become aligned with a military alliance.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: We cannot join as a member either.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: We had a previous witness before the committee who painted a vista, albeit a stateable case, that in the light of the representations made by the then Government at the time of the Lisbon treaty, she could foresee the Lisbon treaty potentially unravelling before the European courts. What would Professor Tonra say to that?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: When the Lisbon treaty was being put before the Irish people, certain representations were made by the then Government about our neutrality. Based on that, the witness felt that if we changed the triple lock, that would undermine those representations and therefore undermine the validity of the decision made by the Irish people and could in theory, or at least on a stateable basis, be...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: I thank Professor Tonra for that. This is a question on practicality. Professor Tonra mentioned that one of things that could be done or suggested is that a formal legal review be undertaken as part of each proposed overseas deployment. I was thinking about that from a practical point of view. Let us say the Minister for Defence gets a phone call at 2 o'clock in the morning and the...

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Let us say there are Irish citizens on a runway in Kabul and the Army Ranger Wing is anxious to be deployed to rescue them but it cannot deploy because there is no legal review.

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: Under this legislation?

Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025 : Discussion (Resumed) (26 Jun 2025)

Tom Brabazon: What would happen if you wanted to send 51 troops?