Results 1-20 of 28 for drugs speaker:Barry Ward

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (24 Apr 2024)

Barry Ward: ...into which they were put. Now, we have a situation where fewer than 40 survivors remain. More importantly than that, however, their parents, and particularly their mothers who took the drug, have for a long period felt enormous and unjustified, although understandable, guilt. Many of those mothers are now passing away. There is, therefore, a certain urgency to the Government taking...

Seanad: Policing, Security and Community Safety Bill 2023: Committee Stage (Resumed) (12 Dec 2023)

Barry Ward: ...ever be used to debar someone from membership of the board is problematic. I have mentioned speeding as a previous conviction but a previous conviction could also include capital murder or very serious drug trafficking, fraud or whatever it might be. This might necessarily deem a person ineligible under many other criteria. The baldness of the amendment makes it problematic and I do not...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (28 Jun 2023)

Barry Ward: I move amendment No. 23: In page 30, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following: “Amendment of section 27 of Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 50.Subsections (3E) and (3F) of section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (as inserted by section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007) are repealed.”.

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022: Second Stage (13 Jun 2023)

Barry Ward: ...This Bill does not do that, which is why I am supporting it. Let us consider what the Bill does achieve. It creates presumptions, or what we call in law "rebuttable presumptions", that exist in so much other legislation. The Minister gave one example, the Misuse of Drugs Act, but one could also have given the examples of the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001 or the...

Seanad: Non-Fatal Offences against the Person (Amendment) (Spiking) Bill 2023: Second Stage (31 May 2023)

Barry Ward: ...us about what has happened often do not know exactly what has happened but they know they woke up somewhere and do not remember getting there. They talk about being in a trance. In the past we referred to date rape drugs, where people were unable to stop what was happening. That is a tremendously frightening thing for any person to go through. Not only is it such an awful offence but...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (25 Jan 2023)

Barry Ward: ...go on through their lives. That needs to come for all of the survivors, not only the people who were the parties to the case but the other people who have medical diagnoses of Thalidomide. Those people were not served well by this country. The drug was not withdrawn in a timely fashion from the market and they and their families, and their mothers, many of whom have passed on, have...

Seanad: Public Order and Safe Streets: Statements (23 Nov 2022)

Barry Ward: ...I meet a lot of people involved in criminal disorder but I do not see this problematic subculture. I see people who have never had a chance. I see people who have had every opportunity stripped away from them because of the peer group of which they are part, the drugs in their area or other disadvantages. I see that we can address these issues at source. Prevention is better than cure....

Seanad: European Arrest Warrant (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (25 Oct 2022)

Barry Ward: ...that. That is not what the European arrest warrant should be used for, yet some states are doing so. However, when we talk about the real criminals who have committed offences against the person, drugs offences, people trafficking, murder and rape - serious-level criminal activity - it is a fantastic tool that the State can use to bring those people to justice. I recognise what has been...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (4 Oct 2022)

Barry Ward: In the first instance, I welcome the documentary that will be broadcast on RTÉ 1 this evening at 7 p.m. about thalidomide and the unfortunate history our country has with the survivors of that drug and how important it is that we recognise, even at this late stage, the ordeal they went through. I also want to use my time today to call for a debate on the Special Criminal Court. It is...

Seanad: Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces: Statements (4 Oct 2022)

Barry Ward: ...the Naval Service. As an island nation, it is appropriate that we should have in place significant cover across our coasts to defend them in all the ways they need to be defended, from customs to drug trafficking, smuggling and whatever else. I welcome the announcement of the purchase of two coastal patrol vessels from the New Zealand navy and I welcome the fact that the Irish Sea as an...

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: ...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 criminalisation of...

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...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Jun 2022)

Barry Ward: ...but it is inadequate for what they have suffered. It is unfair that the Government has not moved to compensate and acknowledge those people and the mistake that this State made in not taking the drug off the market in a timely fashion. As unfair as it is to the people, now in their 60s, who suffered from thalidomide, it is desperately unfair on their mothers, many of whom blame...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2022: Second Stage (27 Apr 2022)

Barry Ward: ...? It is not a local person, an employer or a GAA club president. It is an independent professional who comes in and speaks of a person's attempts at rehabilitation. Apart from these offences, in drugs cases it is about attempts to get off drugs and get clean. In cases involving assault it might be anger management. In cases involving alcohol abuse it might be Alcoholics Anonymous or...

Seanad: Automated Data Exchange for Police Co-operation: Motion (26 Apr 2022)

Barry Ward: ...been done in Ireland and internationally in regard to the Kinahan gang. We have taken extraordinary steps forward. If ever there were a case for international co-operation, what has been done with the drug enforcement administration in the United States and the freezing of assets in the United Arab Emirates and elsewhere, is a demonstration of how that co-operation can work. I do not...

Seanad: Proposal for a Council Decision on Hate Speech and Hate Crime: Motion (10 Mar 2022)

Barry Ward: ...of Article 83(1), it is also worth noting that the existing crimes set out in Article 83(1), namely, terrorism, trafficking human beings, the sexual exploitation of women and children, illicit drug trafficking, illicit arms trafficking, money laundering, corruption, counterfeiting of means of payment, computer crime and organised crime. They are all serious matters. It is, to my mind,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Mar 2022)

Barry Ward: ...in their 60s and some have been lost already. This is also important for their parents in particular, many of whom have passed on with the guilt that was attached to having taken the thalidomide drug. The Minister for Health took the time to talk to me this morning and I am grateful for that. He is hopeful that we will find a way to deal with the litigation and other issues on an...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Feb 2022)

Barry Ward: In the first instance, I want to be associated with remarks by other Senators in relation to the rumours about Cariban, the drug that treats hyperemesis. I hope they are more than rumours. It is about time we dealt with this issue. I raised it in the House before and welcome any move the Department might make on this to make life easier for women who suffer from a debilitating condition...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Feb 2022)

Barry Ward: ...in very severe sickness and renders women malnourished and dehydrated at times. One in 100 pregnancies will result in hospitalisation of the expectant mother because of hyperemesis. There are drugs available to treat it. People may be aware of the media having covered high-profile cases of celebrities suffering from this condition. In Ireland, those drugs are currently not covered by...

Seanad: Garda Síochána (Functions and Operational Areas) Bill 2021: Second Stage (27 Jan 2022)

Barry Ward: ...that this Bill is providing an assurance that there will be a continued effectiveness of the Garda at every level under those changes. Setting that aside, the part that jumps out most at me is the drug testing element.It is surprising that there has not been a facility to test gardaí and that should also extend to prison officers. These people, who are particularly vulnerable to...