Results 2,241-2,260 of 2,723 for speaker:Barry Andrews

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: Amendment No. 7, if included in the Bill, would exclude applicants who are resident in Ireland who have effected an adoption order in another jurisdiction before the establishment day which may be recognised by the Adoption Authority. The amendment merely makes specific provision with regard to persons who at the time of the making of the adoption order were ordinarily resident, domiciled or...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: In respect of amendment No. 10 in the name of Deputy Shatter, section 3 was brought forward from the 1952 Act, in which welfare was not defined. Thus, in the Bill before the House welfare will be interpreted in accordance with precedent and the rules of statutory interpretation. By not defining it, we are giving the term its ordinary and broadest meaning, which encompasses all aspects of...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I wish to respond to the nonsense uttered by Deputy Shatter. We were treated to the same performance on Committee Stage, although it did not last as long. I have genuine reasons for resisting the amendment. If the Deputy feels intellectually snubbed in any way, that is a pity because I have accepted some of his proposals in respect of other amendments.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I have done so, now and on Committee Stage.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: As indicated on Committee Stage, the Deputy is providing what purports to be an exhaustive list of the considerations that could be included as being pertinent to the welfare of a child. However, there are other categories which could be considered in the modern age. The broadest interpretation has been deemed appropriate by the courts in the past.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I will not rise to the Deputy's provocation. The purpose of sections 4 and 5 of the Bill is to ensure that agencies involved in the making of arrangements for adoption are registered in the register of accredited bodies. Deputy Shatter put down an amendment in regard to section 5 on Committee Stage and I acknowledged the point he made, namely, that there is a risk that simply providing...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: Amendment No. 97 refers to section 147, which states that in determining for the purposes of subsection (2) whether a person has contravened section 125, the court shall have regard to the matters set out in sections 4 and 5, and also to whether the person did any or all of the following, namely, prepared documentation to assist any prospective adopter habitually resident in the State, or...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: To clarify, I mentioned that this section is to be read with section 125. Subsection 125(1) states: A person shall not— (a) make or attempt to make an arrangement for the adoption of a child, (b) for the purpose of having a child adopted— (i) retain the child in the person's custody, or (ii) arrange to have the child retained in the custody of another person, or (c) take part in the...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: No.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I move amendment No. 12: In page 18, to delete lines 24 to 26.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I move amendment No. 13: In page 18, to delete lines 31 to 37.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I move amendment No. 14: In page 19, to delete lines 1 to 4.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: On the first amendment from Deputy Shatter to delete the words "a person who believes himself to be the father", the section is designed to allow for a situation where a dispute arises in regard to paternity, which is not unusual in certain circumstances, so that every person who believes himself to be the father can involve himself in the process. On amendment No. 17, the Civil Registration...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: These matters are already before the court. What generally happens, as the Deputies will be aware, is that the father will have to seek an order quashing an adoption order to enable him to be properly consulted if the adoption authority has dispensed with the right of the father to be consulted, which is a rare enough occurrence. If we leave matters as they are under the old system an...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: There will not be that many of them. It is a fairly simply exercise for the authority to consider. In the vast majority of cases there will not be an issue. As long as we leave matters are they are under the old system, where a real substantive issue arises, it will be dealt with in a certain way, as occurred in a case of a man who was in jail for two or three years but he had known his...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I oppose the amendments on the basic principle that consent to adoption must be given freely. The period of 12 months selected by Deputy Shatter is absolutely right. It is a very long period in the life of an infant. As the Deputy noted, a great deal of work has been done on the issue of attachment to carers which occurs very quickly in the early years of life. Later on in life 12 months...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: The Bill allows an exception for a child older than seven years to be adopted. The view and practice has been that a child under that age would not understand the concept of adoption and all flowing from it. A child may be adopted before the age of seven. Section 24 requires the authority to give consideration to both age and understanding to a child aged seven years or more, and age and...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: This section and the entirety of the legislation are governed by the principle of the best interests of the child. The welfare of the child should be the first and paramount consideration. Unlike Deputy Ó Caoláin, I do not need to remember back. He is right, about children having strong views at a young age, but I submit that sections 23 and 24 are read together. Section 24 provides an...

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: Fair enough.

Adoption Bill 2009 [Seanad]: Report Stage (Resumed) (2 Jun 2010)

Barry Andrews: I am pleased to address this matter, having given it serious consideration in the course of my work on the Bill. This issue has been use to characterise me as not having guts. Every Deputy in the House has beaten a path to my door to raise the issue of inter-country adoption and allowing adoptions from Vietnam to proceed in the face of evidence that it would not be in the best interests of...