Results 1,581-1,600 of 2,723 for speaker:Barry Andrews

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: This issue was discussed yesterday and obviously my sentiments have not changed since then. I hope the comments I made yesterday also will stand in respect of this amendment.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I am not sure of the motivation behind this. It is a dilution of the principle that the same standards of eligibility and suitability should apply to all applicants in adoptions in order to protect the interests of the children proposed to be adopted. I cannot see how a married couple can be separated as envisaged by the first amendment so that one could be assessed positively while setting...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I addressed this earlier-----

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: Amendment No. 40 suggests waiving provisions that are unnecessary for the protection of the child's welfare. It is important to recognise that adoption is a service for children. Where the State presumes to provide the place of parents or endorse the role of parents, it must be satisfied about the best interests of any child being placed in the care of persons not the child's parents....

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: With regard to these amendments, the HSE has the primary and statutory role in child protection in this country. What is envisaged is that the HSE would be the first point of contact. If an accredited agency would be able to carry out some of the procedures relating to assessment, they would do it through the HSE. The statutory procedure is there to allow this to happen but the HSE has the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: One of the amendments in the group uses the conjunctive and the rest use the disjunctive.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The Senator's amendment uses "and", which implies that one must apply to both the HSE and the accredited body. If we are speaking about bureaucracy, that would add unnecessary layers. I presume that what was envisaged was that one or the other would be done and one could be left with an alternative. As I stated in a previous reply, I do not believe that possible with regard to the Child...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The provision in section 37(2) is intended to streamline the process rather than anything else and to link the various stages from the outset to foreshorten the process.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: That is not the position.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The Senator is correct that the points relating to this amendment flow from those raised during our discussion on the previous amendment to which he referred. I will consider the amendment and raise it with the Adoption Board - in the interest of discovering how it might envisage something of this nature being achieved - between now and the debate in the Dáil. I do not argue with the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: Section 14 provides for the mother or guardian placing a child for adoption to be supplied with a written statement explaining that the placement is the beginning of the adoption process, the effect of an adoption order and the consents necessary, and requires that the mother or guardian sign a document stating that he or she understands the import of the written statement. Mothers are...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: This is the first occasion on which I have been charged with guiding substantive legislation through the Houses of the Oireachtas. The process relating to Committee Stage in this House was absolutely excellent. The Bill was scoped out in a way which I did not anticipate and which was very useful. We are all on the same page in respect of the issue under discussion and I have accepted the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: We have done extensive work in finding out what the issue is with post-placement reports and the Russian authorities. In reply to a recent parliamentary question on the matter, I stated there are 34 missing post-placement reports out of a total of 450 from last year. The majority of the outstanding reports have been completed and are with adoptive parents for translation and notarisation....

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The Health Service Executive completed over 450 reports last year in respect of children adopted from the Russian Federation. Pact, An Adoption Alliance, has not been blacklisted by the Russian authorities but it only completed seven last year.

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The figure refers to reports for over one year. In any case, much progress has been made on this issue. It is an issue that we have in common with other countries, unfortunately. The Russian authorities, I believe, simply decided to put the foot down to ensure they had all materials contemporaneously and there would be no delays in the furnishing of these post-placement reports. It is a...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The protections afforded to non-adopted children are also afforded to adopted children under the Child Care Act. If the concern is related to post-placement reports, that is a separate issue. It is not an obligation of the Adoption Authority. There is also the constitutional issue of the right of any family to exclude a person from insisting on a post-placement report. Under the...

Seanad: Adoption Bill 2009: Report Stage (Resumed) (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: I answered the questions I was asked.

Written Answers — Child Care Services: Child Care Services (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: As the Deputy will be aware, I have responsibility for the implementation of the new scheme to provide a free Pre-School year of Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) which was announced recently by the Minister for Finance. The scheme, which is being introduced from January 2010, will be open to almost 5,000 private and voluntary pre-school services, including montessori schools. The...

Written Answers — Young Offenders: Young Offenders (14 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: The Irish Youth Justice Service is responsible for the provision of accommodation for young offenders detained by the courts in the 4 Children Detention Schools and I am satisfied that there is adequate provision to meet the demands of the courts in this regard. The National Youth Justice Strategy (2008-2010) was published in March 2008 and sets out a range of agreed objectives across a...

Written Answers — Children in Care: Children in Care (13 May 2009)

Barry Andrews: As this is a service matter it has been referred to the HSE for direct reply.