Results 1,601-1,620 of 21,128 for speaker:James Reilly

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I will begin with the middle question. Approval has been given in the past week to fill all posts in the Ombudsman's office. On prioritising the adoption (amendment) Bill, we are doing this. Obviously, the key legislation we are pushing is the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I know, but we have limited staff who are expert in this area and they can only do so much at one time. However, we hope to have it done very quickly now that the blockage has been cleared. The Deputy's last question, which was not an unreasonable one, was why we had deferred meeting the educational requirements in terms of qualifications by 12 months. It was because of problems in and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I know that some people who made the effort and managed to succeed will be annoyed. However, these are all community services which often face different challenges. Rather than deprive children of a service because of a target we have set, I prefer to have it available and the target met ultimately. There will, however, be no shifting of the requirement a second time. If an effort is not...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children: Quarterly Update on Children and Youth Issues: Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: If I had an opinion, I would not be expressing it and will tell the Deputy why. The commission is independent in carrying out its work. For me to interfere would be hugely counter-productive and undermine the independence of the entire process. I have great faith in Judge Murphy and her team and the two experts who are fellow commissioners. I have no doubt that she will do a sterling job.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: Amendment No. 1 proposes to insert a new provision in section 88 of the existing Children Act, which deals with the remand of children in custody. The effect of the proposed amendment would be to impose a maximum period of remand in custody for a child of three months from the date of being remanded in custody by the court. Section 88 of the Children Act allows that a court may remand a...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I hear what the Deputies are saying but I would contend that the primary policy issue being addressed by the Bill is the need to end the detention of children in adult prison facilities. However, I understand the concern expressed by Deputies, which has also been expressed by organisations outside this House, in relation to the relatively high use of remands in custody under section 88 of...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: With respect the issue raised was discussed in fair detail in the Seanad and on Second Stage. Amendment No. 3 as proposed would result in a free-standing requirement that remanded children would be kept separate from sentenced children in all circumstances. Section 88(8) of the existing Children Act 2001 deals with the issue of the separation of remand children and detention children where...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: The proposal is to substitute “what other” for "whether another” in the proposed new section 88(2) of the Children Act as contained in section 6 of this Bill. The purpose of section 88 is to introduce a new power to transfer children between remand centres where the remand centre to which the child is being transferred caters for that class of child or where the Minister...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I move amendment No. 5:In page 9, between lines 38 and 39, to insert the following:“Amendment of section 143 of Principal Act8. Section 143 of the Principal Act is amended, in subsection (2), by the insertion of “in language that is appropriate to the age and level of understanding of the child concerned” after “give its reasons for doing so in open...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: Amendment No. 7 proposes to provide, in a new subsection (2) at section 149, that the Court shall not impose a period of detention in excess of three years and, where it imposes any period of detention, that it shall give its reasons in writing in language that is appropriate to the age and level of understanding of the child. Detention is always a measure of last resort, and that is clearly...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I will make one point because the Deputy keeps mentioning prison. The point of this Bill is that children will not go to prison. It is a detention centre that has a different ethos very much focused on education and rehabilitation whereas the adult prison system has an element of restorative justice and punishment about it. Amendment No. 6 proposes to insert the words “and may be...

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I have a long response for the Deputy.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I am not going to accept amendment No. 8 but I will look at amendment No. 9 and consult with the Attorney General. I understand the principle behind the amendment. I have to be careful about the language used because it could have unforeseen consequences for other sections in the Bill. Therefore, I need to consult the Attorney General and I will come back on Report Stage with something.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I have a big long answer for the Deputy.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I am not going to accept amendment No. 10 and I will briefly explain why. My legal advice is that if one stipulates each thing that is not allowed then other things, ergo, are allowed, which clearly should not be allowed. One cannot give an exhaustive list and that is the danger of doing what the Deputy has suggested. Accordingly, I do not accept the amendment.

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Children and Youth Affairs: Children (Amendment) Bill 2015 [Seanad]: Committee Stage (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: No; I just want to thank the Deputies for their co-operation. I will endeavour to examine the issues I said I would examine, and I look forward to Report Stage. As a principle, and to say what may be blindly obvious, let us not let the perfect get in the way of the good.

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: HIQA Reports (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: I propose to take Questions Nos. 140 and 143 to 146, inclusive, together. The inspection report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) on the child and welfare services in Louth Meath describes serious concerns regarding the standard of services being provided to children and families in the area. Tusla had notified me on the problems in the services prior to the...

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Ministerial Meetings (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: The information is in the table. Number of Meeting Requests Number of Meetings held with Minister Number of Meetings held with Officials of Department 6 0 1

Written Answers — Department of Children and Youth Affairs: Youth Services Funding (2 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: My Department administers a range of funding schemes and programmes to support the provision of youth services to young people throughout the country including those from disadvantaged communities. The funding schemes support national and local youth work provision to some 380,000 young people and involve approximately 1,400 youth work staff in 477 projects and 40,000 volunteers working in...

Environment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2014: Motion to Recommit (1 Jul 2015)

James Reilly: That is rich coming from Sinn Féin.