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

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...

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and (3F) of section 27 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977 (as inserted by section 33 of the Criminal Justice Act 2007) are repealed.”.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: 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...

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: Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee Stage (10 Nov 2021)

Barry Ward: ..., the co-sponsor of these amendments, and I agreed on Second Stage on almost everything that was said. I am referring, for example, to the suggestion that particularly in the case of firearms and drugs offences, we should remove this provision. I do not agree. Firearms offences are pervasive. Earlier Senator McDowell referred to the context in which this law was brought in and to...

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: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Thalidomide Victims Compensation (28 Jun 2021)

Barry Ward: ...When I speak to colleagues, people ask whether thalidomide is still a thing. It is important to realise that it is very much still a thing. The Minister of State will be aware that thalidomide was a drug issued by a German company which was available in Ireland in the early 1960s and late 1950s as an antidote to morning sickness for women who particularly suffered with it. In 1961, the...

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 (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: EU Regulations (Europol): Motion (26 Apr 2021)

Barry Ward: ...we are talking is not shoplifting or other small-time stuff that we associate with domestic crime, but is cross-border, international crime. It includes crime that falls into categories such as gangland, terrorism, drug and people trafficking. There are many areas involved. The reality is that a stand-alone island off the west coast of Europe simply has not the capacity to deal with...

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...

Seanad: Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) (Amendment) Bill 2020: Second Stage (5 Nov 2020)

Barry Ward: ...by marking specifically harsh or strong penalties in respect of certain types of offence, or offences that take place at a certain level. I have in mind specifically section 15A of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1977, as amended. The section provides a presumptive minimum mandatory sentence of ten years in respect of the possession of drugs for sale and supply of greater than €13,000. I...

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: 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: 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: 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: 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...

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: Health (Amendment) Bill 2021: Committee and Remaining Stages (1 Mar 2021)

Barry Ward: ...items of legislation, we delegate to the Minister of the day the power to make regulations because it is much easier to change regulations. Examples of this include everything from the misuse of drugs regulations to television licence regulations. Regulations allow for flexibility because the Minister, the Department, the officials, the advisers and the people on the ground know when...