Results 821-840 of 2,723 for speaker:Barry Andrews

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: Senator O'Donovan refers to section 21. The ombudsman can accept a complaint after the six-month period if he feels justice requires it. Returning to the section we are dealing with, to answer Senator John Paul Phelan, section 19 also deals with the superannuation of the staff and the ombudsman. While the 10%-10%-80% divide might seem a little unfair given that solicitors are at the coal...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: That is less, approximately five to one. Nevertheless 10% of the levy will come from the Law Library and a little more after that. It is getting towards a representative figure while allowing the flexibility of a pro rata system. It would be reasonable to allow this to bed down to see whether fairness is reflected in the way in which the levy operates. It should also be remembered that...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: There is no charge for the complainant. Under section 21(10), the complaint to the legal services ombudsman may be made by any person on behalf of another person. That relates to the capacity of the person on whose behalf the complaint is being made. A further safeguard against anything untoward in that regard can be found in section 22(4)(b), which states that the legal services ombudsman...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: The Senator is right, delay is a source of complaint and it is something the legal services ombudsman can investigate. Equally, delay in the investigation of a complaint can lead to an injustice for the person against whom the complaint is made. He is entitled to have the complaint investigated promptly. Those safeguards are reflected in the section.

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I welcome the Senator's comments. The intention of the Bill is to provide a better service for those using legal services. In addition, legal practitioners will also benefit from whatever will be learned from all of this. The powers to be afforded to the legal services ombudsman will be quite wide and will have all the necessary balances. As I said, the legal services ombudsman can...

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I thank Senators for their kind words and I acknowledge the role played by my advisers. I was waving the Constitution around because one of my advisers brought to my attention that Article 18.1 states: "Seanad Éireann shall be composed of sixty members, of whom eleven shall be nominated members and forty-nine shall be elected members." I could not help raising that issue.

Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: Yes, but the Bill is extremely well drafted, which is reflected in the lack of amendments, although specific issues were raised.

Seanad: Registration Fees (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I am taking this Adjournment on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children, Deputy Harney. The profession of pharmacy has undergone a dynamic change since the Pharmacy Act was enacted in May 2007. Pharmacy graduates are obliged to complete six months post-qualification training before they are eligible to become registered pharmacists. This course of study, supervised work experience...

Seanad: Home Loans (3 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I thank Senator Healy Eames for raising this important matter, to which I am replying on behalf of the Minister for Finance. I will begin by addressing the Senator's concerns for those who may fall into arrears on their mortgages and on the supports available to them. I will then address the issue of fixed rate home loan agreements and the role played by the Government and the Financial...

Written Answers — Inter-Country Adoptions: Inter-Country Adoptions (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I have advised the House over recent weeks on the situation regarding inter-country adoption in Vietnam. I can inform the Deputy that officials met the group in question today to discuss their concerns.

Written Answers — Grant Payments: Grant Payments (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: My Department does not operate a Montessori grant scheme. If the Deputy has further information on the grant scheme or some reference number that can be checked I will be happy to have this further checked out within my Department.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: Senator Alex White drew an analogy between the constitutional position regarding Irish and English and the reference at the back of the Bill to French and English, but it is understood that the English version is the one that is to be interpreted in the event of a dispute. I argue that it is a given that such would be the case. There is no constitutional position of the French language...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: Senator Alex White is trying to anticipate where there might be a conflict in the future and where there might be a possibility of two interpretations arising from the two languages, French and English. There can be no doubt that English, being a constitutional language in this country, is the language in which it will be interpreted in the event of that happening. As I stated, I will look...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I thank Senators for their contributions on this important area. It has occupied much of my time in preparing this legislation over the past six months. I have had many discussions with the Adoption Association and many parents who approached me in my constituency office and elsewhere on this matter. I have received many e-mails from parents concerned about the situation, particularly as...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: I will deal first with the suggestion that we are proceeding too quickly. The Adoption Bill has been a long time in gestation. We published it five or six weeks ago after extensive consultation with the representative groups over the past few years. Since my appointment I have met the groups whenever they have requested such meetings and there is a very good relationship between them, the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: Please do.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: In that case, the figure is cited in anticipation that Ireland will not have a bilateral agreement with Vietnam. Let us not give the impression that three quarters of applicants will be left high and dry, even if we secure an agreement with Vietnam.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: While it is not the Senator's intention to give the wrong impression, it would be an unintended consequence of allowing the 78% figure to hang in the ether. On the issue of adopting siblings from countries which have not adopted the Hague Convention and do not have a bilateral agreement with Ireland, the problem, as I outlined, is that, having signed up to the standards of the convention and...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: My point was that we will probably spend more time on the bilateral agreement with Vietnam but we are making progress with Russia. In other words, we are addressing the issues which arise in this regard. I do not wish to give an impression that the process has stalled completely but a great deal of our time is taken up with the agreement with Vietnam because it is the most popular country...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)

Barry Andrews: My office has outstanding human resources available to it. The effort and work of my officials is not constrained by time issues. Complex issues must be resolved, which takes time. I reject any suggestion, although no such suggestion is being made in the House, that anyone has failed to apply himself or herself or that public servants have caused a delay.