Results 3,261-3,280 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: No legislation is promised.

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will raise the issue of circulation with the Minister for Finance and the Opposition's finance spokespersons. It is a matter for the——

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will raise the first matter. On the second issue of the House wishing a debate, it usually does.

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will raise the matter with the Minister.

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is published now.

Order of Business. (16 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is an electricity Bill. I am not sure if it is exactly the same one but there is one listed.

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. Members of staff within my Department are supported as far as it is practicable to meet their child care needs. Staff members are offered a wide variety of family friendly arrangements taking in to account the organisational needs of the Department.

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Legislation governs maternity leave and it is continually under review. Over the past six social partnership programmes there have been improvements and changes. In my Department a number of initiatives are in place to support the needs of a diverse workforce, including work sharing options, flexitime, career breaks, paternity leave, term leave, special leave for domestic circumstances,...

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Some of the issues raised by the Deputy already exist in legislation. The child care measures in my Department include term leave, for example, which quite a substantial number of people take. It allows them to take either eight, ten or 13 weeks' unpaid leave from June until the end of August to match their working arrangements with their children's summer holidays. A range of options are...

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The facility will only be available to staff in the Houses. There are some crèches in the public service, in Revenue and some other Departments, that are open to staff and there is a number of private crèches that people can use. A total of 35 staff across all grades in my Department, up to and including principal officer, avail of work sharing. That is quite a high number out of a total of...

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Is the Deputy asking about a policy for child care?

Departmental Staff. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no crèche in my Department and there are no arrangements for people to bring children. I have given details of how we try to accommodate staff but there is no facility for staff to arrive at work with their children and ask the secretary to look after them.

Northern Ireland Issues. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 30, inclusive, together. I met Prime Minister Blair in London on 11 October. The meeting offered an early opportunity to review political developments particularly in the aftermath of the decommissioning of their weapons by the IRA at the end of September. Both Governments remain determined to maintain positive momentum in the process and to bring about...

Northern Ireland Issues. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am aware of the reports and the information, although I have not seen the full aspects of it yet. The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Dermot Ahern, previous Ministers and I continually raise with the British through the Secretariat and the Secretary of State matters of collusion and names being passed to individuals, and we will continue to do that. The practice of informing people...

Northern Ireland Issues. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: On the first question, I have always made clear, in the context of restored confidence and trust in the peace process, that I would make proposals for Oireachtas participation by all Northern MPs and I made it clear that would include all sides. They complement other proposals, including that for a North-South parliamentary forum. For too long, we have not paid enough attention to Northern...

Northern Ireland Issues. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: In dealing with matters related to Northern Ireland I have repeatedly told the House that in particular circumstances the issue of the so-called on-the-runs would have to be addressed. It is now four and a half years since we completed the deliberations on that issue in Weston Park, where we first decided it should be resolved. That issue had been an over-hang all the way from May 1998, so...

Northern Ireland Issues. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Yes, I think that is the number we are talking about. If it arises, we are talking about very low numbers. Some of these may have left about 30 years ago and have resettled in various parts of the world. How many of these will reappear? The scheme does not cover the killers of Detective Garda Jerry McCabe. There are a few of those but they are not covered by the scheme, they are excluded, the...

Leaders' Questions. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I do not accept that people working in the health service, the new units in the health service or the facilities are a waste of money. Money and a large amount of resources are used. The issues raised by Dr. O'Reilly, the consultant medical oncologist to whom Deputy Kenny referred, namely, the management of delivery of health, personal and social services, are the responsibility of the HSE...

Leaders' Questions. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The former colleague of Dr. O'Reilly has taken up another post and I understand there is a locum working with Dr. O'Reilly. The matters to which he referred are being addressed by the management of Cork University Hospital. Since the implementation of the national cancer strategy some €80 million cumulative additional funding has been made available to the southern region. An additional 11...

Leaders' Questions. (22 Nov 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Arrangements are also being made to give effect to the establishment of a ten-bed medical oncology ward within the Cork University Hospital. Nobody would say that those facilities and new units are not enormously welcome and will prove to be very good value for money and a good allocation of resources.