Results 461-480 of 2,723 for speaker:Barry Andrews

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

Barry Andrews: I have never seen such questions about parents. As I stated, however, I stand to be corrected. I restate my commitment to legislate in this area. With two years remaining in the life of the Government, it is pessimistic to suggest that legislation could not be completed before the end of this term. I have received e-mails from individuals who have been adopted. Deputy Burton is correct as...

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

Barry Andrews: The Deputy is absolutely correct. We want to introduce legislation to allow people to obtain the most information possible while respecting the limits set down by the Supreme Court in this area. I have met representatives of many groups, including the groups to which Deputy Burton referred. They are looking for very basic information. It does not even need to be identifying information....

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

Barry Andrews: To clarify what I said on the issue of family history, I was responding to a contention made by Deputy Kathleen Lynch that insurance forms, or something of that nature, required these histories. I am well aware family histories are needed in medical situations. Where medical information is sought, the Adoption Board has informed me that it deals with those issues as humanely as possible.

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

Barry Andrews: I will give heed to the Deputy's information. I am sorry if I seemed overly defensive, but I am being portrayed in a certain light in this Chamber. I am entitled to defend myself. I am absolutely sympathetic to the points being made so articulately by Deputy Burton and have no argument with what she has said. I want to proceed on the legislation in question as soon as we are finished with...

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: The adoption authority will not be involved in the appointment of guardians and this Bill does not provide for the appointment of a guardian to a child. Section 17, which deals with placement, provides that the appointment of a guardian is done by way of an application under section 6A or section 11(4) of the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964. Otherwise, as set out in section 3 of this Bill,...

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

Barry Andrews: The circumstance Deputy Shatter has raised is not adoption. It is described in the various annual reports of the Adoption Board and is a situation in which the rights of the natural father are not extinguished, which is how we understand adoption in this country. The Deputy is seeking another legal mechanism and while I do not disagree with the view of the Adoption Board in this matter,...

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

Barry Andrews: The proposed amendment suggests inserting "in the English language" into the definition of Hague Convention in section 3 of the Bill. This is considered unnecessary as it is considered a given that the text of the Hague Convention referred to in the Bill is the English language version. For that reason, I do not accept the amendment.

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...