Results 7,521-7,540 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I want to get it right rather than rush it. However, while I do not know about growing opinion in the newspapers, I know of growing opinion among people who were quite agitated last night and this morning. They have waited for us to deal with some of the issues that were comprehensively dealt with in the Constitution review report, following the Mrs. Justice McGuinness report of 1993. It...

Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Please, Deputy. It came out of the all-party committee yet ten years on we want more time and some are even suggesting we should have another committee. Some of the groups are very agitated as a result. I am trying to be helpful. The parties have had the substance of our proposals for several weeks and have had the proposals since Monday. I understand they must have some time but I would...

Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It was pointed out that to do that, we would need the protection of the Constitution. That is why there has been a long delay on this issue. There has been a long-term mission to outline documents to see whether we can establish a designated statutory body with overall responsibility for collecting and sharing information with other agencies about the risk or occurrence of child sexual...

Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Bill is in the Seanad.

Order of Business (21 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I answered on this yesterday. It is due in early summer.

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. The evaluation of files for release to the National Archives is carried out by designated officials in my Department. I have no role in that process. As files are processed for release each year, it is normal that some are certified by the appropriate official for retention on the grounds set forth in the Act. Under section 8(6)...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The files are sent to the National Archives every year so all of the records will be there. Of the six files in question, two were withheld under section 8(4)(a) of the Act, which relates to public interest, one was held under section 8(4)(b), which relates to information obtained in confidence, and one was held under section 8(4)(c), which relates to distress or danger of defamation. In...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Even the names of most of these files are not given because that would be too much information. Not many files are withheld every year — between five and nine files each year in recent times — and most relate to people in Northern Ireland who wrote to the Taoiseach of the day with information. While the files come under the category of public interest information obtained in confidence,...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Very few, to the best of my knowledge. I have the figures from 1999 and later and no file or part-file was withheld in 1999 or in the few preceding years. The 30 year rule affects files from the 1969 to 1970 period so in 2000 and 2001 there were 12 and 13 such files. The figures for the years after this were five, five and six. Almost all of these files related to security information...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: They are reviewed every five years. I am not sure that the files I have seen and those that have been held back will ever be released unless, as in the human rights situation, we can get them out eventually. Many of the files relate to people writing to the Taoiseach of the day and giving their view or assessment of information they believed to be security information. How can anyone ever...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: No files relating to the Sallins robbery were held in my Department. They would have been Garda files or files held by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. As I stated, the only files in my Department related to the security situation and only a very small number of files were held back. The files related to security information and we had no files relating to the issues the...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The National Archives has legislation, procedures and a budget for dealing with these issues so I do not want to answer on its behalf. State papers are released under the National Archives Act and provide historians with valuable insights into the Government's consideration of the events of 30 years previously. I am sure those analysing these historical records will find the State papers a...

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Since the Government successfully implemented the other changes, it should consider this proposal along with everything else.

Departmental Files. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Naughten obviously agrees with the actions we have already taken in this area.

Civil Service Regulation. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together. As I indicated in reply to previous questions on the matter, the recommendations of the Nally report in regard to the reorganisation of the Chief State Solicitor's office have been largely implemented. The recommendation that responsibility for local State solicitors should be transferred from the Attorney General to the DPP,...

Civil Service Regulation. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will not give judgments on these issues. The questions relate to the Nally report's recommendations on the updating of the Office of the Chief State Solicitor's in 1999 to improve relationships between the office and the DPP and on the powers that should be transferred from the Attorney General to the DPP, with legislative provision to allow the DPP to delegate to the Chief State...

Civil Service Regulation. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: In recent times 75 additional staff were taken on but the more recent proposal is to have a separate research unit with staff who would not be involved in the ordinary day-to-day cases. In the context of this year's Estimates, they sought resources. I do not know at what stage the negotiations are at present. It seems a very valid point that staff involved in day-to-day cases should not be...

Strategic Management Initiative. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 and 12 together. Significant progress has been made since the publication of the 2001 OECD report, Regulatory Reform in Ireland. The focus of our efforts in progressing regulatory reform is now on implementing the Government White Paper, Regulating Better, which was published in January 2004 in response to the OECD's report. The White Paper sets out six...

Strategic Management Initiative. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I hope those targets are being met. My officials are doing their utmost.

Strategic Management Initiative. (27 Feb 2007)

Bertie Ahern: On what has happened with regard to regulation generally, a unit in my Department is working across the whole OECD area and the 2001 report. It is actively driving implementation and working with other Departments in trying to move it on. In some cases, it is the regulators who have the responsibilities. In other cases, a number of regulatory bodies are involved in respect of the...