Results 13,181-13,200 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

North-South Ministerial Council (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: I have got a briefing note in respect of that which I will be happy to share with the House if Deputy Adams asks the question on Leaders' Questions.

North-South Ministerial Council (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: There was no discussion at the formal meeting about parades. I expect this issue to arise at the sectoral meetings with Ministers and members of the Executive. My apologies for not bringing the comprehensive note on the incidents which occurred last night. I would be pleased to share it with Deputies Micheál Martin and Gerry Adams in the House during Leaders' Questions if they come back...

North-South Ministerial Council (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: It is an issue of concern. I encourage Ministers to engage fully and comprehensively with their counterparts. Deputy Micheál Martin and I and Deputy Gerry Adams and others have discussed the matter on numerous occasions. Clearly, there is a need for continuous vigilance and involvement in communities that are pressurised and fragile on both sides. We all share this common purpose: having...

North-South Ministerial Council (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: Yes, I agree. The Deputy can take it that I encourage Ministers to actively pursue such contact. I intend to travel to Northern Ireland in the near future and engage in activities, projects and so on represented by the different parties and communities. As the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister pointed out recently, having gone through a process of conducting normal elections in...

Interdepartmental Committees (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: The interdepartmental groups on which my Department is represented are listed in the following table, which I propose to circulate in the Official Report. Inter-Departmental Groups on which the Taoiseach's Department is represented Inter-Departmental Groups which the Taoiseach's Department Chairs Marine Coordination Group Senior Officials Group on Economic Infrastructure Interdepartmental...

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together. The procedures for dealing with freedom of information requests in my Department follow the guidelines set out in the Department of Finance's Decision-Makers Manual. The functions of general examination, primary decision-making and internal review are carried out by statutory designated officials, as envisaged in the Acts, and I have no...

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: I thank the Deputy for his observations. I would be grateful if he conveyed to me examples of where he has found the Department restrictive in publishing information that would normally have been available. As a general principle, the changes we are making in the way business is done in this House are designed to ensure Deputies who ask questions are given thorough and full information....

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: Bhíodh mé.

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: As for the Freedom of Information Act in general, the programme for Government states the Government intends to restore it to what it was before 2003 when changes were made to it. While sitting across the floor in the seat now occupied by Deputy Martin, I often asked questions about how, even when cases were referred to the appeals process, the charge on them always applied, even when the...

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: No, not at all. My point is the proposal in the programme for Government to restore the Freedom of Information Act to what it was before 2003 cannot be dealt with as expeditiously as I would wish, simply because of the pressure arising from the requirement to introduce other legislative items that are timelined. In other words, they must be introduced by a certain date to comply with the...

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: No, it deals with neither the Order of Business nor with freedom of information.

Freedom of Information (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: On a point of clarification, I am not turning the Department of the Taoiseach into a Cabinet secretariat. It will operate as a Cabinet secretariat, but it retains its functions and constitutional position. However, it is important as a driver for implementing Government policy by co-ordination through the Cabinet sub-committee system and with all Ministers, whom I meet on a regular basis....

Cabinet Sub-Committees (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 and 13 together. The following Cabinet sub-committees have met since they were established: the Cabinet sub-committee on Irish and the Gaeltacht has met on two occasions, on 14 April and 9 May; the Cabinet sub-committee on social policy met once on 9 June; the Cabinet sub-committee on economic recovery and jobs had its first meeting on 26 May; the first...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: The function of Cabinet sub-committees is to focus on issues and matters of importance to particular sectors. The sectors covered by the Cabinet sub-committees are relevant to everyday life in order that the committees will have an opportunity to focus and concentrate on particular areas of importance and make decisions on them to be referred back to the Cabinet for final approval. Of...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: Following the discussions that we had at the Cabinet committee on social policy, as health is of such importance to the general well-being of our nation I considered it sufficiently important to form a specific Cabinet committee dealing with health. It has not yet been formalised but will be by next week and Ministers involved in health will obviously serve on it. It will focus on the...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: It has not met yet.

State Visits (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 15 together. I understand that separate questions have been addressed by the Deputy to relevant Ministers regarding the costs incurred by their Departments in regard to these visits. With regard to my own Department, the final total costs of the recent visits by Queen Elizabeth II and President Barack Obama are not yet finalised. The projected cost of...

State Visits (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: No. I said I would take both questions together. The first question is about the cost to my Department and I have outlined that for the Deputy. The second question concerned the total cost to the State of the visits. I do not have that information because it has not yet been finalised from each of the individual Departments involved.

State Visits (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: It is four weeks after the event. I am quite sure that in Deputy Higgins's own election, it took more than four weeks to finalise how he spent the €41,000 allowance he received as an Independent.

State Visits (21 Jun 2011)

Enda Kenny: Gabh mo leithscéal. My apologies.