Results 8,341-8,360 of 10,035 for speaker:Martin Cullen
- Olympic Games. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: The Government has been invited by the Olympic Council of Ireland to be represented at the Beijing Olympic Games but at this stage no decision has been taken on the question of Government representation. The European Parliament recently passed a resolution calling for a common EU position with regard to the attendance at the Olympic Games opening ceremony of the Heads of Government, Heads of...
- Olympic Games. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: That would be a great pleasure.
- Olympic Games. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I thank the Deputy for his good wishes. He has summed up the position extremely well. We are not isolated on this issue. As he can see from the indications I have given in the reply, discussions are taking place within the EU as well, and that is good. There have been some discussions among Foreign Ministers. There does not seem to be any mood to boycott the games in any way, and I would...
- Olympic Games. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I do not want to pre-empt what may come out of the talks. As I stated, there has been a meeting and we welcome that. The indications are that there will be one further meeting at least. Obviously, our wish would be that at that meeting the outstanding matters could be resolved. It is prudent to await the outcome of those talks before we make any further pronouncements on the issue....
- Legislative Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: The Irish Sports Council (amendment) Bill will enable the Irish Sports Council to establish subsidiary companies such as the Irish Institute of Sport. A number of policy issues have arisen during the course of the drafting of this legislation, which are under discussion between my Department, the Department of Finance, the Irish Sports Council and the Attorney General's office. As soon as...
- Legislative Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: That is a fair question. I am looking at the issue at the moment. There are other issues that have been put on the table and that need to be resolved. I do not necessarily take the view that the continued creation of new independent bodies is the way to go every time. I am not referring specifically to this case, but I want the Deputy to realise that I intend to look at the issue. I will...
- Legislative Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I agree with the Deputy. I have no intention of letting this issue hang around for seven years, or even seven months. If we are to proceed with it, we must do so in a way that gives it the best opportunity to be successful in its remit. It is currently under the remit of the Irish Sports Council and any funding is routed through that body. I want to make a decision on the intention, the...
- Legislative Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: Work on the Bill is ongoing and discussions between the Irish Sports Council, the Department of Finance and my Department are being finalised. I will bring the issue to a conclusion fairly quickly. If we are to proceed with this, we will publish a Bill, but if we do not proceed with it then we will not have a Bill.
- Tourism Industry. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: Immigration policy is primarily a matter for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Every sovereign state has a right and a responsibility to protect its borders and I do not believe that Ireland operates an aggressive immigration policy. From a tourism perspective, we have been fortunate to enjoy record numbers of visitors to Ireland in recent years. We welcomed over 8 million...
- Tourism Industry. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I did not use the word "niche" to suggest the market is small or insignificant, but rather to suggest it is a specific part of the market. I would not consider the â¬500 million contribution per annum to the economy as insignificant either. The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform is carrying out a review of student immigration at the moment. We will be involved in the...
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: Following the announcement of the Government's decentralisation programme in the 2004 budget, the Department, which has a staff of 130, excluding the National Archives, was designated an early mover by the decentralisation implementation group. Of the nine principal officers who were in the Department prior to the announcement of the programme of decentralisation, only one applied to...
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: Yes.
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I do not have that detail but I will get the information for the Deputy.
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I accept that there is a challenge but I have discussed this with the Secretary General and my experience in my first few days is that there has been a co-ordinated and planned approach to this. The assistant principals and principal officers to whom I referred earlier gained experience they would not otherwise have. They are not just coming in overnight and transferring to Killarney. Some...
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: The Deputy asked about me so I answered her.
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: It should be remembered that long before this programme was put in place, civil servants have moved regularly between Departments as part of promotion systems.
- Decentralisation Programme. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: It was not at the level of the decentralisation programme. Given the length of time some of these people have spent in the Department - three years in some cases - I do not think the Deputy is suggesting there is a lack of knowledge or experience of the Department. I have been in the Department only a few days and must get to know it and understand the issues in a short time. That is a...
- National Development Plan. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: The National Development Plan 2007-2013, which was published in January 2007 contains the largest ever Government investment programme for the development of the arts and culture, tourism and sport sectors. The NDP includes an â¬800 million tourism development programme, a â¬904 million cultural sub-programme and a â¬991 million sport sub-programme. These programmes contain a wide range...
- National Development Plan. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I am familiar, having spent time in the Office of Public Works, with the institutions referred to by Deputy Mitchell. I have seen at first hand the fantastic work done by the Office of Public Works not alone in Dublin, but around the country. I agree with the Deputy in respect of the proper care and storage of national archives be they pertaining to the National Archives, National Museum or...
- Horseracing Ireland. (13 May 2008)
Martin Cullen: I understand that Horse Racing Ireland is currently completing its strategic plan for 2008-12 and I look forward to receiving it in due course.