Results 1,461-1,480 of 2,723 for speaker:Barry Andrews

Health Services. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The overall policy of the Office of the Minister for Health and Children, in line with the HSE, is to try to move towards early intervention and prevention. If there were 50 or 60 social workers employed, as would be required under the proposal made regarding an out of hours service, I would love to put them into the families most at risk and try to avoid a situation that leads to children...

Health Services. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The appropriate response is, first, to provide a place of safety, as outlined in section 12, and then tie in, under the HSE reconfiguration, to the primary care system, so we can also tie into the acute hospitals and the out of hours services that are available.

Departmental Reports. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I am not in a position to comment on any of the content of the report that has been redacted following legal advice, and that includes recommendations so affected. I indicated at the outset that I was determined to publish as much of the report as was possible following legal advice and in the public interest, and that is the context in which the redacted report was published on 12 May,...

Departmental Reports. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I have said it before and I will repeat that I had no obligation to publish anything in this report. I was anxious to publish as much of it as I could, subject to the legal advice that I received. If we were in the business of cover up, none of the report would have been published. The most hard hitting recommendations would not have been published. Those parts that were not published...

Departmental Reports. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I reject all of that. I consider myself fully accountable to this House and to its committees. I discharge my responsibility with a great seriousness. I do not discharge it on an institutional basis, but to the best of my ability. Deputy Shatter referred to section 12 of the Child Care Act and the obligation of the Garda Síochána. That obligation exists and should be discharged. The...

Departmental Reports. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: -----and their obligations are understood among each other. The Ryan commission report is an absolute catalogue of failure and neglect by the State and religious congregations. The Cabinet has undertaken to consider it next week, and a debate will take place in this House on 9 June. We will be able to go into it in more detail then.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: As I have indicated, I am considering the option of apprising the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children on the substance of the redacted recommendations in a manner and context which ensures the rights of those involved are protected and no reputational damage is suffered. That process is ongoing and I am seeking legal advice in that regard. Some seven of the recommendations of...

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I did not say the most hard-hitting recommendations were left in and less hard-hitting ones left out. I simply said that those recommendations that were published were hard hitting. I was trying to underline the point that we were not in the business of censoring or covering up whatsoever.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The point I am trying to make is-----

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: You are suggesting that there is a cover-up and we are trying to protect reputations.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: That is simply not the case.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The recommendations will need to be taken on board by the relevant statutory authorities and the Ministers responsible. Regarding their implementation, I am seeking advice on how I can circulate to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children the substance of the recommendations and also ensure that the committee would be satisfied that those recommendations would have been followed...

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I replied to the first question. I do not believe there is a choice between reputations and protecting the interests of children. I believe that is a false dichotomy as I said before.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: It is possible to do both and it is not an either-or situation. It is a very simplistic analysis of the situation. I have tried to do that. I have tried to protect the reputations and the legal rights of individuals as well as to-----

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I want to publish of as much of the report as possible for the benefit of the general public and health professionals. I recall that the morning after the Monageer report was published, Deputy Shatter admonished the Taoiseach on his lack of historical memory of the Kelly Fitzgerald case. To refresh the Deputy's own memory, the Minister of the time, who was a Fine Gael Member, was heavily...

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The only difference between then and now is Deputy Shatter is sitting on the Opposition benches.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: He is allowing himself to bathed in self-righteousness in the typical way he addresses this House every time he enters the Chamber.

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: In the Kelly Fitzgerald case, of course I am not trying to suggest-----

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: -----that because the tragic Dunne family-----

Health Service Inquiries. (21 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I did not intend to suggest that the tragic deaths of the parents of the Dunne family were distinguishable from the Kelly Fitzgerald case. I was trying to underline that, as Mr. Justice Seán Ryan alludes to in his report, where a conviction has already been achieved there are fewer constraints on the publication of matters causing reputational damage. The publication of the Kelly...