Results 1,581-1,600 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I said, we have encouraged the parties in the dispute to use the IR machinery to deal with the overtime issue and we are already giving whatever assistance we can. A large amount of people are working on the issue of the workers receiving their money, identifying what is due to them. I did not say — I do not think Deputy Joe Higgins accused me of this — that people should leave the...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We continue to ensure that the 1,000 Gama workers in this country are properly looked after.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. There are no vacancies in my Department at present. My Department and the bodies under its aegis are committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all staff. Staff are recruited through the Public Appointments Commission on the grounds that they meet the requirements of the positions they are to fill. The issue of disability does...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I understand it, the target is for the total number of staff. The Department is judged on the quarterly report on its total staff. My Department has always sought to treat the matter realistically. I do not consider the Department's achievement to be great, as the number is small. I would like to see a higher figure. We are always seeking new ways to appoint people with disabilities, many...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: People with disabilities are treated on the same basis for promotion and recruitment. They are treated exactly the same. The only exception might be for telephonists, who have particular expertise in that area and who tend to stay in that job. In other grades, they can definitely move.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Is the Deputy asking how many more people should there be?

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is nobody in my constituency office who comes within the category of disabled. I would not have any difficulty, however, if suitable people in the Civil Service system were found. Everybody in my constituency section bar one is a civil servant. The people in my Department who have a disability are as good as and are equal to anybody else. There might obviously be some limitations to...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: All the people working in the constituency office are included in that. They are part of the staff.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I do not have a copy of last week's——

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy would not believe it if I told him that I have not been in the constituency office in my Department.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I have not been there. I do not know. I think it is six. Whatever I said last week. That office is in another part of the building and I do not think I have been in it.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: My Department will reach the reduction target of 4%. With regard to any new vacancy, the Department examines how it might reschedule staff and achieve greater efficiency. We are on course to meet the target and will do so. This will not be achieved by decreasing the workload but by efficiency, and technology helps in this regard by reducing the volume of paper. We must ensure we meet the...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: In response to an earlier question by Deputy Rabbitte, seven people work in my constituency office. The enforcement of the quota with regard to the employment of people with disabilities is not easy to achieve and is co-ordinated by the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform which monitors all Departments in this regard. However, it is a difficult task. I would have liked the figure...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It pursues each Department in respect of the issue. The Minister of State contacts each Department and reminds it of its responsibility. The equality section is the special unit in this regard.

Freedom of Information. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 9, inclusive, together. A total of six requests were received in my Department in the first quarter of 2005. Of these, two were granted, two were part granted, one was withdrawn and there are no records in respect of one request. In the first quarter in 2004, 11 requests were received. In the same period in 2003, 80 requests were received. In the same...

Freedom of Information. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: People make requests for information from my Department and others and the functions of general examination and primary decision have been delegated by order as envisaged in the Act. With regard to my Department, these functions are generally delegated to those in the grade of assistant principal officer, although a number of cases are reviewed by those in the grade of principal officer. Some...

Freedom of Information. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is a list of monthly requests for information. Sometimes I see the list and sometimes I do not. However, I have no involvement in the process whatsoever. The changes do not help in any way other than in the improved working of the system. People who seek information about themselves can still do so for free. The €15 charge for making a freedom of information request cannot be...

Freedom of Information. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If I had some information in my Department, which I believed should be in the public domain and would be of some relevance, we would release it. It is not a question of waiting for a freedom of information request. We might have background data to report and we might decide to release the whole lot including case studies etc., which happens all the time. It is not triggered by a freedom of...

Freedom of Information. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If I used my Department credit card, which I do not do, to go to dinner with somebody, some people might wish to know whom I was with, what I had eaten and whether I drank wine or Ballygowan.