Results 2,181-2,200 of 6,030 for speaker:Brendan Ryan

Seanad: Order of Business. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: That was before the Taoiseach rediscovered his socialism.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: This Bill is one of the most badly constructed pieces of legislation I have seen in my political career. I have no argument with any issues it contains. The Short Title of this Bill is the Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill and it incorporates amendments to the Irish Medicines Board Act, the Control of Clinical Trials Acts, the Misuse of Drugs Acts and the Health Acts. A...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: That is a lot of amendments to take together. Amendment No. 38 is one page long. I am not trying to be unhelpful but one might like to ask questions about some of these amendments. Organisational convenience may have to be subordinated because it is the privilege of the House to refuse to agree to group amendments. However, I do not wish to do that.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Perhaps the Minister of State would be kind enough to talk about amendment No. 38. I am not trying to speak for Senator Browne either.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: This is ridiculous. There is no other word to describe it. Nobody in this House knows what the Minister of State has just said and I am no less intelligent than anybody else in this House, nor am I less intelligent than the people who drafted these amendments or the Minister. I do not claim to be brighter than any of them but I have never in my life been in a situation like this before. I...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: This House has never held up legislation and it is extremely efficient at processing it. We do not cause delays. We wait and we ask. Most of the time in this House we are either waiting for the Dáil to finish legislation or for the Government to be ready to move with it. We do not hold up legislation either by inertia or deliberate intent and none of us is an innocent in politics. This is a...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I do not want to do this, but I do not agree with Senator Browne. Apart from anything else, I am married to a medical practitioner and if the Minister of State has a conflict of interest, so do I. Deputy Micheál Martin was before the House putting through an education Bill and he is a teacher. I do not accept Senator Browne's point. If I felt the Minister of State was representing...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: If it is still done I agree it should be included. Does the Minister of State agree that if this were done properly we could have had a far more enlightened and informed debate? I have no issue with what the Minister of State proposes. Changing a practice that has been done here and in most other countries for an extremely long time must be done in a comprehensible manner. If ever there is an...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: They will administer drugs.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Perhaps I am the one with the conflict of interest. What about nurses not employed in the State sector? Erroneous prescription of drugs and adverse side effects are two reasons doctors or their professional indemnity insurers have had to pay substantial sums of money. If these mistakes are made by nurses not employed by the State and if they are to be covered by professional indemnity...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I do not wish to delay the House. I believe I am doing fairly well, considering the state of matters.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: It has been suggested that in many areas of delegated responsibilities, where the senior medical person is no longer the person who is professionally liable, there is widespread reluctance to use the delegated authority. People are aware they are open to major legal consequences. We must reassure professionals that as long as they act in an appropriate fashion, taking what peers determine to...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: On section 3, the word "secretary" is wide open to interpretation, unless the Minister of State can quote company or other legislation to the contrary. The word had a definite meaning at one point in time but it is strange to include it in this Bill. I have always objected to the use of the word when it arises in these types of circumstances because it is a term from another era.

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I was not in the House for the Second Stage debate but I read the Minister of State's contributions carefully, both his introduction of the Bill and his reply to the debate. I ask him to explain the practical implications of section 4. As I understand it, the aim of the section is to transfer what were the functions of the Minister to the Irish Medicines Board, which seems like an eminently...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Would that power still rest with the Minister or the Irish Medicines Board?

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: If that is the case, what difference will it make? It is always better for these decisions to be made by people who are somewhat detached from the maelstrom of politics. I accept that the medical jury is out on this issue but if there emerges significant medical evidence that heroin has palliative benefits or that cannabis is a suitable prescription for people with multiple sclerosis will...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I never claim to understand the logic by which Ministers make decisions. Many forces may be at work. I am trying to find out what difference this will make in practice. Is there to be a transfer of personnel from the Department of Health and Children to the Irish Medicines Board or are we simply legislating for the de facto situation that the board already makes recommendations to the Minister?

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I am still not clear. As Senator Browne said the explanatory memorandum states, the section enables "the Irish Medicines Board to issue licences, permits and authorisations in respect of controlled drugs for various purposes including manufacture and supply, import and export". If that is the case then the Minister has no function. If the Minister has a function then the board is not enabled...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: I would like to see a study on the market for Internet drugs in different countries, depending on the generosity of their public health service, in other words, in countries where people do not have heavy prescription charges, such as ourselves, for example. The drugs refund scheme is extraordinarily good for middle class families, in particular, but it hits people on a lower income. In...

Seanad: Irish Medicines Board (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005: Committee Stage. (30 Nov 2005)

Brendan Ryan: Is there any evidence in this country of increasing numbers of people showing signs of being harmed because of this activity? I would not care so much if it was just placebos that were involved. I would not care if people just got an overdose of chalk from the tablets but I would be concerned if there were half attempts at making the active agent, containing God knows how many impurities in...