Results 3,601-3,620 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Minister has asked that he make a statement on that and he will deal with the issue.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am, yes, but the Minister is going to deal with it.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will not try to deal with the question in a few seconds. The Minister, whom I support fully, will outline the issue shortly.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If there was no statement, I would answer the question, but the Minister has asked to make a statement and I support what he will say shortly. There is public interest in the disclosure of criminal activity, particularly where that disclosure is intended to protect the State's interest in maintaining the integrity of the passport system and the upholding of the relevant laws. The Minister is...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I say for the third time that the Minister will speak on behalf of the Government and will give its collective position on this issue. He will not speak as Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, but for the Government and he will outline the facts. There is no Garda file, the Minister does not have the Garda file. The Deputy is under the same misapprehension as others, that the...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Minister was not dealing with a Garda file, he was dealing with a bogus application over a period, over the past few months. It is always the same here, something big happens in the height of summer and everybody then wants to forget about it. I was called on by all sides in this House some months ago to return to the House and deal with the issue of the Colombia Three. There were...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Will the Deputy listen? The one thing people do not want to do is listen, they just want to raise issues. The Minister will outline the issues shortly. There were serious issues. The view that the Minister was the first person to put this matter in the public domain a few weeks ago is nonsense. These matters happened long before 28 July when the IRA, thankfully — it was one of the great...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The point the Deputy is making is entirely incorrect. There is no question of there being a campaign against the Centre for Public Inquiry, which happens to be Mr. Connolly's employer.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The matter centres round the fraudulent use——

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——of an Irish passport and the activities of persons belonging to a proscribed organisation bent on subverting the State. It is about this and not about any of the other issues raised.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Over the years I have had many meetings with Mr. Chuck Feeney on many issues and I hope I will continue to do so. Mr. Feeney is very helpful to the State in respect of many projects, and many people involved in education, child care and other areas are very grateful for his activities. On the Minister being able to set down in a fair way his position on issues that have arisen or issues on...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy, who does not believe there are many ways of investigating issues, wants another body. We have had tribunals and we have investigations and procedures. The Deputy should note there is nothing wrong with facts relating to criminal conduct being revealed other than through the process of a criminal trial, on which he based has last comment.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: For as long as I have been Taoiseach, facts have been revealed day in, day out, at Dublin Castle, which facts Deputy Sargent used for many years in the House as the sole basis for his arguments.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Were they proven facts? The media revealed facts about crimes and named accused persons or those helping the police with their inquiries.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no constitutional——

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As soon as the Green Party's argument is demolished, its members interrupt. There is no constitutional prohibition on these processes being used for revealing factual information. The right to a fair trial is a fundamental aspect of our constitutional system and it cannot be qualified or abrogated.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The argument put forward by the Green Party does not stand.

Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. 11, Supplementary Estimates for Public Services, Votes 6, 13, 20, 26, 27, 30 and 35, which are back from committee; No. a19, statement by the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform in regard to information now in the public domain reflecting on the probity and past conduct and fitness to hold office of the chief executive of the Centre for Public Inquiry; and...

Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Government will agree to sitting until 11 p.m.

Order of Business. (13 Dec 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We intend to get it running but there is a question of getting sufficient staff numbers to be able to operate the system. Certain standards must be complied with, not only with Irish but staff having another continental language. We are still doing everything we can to ensure it starts.