Results 1,081-1,100 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Yes. Not to be parochial, which I know Deputy Ó Caoláin would never be——

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——his county is getting its fair share of bypasses.

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Crawford has been lobbying me for these and I have to deliver them to him.

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Ceann Comhairle would not be against those projects either. Significant resources are being invested in these projects. The Exchequer has provided €1.8 billion more than was planned for these developments. While investment in the BMW region has been behind target in the first part of the plan, particularly in the roads programme, expenditure in the region has accelerated according to...

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Crawford is correct that the money should be additional rather than being used in substitution for other funds. The funds from PEACE II, INTERREG and the peace dividend were meant to be additional funds for the region. I had an interesting discussion the other day with an individual who complained to me about traffic in the Meath constituency. In his next breath he complained about...

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I would probably not have got it anyway. It was an interesting discussion when one considers the logic of a public servant driving to the city and being against decentralisation. The economic and social structure of the programme originally had a ratio of 27:73; that of employment in human resources development was 29:71; the productive sector was 36:64 and for technical assistance the ratio...

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It moved around the areas. Last Monday, the additional contract was signed for the Dundalk-Newry road and the continuation of the M1 which, I hope, will develop further. All the economic analysis indicates that business in the Border region is still only 25% to 30% of what it would be between two regions if it had not been for the conflicts of the past. Border Deputies know better than I that...

Regional Development. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: In reply to Deputy Sargent, we are committed to infrastructure in the west, whether that involves road or rail, but the projects must be viable. It is one thing to construct rail lines but they must be viable. Rail is already a huge loss-maker, which one must accept because it is a good transport system. I am not aware of the example to which the Deputy referred but one cannot construct such...

Departmental Bodies. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 11 together. The meeting of the cross-departmental team on housing, infrastructure and PPPs scheduled for January was amalgamated with the most recent meeting on 2 February. The reason is that important preparatory work in one of the principle agenda items, namely, strategic national infrastructure, was still ongoing when the January meeting was scheduled...

Departmental Bodies. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Obviously, these issues are discussed in various fora, not just in the committee. The reason for national planning, balanced regional development and the national spatial strategy, on which we worked over the last few years, was to deal with the type of issues mentioned by the Deputy. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is currently developing terms of reference...

Departmental Bodies. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Whatever about past schemes, a process is now in place in regard to the gateways, hubs and regional planning guidelines. With many developments of the past year or two, the developer simply gave the land site as part of the development, which is what should happen. The Deputy is correct in regard to other cases in older developments where this was not part of the overall development. In these...

Departmental Bodies. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: While the committee does not deal with Deputy Ó Caoláin's question, generally, the private rented sector is an important part of housing policy. The changes we have introduced in that area have significantly reduced the private sector rented market. It is continuing to decline dramatically, even in the heart of Dublin, which is a major change. If many in that sector could access affordable...

Departmental Bodies. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is a cost involved in doing it this way. In terms of speed, efficiency, volume and capacity, one must give some projects to the private sector.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. a11, the Finance Bill 2005, financial resolution; No. 3, Health (Amendment) Bill 2005, Order for Second Stage and Second Stage; and No. 17, Driver Testing and Standards Authority Bill 2004, Second Stage (resumed). It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that No. a11 shall be decided without debate. Private Members' business shall be No. 44,...

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am told we will have the report in a matter of days but I do not know exactly when. We will bring it to the Cabinet as soon as we have it.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Regarding aspects of it, I do not know. It will be published.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: No. We have to examine it. There may be legal issues.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As Deputy Rabbitte knows, the matter is related to the Supreme Court judgment and we must consider the legal aspects. We have no desire but to proceed with the matter. At any rate it is probably out in the public domain.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am told that the Minister has now appointed an implementation group to advise on implementation and the necessity for legislation. If legislation is not required he will simply move ahead on the matter.

Order of Business. (2 Mar 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Bill will be published during the current session.