Results 9,701-9,720 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The matter will be discussed later. Preparatory work on the heads of the education (Ireland) Bill is ongoing. A body to be known as Education Ireland will be established as a limited company, on an interim basis, pending the publication and enactment of the legislation.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I will have to raise it with the Minister.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The forensics Bill will not be introduced in this session. It will be introduced in the next session. It is not possible at this stage to indicate a date for the publication of the pharmacy (No. 2) Bill. Progress on the legislation depends on the implementation of the new Act and the development of the necessary framework in the proposed Bill. As the remaining pharmacy group...

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: No date is fixed for the eligibility for health and personal social services Bill or the health information Bill. There is a detailed discussion paper on a whole range of sensitive issues. My preference all of last year, based on the commitment we gave in 2006, was to hold a referendum on the substantive issue of children's rights. This suggestion emanated first from the constitutional...

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I have heard the Deputy's concerns and I have listened to the NGO groups. The House must stand by the commitment that we gave. However, if the committee working on this believes it is not possible to complete the work then it is not possible. That is the reality. If it is possible to deal with the more limited issue of the age of consent, which is not being pressed for by NGO groups —...

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: Discussions on the health information Bill, which is to legalise the framework for governance, are ongoing between the HSE, the Department of Health and Children and HIQA, but there is no date for the legislation. I have already said discussions on the pharmacy (No. 2) Bill are ongoing with the HSE and until they get a framework there is no——

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: They are ongoing. There are two sides to that debate, I have heard both sides and if they could resolve it, that would help.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I do not have a date for that Bill but I gave a list earlier. This session we have the pensions Bill, the student support Bill, the health (long term residential care services) Bill and the finance Bill, which will take up most of the time of this session.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It was delayed before Christmas for two reasons: the Opposition asked that there be consultation with the groups and there were legal issues that had to be resolved by the Attorney General. The legal issues have been more or less resolved but the consultation with the groups must take place. The Minister was anxious before Christmas to move it on and she is even more anxious now. While...

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It would make a substantive improvement for the majority of people. We are having that consultation. The legal points have been more or less resolved and when those consultations are finished I hope we can get ahead with it. The Minister is anxious to get it through in this session.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It will be published in a few weeks.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The heads of the designated land (housing development) Bill were approved more than a year ago and the Bill has gone for drafting. I do not have a date for the presentation of the Bill. The heads of the housing (miscellaneous provisions) Bill are finished and the Bill is almost completed but it will probably not come before the House before the autumn session.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The heads of the Bill are approved and the Bill is almost drafted. All of the issues raised by the Deputy are dealt with in the Bill but I am told it will be the middle of the year before it will be presented.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The student support Bill will be dealt with in this session.

Barron Reports: Statements. (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The debate we are about to hold in this House is on a matter of the greatest national importance. It is about a series of atrocities perpetrated on innocent people in our country, including the bombings of May 1974 in Dublin and Monaghan, which saw the greatest loss of life on a single day during the Troubles. It is about murder, pure and simple and responsibility for that murder. It is...

Written Answers — Departmental Surveys: Departmental Surveys (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: My Department's Customer Charter commits us to providing friendly, efficient and courteous service to our customers. In order to monitor our performance against this and other commitments in the Charter, we conduct an annual survey of our main customer groups, as well as using other evaluation mothods such as mystery shopping, customer feedback, interviews and focus groups. We then report...

Written Answers — Judicial Reviews: Judicial Reviews (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 161 and 162 together. There have been no judicial reviews in the years 1997 to 2007 inclusive for my Department and consequently, no costs or damages were paid by the State in relation to such reviews.

Written Answers — Legislative Programme: Legislative Programme (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: There were 4 Acts sponsored by my Department from 2003 to 2007. They were the Interpretation Act, 2005, Statute Law Revision (pre-1922) Act, 2005, the National Economic and Social Development Office Act, 2006 and the Statute Law Revision Act, 2007. None of these Acts was legislation wholly or mainly required by Ireland's EU obligations. The nature of my Department is such that it would be...

Written Answers — Committee Meetings: Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The Cabinet Committee on Children met three times during 2005. Arrangements were reviewed following the establishment of the Office of the Minister for Children in December 2005 and it was agreed that children's issues would be dealt with by the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion which was renamed the Cabinet Committee on Social Inclusion and Children. That Committee continues to meet on...

Written Answers — Data Protection: Data Protection (30 Jan 2008)

Bertie Ahern: A small amount of computer equipment has been reported lost or stolen in the period specified (as outlined in the table below). A number of measures are in place in my Department to protect private and sensitive data. Users supplied with Departmental equipment are issued with guidance to ensure devices are secured appropriately. All laptops issued by the Department have encrypted hard...