Results 20,181-20,200 of 20,682 for speaker:Mary Hanafin

Seanad: Accident and Emergency Services (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: As this is not my Department, I am not in a position to give that information to the Senator, but I will pass on his comments to the Minister.

Seanad: Care of the Elderly (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Senator McFadden for raising this issue which is obviously a sensitive one for the residents and their families. The Government is committed to supporting people to live in dignity and independence in their homes and communities for as long as possible, but where this is not feasible the health service supports access to quality long-term residential care where this is appropriate,...

Seanad: Care of the Elderly (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: As a result of this there are significant challenges for both Loughloe House and St. Vincent's in meeting the necessary HIQA requirements, given the design, age and conditions of the two buildings. Loughloe House has been inspected by HIQA. Numerous concerns have been raised in the course of this inspection both in terms of the physical infrastructure and in regard to management and staffing...

Seanad: Care of the Elderly (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I will have to put that question to the Minister for Health and Children.

Seanad: Tourism Industry (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I thank Senator Buttimer for raising this issue. The volcanic ash issue is not alone important in terms of its impact on us but in terms of its impact on the Irish economy, jobs and revenue. The total value placed on the Irish tourism industry is approximately €5 billion, including domestic and international tourists to Ireland. Last year, seven million tourists visited Ireland. While...

Seanad: Tourism Industry (11 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I would not underestimate the value of the Dublin convention centre, which has the potential to attract major conferences, particularly medical, scientific and pharmaceutical conferences. Our aim is that when people come to Ireland for these that they take an extra few days to play golf and visit the other regions. The airport tax is a hot potato as some would say it is impacting on tourism....

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (12 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The table below sets out the grants paid by my Department on each project under the Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann Capital Development Programme in each of the last five years. Project County Paid in 2005 € Paid in 2006 € Paid in 2007 € Paid in 2008 € Paid in 2009 € Cois na hAbhna, Ennis Clare 86,701 509,167 1,140,440 162,588 St Senan's, Kilrush Clare 34,248 156,673...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (12 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The information requested by the Deputy is as follows: National Archives Year Nature of service Cost (ex VAT) Tenders sought Company contracted NA Staff IT numbers 2007 Census Project - Search application development €12,500.00 Yes AIS.PL, Torun, Poland 2 2007 Census Project - Web application server hosting €24,000.00 Yes Eircom 2 2008 Census Project - Web application server hosting...

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (13 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The table below sets out the cost of my combined T.D and Ministerial salary. T.D â'¬ 92,672 Ministerial â'¬ 98,745 Total â'¬ 191,417 The salaries payable to the staff in my Department are set out in Department of Finance Circular 28/2009 which is available on the Department of Finance website. There is no member of staff in the Department on a salary equal to or higher than my...

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (18 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The moratorium on staffing in the public service was introduced from 27 March 2008 to end 2010. The table below sets out the numbers, in terms of whole time equivalents, employed in the State bodies under the aegis of my Department as at 31 December 2008 and 31 December 2009. Name of Agency Number of staff serving at end 2008 Number of staff serving at end 2009 Arts Council 62 58.50...

Written Answers — European Council Meetings: European Council Meetings (18 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: The requested information in respect of formal meetings of the Council of the European Union for the past three years is as set out in tabular form as follows. Education, Youth and Culture Council Date of Meeting Attendance 24 May 2007 Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Representation of Ireland to the European Union, Brussels 16 November 2007 Deputy Permanent Representative,...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (18 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I presume that the Deputy is referring to occupational pensions paid to staff employed in the Department or in the agencies under the aegis of the Department. The specific information requested is not available for all departmental staff as records of past employments of new recruits are not captured in such a way as to provide a dedicated basis for compiling the information requested by the...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 37 together. This year was always going to be a challenging one for tourism, made even more difficult in recent weeks by the travel disruption due to volcanic ash. Based on Central Statistics Office surveys, the number of overseas visits to Ireland fell by 11.6% between 2008 and 2009. However, these figures must be seen in the context of a decline in...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I believe it is valuable to have the charter. It addresses more than just cancellation fees. In other countries people who found themselves stranded, especially in the lead-up to a weekend, found that the prices for a hotel room for a weekend were far in excess of what they had been paying, whereas here they will not be charged over and above what they had been paying. Another factor that...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: When this was offered to people the response was very positive. Deputy Mitchell says that is basic customer care. While I agree it is, it has not always been the case in the past that people did not capitalise on unforeseen events such as volcanic ash. However, this charter is based on how the hospitality industry reacted and responded to people in the past month. We argued as to whether...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: We shall have to see how that pans out over the year because of the decreasing numbers and the impact on the airport in recent months but it is not possible to do anything about it in the mid-year because it is a budgetary matter. We continue our marketing campaign, targeting and working in a co-operative and new way with the ferries. People who never used ferries in the past have...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Tourism and booking by tourists have changed in recent years. In the past people tended to book their annual holiday months in advance but increasingly they are booking much closer to departure dates and we have had to adapt our marketing strategies to look after them. The fact that the marketing budget for this year, which was increased, is now spent on a more seasonal basis means we are...

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: Any answers I might give in regard to Fáilte Ireland and Tourism Ireland obviously reflect all my interaction and work with Fáilte Ireland because it is directly funded by the Department.

Tourism Industry (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I am not aware there is a specific Fáilte Ireland stand there dealing with issues but, as part of this charter, all the accommodation bases have made themselves available to give personal information to assist their guests in arranging return journeys and are liaising with local tourist offices to facilitate individual requirements. It is being done very much on a localised basis.

Sports Funding (19 May 2010)

Mary Hanafin: I recently met with representatives of the Irish Rugby Football Union who briefed me on the organisation's opposition to the proposals by the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources to make a number of additions to the current list of designated events of major importance to society, thus making them free-to-air for Irish television viewers. The IRFU considers that any form...