Results 2,501-2,520 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——was procured following an EU tendering process and international evaluations.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I would like to respond to Deputy Kenny. The system was extended considerably after the procurement process was completed. The Hay report stated that considerable savings could accrue if the system could be made to work. Modern organisations require top-class systems. The system in question is used here by several multinational businesses.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: However, because of the enormous number of grades — there are close to 26,000 coded grades across the health service — it is simply not compatible with what they are doing. Last October and again this year, the Health Service Executive, with officials of the Department of Finance, stated several times through the news media that it was reviewing the system. It does not intend to dump the...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I remind Members that when we raised issues of accountability in this House during the establishment of the HSE, it was those on the other side of the House who said there was too much accountability. We will work with the HSE to deal with this system so that we achieve a modern organisation, properly constituted, with 140,000 staff, and spending €7 billion per annum. We will continue with...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I reiterate that Professor Drumm and his colleagues have worked for some months in consultation with the Department of Finance to examine the difficulties with trying to bring a full system to fruition. The correspondence between them is available under freedom of information legislation and is in the public domain.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The system was not implemented until 2002. The HSE is endeavouring to solve this. Whether it is exactly this system or an alternative system, or the system that applies to 40,000 staff, with some change to the system for the other 100,000 staff, it is vital a coherent system is found. The HSE has used an EU evaluation system and the best consultants in the country — the Hay organisation and...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It continues to do that. With regard to medical cards, funding was provided this year to allow the HSE to introduce 30,000 additional medical cards and income assessment guidelines to assess these medical cards.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The negotiations with the Irish Medical Organisation have been completed. The Department and the HSE are reviewing the operation of the income assessment guidelines. Funding has been provided to allow the HSE to introduce 200,000 new GP visit cards. The issues that delayed this process, of which the House is well aware, were successfully clarified and finalised last week, on 29 September....

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——the House would complain about that. The Tánaiste has continued all this year to implement the ten-point plan for accident and emergency services. Most of those initiatives are well under way. All of them are assisting in improving accident and emergency services in hospitals throughout the country. An improvement is apparent in many accident and emergency departments in regard to...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I stated that funding had been provided and that the income assessment guidelines used to assess medical card applications had been increased by 7.5% to achieve 30,000 additional cards. New cards are being issued every day.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Some people have moved beyond the income guidelines. If salaries increase, some are no longer entitled to cards and do not get them. However, those who are entitled to cards get them. That is how the system has always worked. Some 1,149,000 people are covered by medical cards, a situation which improves day by day. Moreover, the Tánaiste has made changes never before made by any Minister for...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——on mortgages and on net pay.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: These changes were very helpful. They allow people who would not have got them before to get medical cards. The Deputies protest because they do not like to see excellent reforms introduced by the Tánaiste to improve the net position of people on medical cards. The Tánaiste has achieved that.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I dealt with this last week. As the Deputy knows, the flag of convenience has been used on the seas generally for many decades. It has been exploited far beyond Irish Ferries. In fact, Irish Ferries made the point to its workforce for the past number of years that it was one of the few companies not engaged in this practice and the reason it was arguing about its cost base was that so many...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am trying to help to resolve a situation in Irish Ferries and not to create a problem in other companies. Government policy has always been that Irish seafaring employment is maximised for its own sake so that Ireland can develop and grow its maritime sector. The loss of significant Irish seafaring employment in Irish Ferries would be a significant blow. That is why we are trying to avoid...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is not a sham. The old days when the Deputy was inciting people to such actions was when we had high unemployment and high emigration. While sometimes I feel the Deputy is joking, other times I feel he honestly believes that going back to 20% unemployment rates and high emigration is progress.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It has much to do with it. Social partnership addressed this and moved us away from the old rant that the Deputy and others had 20 years ago.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We went down the tubes when we followed that line. It was when we turned that around that we made this country a success. Talk about closing down the Irish seas and stopping exports from exiting is the most stupid thing I have heard Deputy Joe Higgins say in a long time.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: These matters are nonsense. The Deputy should be advising those who listen to him, although they are not many, that social partnership is right and that they should be engaged and active in it.

Order of Business. (4 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. 13, Supplementary Estimate for public services [Vote 31], back from committee; No. 14, motion re membership of committees; No. 15, Railway Safety Bill 2001 — instruction to committee; No. 20, statements on Corrib gas field; and No. 21, Railway Safety Bill 2001 — Order for Report, Report and Final Stages. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing...