Results 14,901-14,920 of 20,831 for speaker:David Norris
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Concerning my earlier comments on the Department's attitude regarding Vietnamese adoptions, there seems to be a certain amount of confusion. The closing of the existing bilateral agreement was triggered by the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. That was in spite of a general acceptance that the Vietnamese experience has been a model one and was promoted as such by the...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I thank the Minister of State for his reply and I welcome the fact he has taken up the invitation extended to him by the House to provide a clearer commitment. He has certainly done so. There was a precision, clarity and materiality about what he said, particularly in respect of Vietnam, and I am sure his comments will be welcomed by the international adoption agencies. I welcome his...
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: The Senator can give the IAA the good news.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: The Senators' concerns related to financial resources.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Does the Minister of State's office have enough money?
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I welcome the call yesterday by the leader of the Green Party and Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, for Ireland to withdraw from the European Defence Agency, a call I have been making for a long time, in particular since that group, which coyly changed its name from the European Armaments Group, is interested in the manufacture of armaments and in...
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: They make good headlines.
- Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Committee Stage (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: It has been 16 years since Ireland signed the Hague Convention. That is quite a long time gap. That may explain one point which I find interesting. The Minister of State spoke persuasively about the power and significance of the English version. Then there was the matter of the French version. I wonder is there an Irish version of the Hague Convention. This would predate the position...
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Order of Business (4 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I do not know about that.
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Hear, hear.
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I compliment the Minister of State and his advisers who have played a role in this matter. Of course, I am not for a second suggesting that the Minister of State relies extensively on the advisers, but they were a good team. The Minister of State showed himself to be in full command of this Bill. I was a bit surprised when I discovered that no amendments had been tabled to the Bill because...
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: The Constitution is badly drafted.
- Seanad: Registration Fees (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I raise this matter of concern to pharmacy students and, in particular, the sophister students. I raised an issue regarding their situation in the previous session. It concerns the increase of their registration fee to â¬1,500. The fee seems extraordinarily high and the deadline for payment is also rather harsh. I anticipate the Minister of State's response. He will start by saying that...
- Seanad: Registration Fees (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I understand the Minister of State is just reading a script. However, will he return to the Minister for Health and Children with the requests I made? It is an embarrassment to seek â¬3 million for a bit of administration. No teaching is being done and I am perfectly morally certain there is much double-jobbing going on there. The people administering this are otherwise occupied and are...
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I mentioned the issue of nomination, which can cover nomination to stand as a candidate. Many people are nominated for positions and not all are chosen. At the previous Seanad election in Trinity College there were about 14 candidates but only three of us were successful. Thus, 11 were not successful, although there may not have been quite as many as that. What about people who are...
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: I will not be tedious on this matter. However, it is instructive that the Minister of State himself instinctively used the word "appointed". I am sure if he were prosecuting a case in court he would make hay with that fact. The current wording is perhaps a coyness on the part of Government which does not like to admit too openly that it appoints people to the Seanad. Linguistically,...
- Seanad: Legal Services Ombudsman Bill 2008: Committee and Remaining Stages (3 Mar 2009)
David Norris: Section 9 confers a fairly general power in terms of function which is to receive and investigate complaints. That is terribly wide. The bodies named are the Bar Council and the Law Society and it is implicit in this that complaints may not be entertained if they are against the Judiciary. Can the Minister of State tell me whether this is the case? Can the legal ombudsman entertain a...