Results 3,421-3,440 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. As I have outlined to the House previously, most recently on 4 May, following the publication of the Quigley report, additional procedures were approved by the Government for incorporation into the Cabinet handbook which were made available on my Department's website. Those procedures have given the Secretary General to the...
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: On the first point, I reiterate what I said in my reply. There is no special interdepartmental group in my Department dealing with the application of procedures on procurement. There was no intention at any time to establish such a group. The Quigley report contained a number of recommendations in this regard for four or five Departments, including the Departments of the Environment, Heritage...
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I thank the Deputy.
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I do not use an agency. The Department of the Taoiseach would use an agency if it was dealing with a certain issue, such as the Irish Presidency of the EU or a particular launch.
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny's question is related toââ
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: In fairness, as the Deputy said, it is a practice that has grown up over many years.
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: He is in the same constituency as the Deputy.
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: If Deputy Kenny asked me to outline my views on this matter, I think it is an industry that is far bigger than its merits. The people in the private and government sectors who pay big money for its services are wasting their money, most of the time, especially if they think it will do something great.
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I reiterate that it is not a committee, but a branch of the Government secretariat that is responsible for considering matters of this nature when they are brought to its attention. The new rules in the public relations area state that when a level of direct service is provided for a Minister or a Minister suggests a name to be included in the tender, any questions relating to the retention...
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I again repeat the Quigley report recommendations. The procedures apply particularly in the PR or communication area where there was a significant element of direct service to a Minister or where a Minister suggested the name of a person or enterprise for a consultancy or contract. That is the area in which the Cabinet secretariat is involved. It is not involved in matters that have nothing...
- Consultancy Contracts. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: On procurement, as I stated, the sub-group consisting of representatives of the Department of Finance and the Government contracts committee carried out a review in accordance with the Quigley recommendations and the guidelines consolidating various elements of existing guidelines and augmenting them where appropriate have been made available. As I said, within the broader OPW a working group...
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 16, inclusive, together. As I previously informed the House, in late September I invited the social partners to participate in talks on a successor agreement to Sustaining Progress. I confirmed that the Government would enter the talks on the basis of our programme for Government and within the framework of the forthcoming NESC three-year strategic...
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I welcome Deputy Kenny's words on the current discussions. I appreciate the work done by the national implementation body over the weekend. The president of ICTU, the general secretary of IBEC and the Secretary General of my Department worked extremely hard to find a basis on which to deal with an extremely difficult issue. Their terms were to try to put the Labour Relations Commission back...
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: The Deputy has asked a large number of questions, which I will try to answer. The national implementation body â just to focus on the latest recommendation and not go back over the Labour Court and earlier recommendations of the Labour Relations Commission â made recommendations on four main issues. It said that Irish Ferries should suspend its application to re-register its vessels on...
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: I will answer Deputy Sargent's question first. When the draft directive was first presented, virtually no country supported it.
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: The Commission withdrew it with practically no support.
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: The Minister of State, Deputy Gallagher, has advocated the Commission presenting it again in a different form to address the issues where there was fundamental disagreement on the part of several countries because there was no hope of success. On Deputy Rabbitte's point on the service directive, I worked last year, particularly with the French, to ensure that the directive as it was at that...
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: That was asked about during Leaders' Questions recently. We have made huge headway in taking the minimum wage out of the tax net. That is an expensive approach because when it is done to the minimum wage, it applies to everyone across the band. If it could be directed at the top level, it would be possible to do much more.
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: We have not reached 80% but we have made huge strides.
- Social Partnership Agreements. (6 Dec 2005)
Bertie Ahern: We have higher salaries and attractive tax rates. While we have not got every figure exactly, I do not think we have too much to apologise for. We are committed to trying to get to 80%.