Results 16,221-16,240 of 45,608 for speaker:Simon Harris

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: The tribunal does need to agree to that; the tribunal needs to agree it is appropriate to be heard in public bit but there is no part where the tribunal can say it will be in public. It is the reverse.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: This is the bit on which I will seek clarity because I cannot see how it will happen. The default position of our Judiciary and courts is that everything is in public so judges are used to holding hearings in public. I cannot imagine such a situation but we are right to probe it. I will come back to the Deputy on Report Stage on it if there is a need to tighten the language, but I do not...

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: A hearing definitely will not be held in public without the woman's consent.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: In my view it is. The question Deputy O'Reilly asked is the reverse, with regard to whether the wording is robust enough where a woman states she does want something heard in public. I will need to check whether the wording is robust enough for this.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: No.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Let me check both positions with the tribunal and revert.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: I move amendment No. 18: In page 17, to delete lines 4 and 5 and substitute the following: "27.(1) An appeal shall lie from a determination of the Tribunal to the High Court.". This is a technical amendment coming from my engagement with the tribunal. The amendment clarifies that partial appeals can be heard. The wording was a bit ambiguous.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: I have asked the Attorney General to come back to me on this before Report Stage and I will provide clarity to the Deputy.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: I was looking for an opportunity to get the Deputy's input on this. His argument is that it should not be necessary to go to the High Court if the tribunal cannot assist-----

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: We have asked the Attorney General to interpret the Deputy's amendment and I will bring it back for Report Stage.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: The short answer is I do not have a definitive answer. I know Mr. Justice Meenan engaged with the laboratories as part of the process. The content of the legislation will not be a surprise to any of the parties. Until this gets up and running, it will be hard to tell. After we pass the legislation through the Oireachtas, that will be the appropriate time to engage further with the...

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Not that I am aware of. To the best of my knowledge, all of them had an opportunity to discuss with Mr. Justice Meenan their views on alternatives and obviously he took all of this into consideration.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: I am no spokesperson for the laboratories but this links to some of the important points I have been making on aligning the tribunal with the rules of the High Court. It makes it likely that all parties will participate because the legal rules will be the same. The format and protocols might be different and, as we have been discussing, the compassionate way we engage is different but the...

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: They can, and different women can make different decisions as well.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Absolutely, I am very well aware of that. Each case is different as well. We are not legislating to say that this is how all cases will be dealt with, nor are we asking the labs, support groups or patient advocates to agree that everyone goes this route. It will be individual cases.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Yes. These are not ideas I have come up with; we have brought in some of the most learned minds and a judge who specialises in clinical negligence, Mr. Justice Charles Meenan, to come up with a model. There does not seem to be any legal avenue available to compel external agencies to attend. That is not welcome news but it is the truth. If this was a matter of just the State, it would be...

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Yes, and people have the right. We cannot trump our court system and its place in our Constitution.

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: That is an ethical question with which we all have been grappling. As a great supporter of our screening programme, I know the Deputy remembers that, as Minister for Health, my first priority had to be the continuance of screening. I hope Deputy Bríd Smith believes me on this. It would have been great to be in a position to have the capacity here in our own country. As Dr. Scally has...

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: Responding to the second question first, absolutely, 100%. Anybody who works for this State and works for our health service will be expected to co-operate fully. That is not just my expectation; in fairness to the new director general of the HSE, I know it is one he shares as well. In response to the first question, it is a matter for the tribunal to decide when to commence its hearing....

Select Committee on Health: CervicalCheck Tribunal Bill 2019: Committee Stage (3 Jul 2019)

Simon Harris: It is important as to whether our courts decide to hear an appeal, which is a matter for them, and, when they do decide to hear it, whether they decide to hear it quickly.