Results 8,441-8,460 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: In reply to Deputy Gilmore, neither the HSE budget nor its approved staffing level has been cut. There has been no cut in its service agreement——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: There has been no cut in the resources provided for its service agreement or in its staffing level for 2007.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: There has been no cut. The budget allocation, service agreement and staffing levels for 2007 have not been cut. This is a fact.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Another fact is that the HSE is seeing tens of thousands more patients in a faster time than has ever happened in the Irish health service. It is competently extending and advancing a more sophisticated service to patients in public hospitals and in community care than ever before. More community care packages and services than ever before are being provided throughout the country.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Gilmore rightly stated there are a number of difficulties with the HSE. I have admitted that a consultant anaesthetist in Cavan is on two weeks annual leave and that at local management level it was considered that some of the non-essential caseload could be left aside for two weeks and a consultant locum would not be appointed.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: That was the decision taken locally. The Cabinet does not sit down and make calls about staff resources in each hospital and area of the country.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: What the Cabinet is doing——

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Cabinet regularly sits down with the management of the Health Service Executive and the Department of Health and Children and we work through the HSE reform programme to make sure we get best value for our investment in services and resources and that the thousands of additional staff at the level of consultants, junior hospital doctors, nurses and others are used to the best advantage....

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We are not involved in every separate decision but we are helping the HSE to structure its reform programme in an efficient way to ensure that it can see even more patients more quickly in the future.

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. I am pleased to say that implementation of the relevant recommendations of the Nally report on the re-organisation of the Chief State Solicitor's office is now completed. The last recommendation to be acted upon, that responsibility for the local State solicitors should be transferred from the Office of the Attorney General to the...

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: There have been difficulties in the Chief State Solicitor's office and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. For the first time, we have come to the end of those difficulties and staffing is in place. There has been a huge increase in staffing in recent years and this has given rise to a need for new office accommodation. Deputy Kenny has raised these matters a number of...

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Chief State Solicitor's office has recruited a large number of staff. The office complement is 249, which represents a large increase in the last number of years. The complexity and range of cases covered by the office has also risen dramatically. This aspect of the work of the office was analysed by the Departments of Finance and Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the Office of the...

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I ask Deputy Ó Caoláin to table a question on that matter to the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform because I have no details of it. I assume the Office of the Chief State Solicitor is applying the EU directives and law correctly, as it would in all cases. I have no other comment to make. I have no information on the tribunals, but in the case of the Moriarty and Mahon...

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will try to do that. I understand the office accommodation has been sourced. My note states that currently the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution is sited on two locations. The additional accommodation being sourced by OPW is in a third location. This will in itself lead to difficulties because the office intends to move to Infirmary Road, but that is dependent on the...

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It is on the edge of my constituency. The sea fisheries work is transferring to the office, as well as work arising from some of the initiatives in the criminal justice sector. I do not think the 14.5 posts sanctioned will cover for this additional work. There is a requirement for additional staff for those two areas.

Offices of the Chief State Solicitor and Director of Public Prosecutions. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: That has not been quantified yet by the Director of Public Prosecutions or the Department of Finance.

Regulatory Reform. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, together. The OECD Report, Regulatory Reform in Ireland, was published in 2001. Since then, significant progress has been made in the area of regulatory reform. The Government White Paper, Regulating Better,published in January 2004 in response to the OECD's report, provides the basis for work on the Better Regulation agenda. Importantly,...

Regulatory Reform. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will not deal with individual Departments but with the overall position. My reply was from the perspective of ensuring we reduce the burdens on business and citizens alike. Our watchword in regulating business is proportionality. The ESRI business regulation survey that I referred to in my reply has identified priorities for improving the regulatory environment for business. The...

Regulatory Reform. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Most of the issues raised by the Deputy are being examined and substantial improvements are being made. However, I will bring that list to the attention of those who are working on it in my Department. It is good to see the OECD examining the situation in Ireland because one of its purposes is to benchmark the Irish public service against the best there is, so that where criticisms are made...

Regulatory Reform. (3 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: If I understand Deputy Ó Caoláin's point on the RIAs, he is saying that they should be done more efficiently and presented more openly. Is that it?