Results 241-260 of 1,776 for speaker:Derek Nolan

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: I did not interrupt the Deputy once during his nonsense. The treaty also provides that countries which get in trouble in the future will be able to borrow money. If they run out of money, a fund will be available for them. Sinn Féin wanted the people to veto that fund at a time when the State coffers were in severe crisis. As the date of the referendum approached and those in Sinn...

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: I am not sure what the Deputy is talking about.

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: I will debate the matter with the Deputy another time.

Fiscal Responsibility Bill 2012: Second Stage (Resumed) (10 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: The Deputy has said the Government has not changed any of the policies it inherited. I remind him that we have a different policy on the banks and a different policy on job creation. We are adjusting the taxation system to make it fairer. The Government has to acknowledge that there is an economy and that the domestic economy, the public sector and other stakeholders need to be looked...

Agriculture: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (10 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: The Deputy's Government left the country bankrupt.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Reform Plan: Discussion (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: I welcome the Minister, the Minister of State and the officials to the committee. I may be following on from Deputy Donohoe's point. The plans are very ambitious, which is welcome and the Croke Park agreement is allowing for flexibility and willingness on the part of the staff. One of the issues that was raised with me early in my career as a Deputy was the lack of management,...

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: I welcome Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Menton. The terms of reference of the implementation group cover driving the implementation of the agreement, yet the targets for reform are set by the Government and implemented by management. How does the body drive the implementation of the agreement? I am trying to figure out the role of the body. There is certainly a dispute resolution mechanism,...

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: Mr. Fitzpatrick stated he sometimes sends back action plans. I assume management sends an action plan to its sector and the implementation body sends it back stating it is not ambitious enough.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: In the discussion with the Minister, the ability of the public service to manage was raised. Many people have been promoted through the ranks without necessarily having been given management training or without their having management skills. In Mr. Fitzpatrick's work, does he find there are sufficient management skills and ability to implement change? Does this present an obstacle?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: However, we are coming to the end of the agreement at the end of next year. Mr. Fitzpatrick suggests these skills are needed and must be put in place but if we are approaching the end of the agreement and the skills are not in place, it gives rise to the possibility that three years have passed in which the maximum amount of change possible has not been achieved.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: Part of the implementation body's remit is to drive implementation and review progress. However, a lot of the stuff we get lists incredible achievements. I am quite a supporter of the Croke Park agreement and what it aims to achieve but while savings and so on are listed, progress is not measured in lists but in targets. One measures progress by having a target and assessing how well one...

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: If someone is falling behind on progress, what happens? What is the consequence of not fulfilling one's action plan?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: The public sector encompasses a huge array of services, divisions, Departments and so on. Mr. Fitzpatrick should classify which sectors or Departments give the most co-operation and the least co-operation to the body. He should indicate what those sectors are and where the problems arise.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: Mr. Fitzpatrick has identified the third level sector as one in which there could be greater scope. I assume there have been meetings between the implementation group and the third level sector to push that agenda, which obviously has not happened. What is the main sticking point and why is there a drag in the third level education sector?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: What does Mr. Fitzpatrick mean by "happen quicker"?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: While I am aware Mr. Fitzpatrick is an independent chairman, why has such speed not been achieved to date in the education sector?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: Mr. Fitzpatrick has listed local government, which also is a major sector, as having 29 projects and which is moving swiftly in this regard.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: What is the difference? What is happening in education that is not happening in local government?

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: Okay.

Public Accounts Committee: Public Service Agreement 2010-14: Discussion with Implementation Body (11 Oct 2012)

Derek Nolan: As a final question, essentially the Croke Park agreement is an industrial relations agreement between the Government and the unions for industrial peace in exchange for no pay cuts and co-operation. As such, it only works for as long as both sides are of the same mind. What is Mr. Fitzpatrick's view of the appetite for or the continued acceptance of the agreement on both sides in the...