Results 1,661-1,680 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is not. Before the unit was established, all Departments and agencies sought transcripts and tapes on an individual basis. However, this was costly. On a cheaper basis, six civil servants cover an 18-hour day, monitoring and giving useful and up-to-date headlines to Ministers, Ministers of State, their staff and a range of other civil servants.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The data prepared by civil servants in the normal course of work are not made available to everyone. They are only made available under freedom of information requests. Such requests have been made to the unit to get lists of the day's events. The normal work done by civil servants is not given to Deputies. This case is no different.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As Deputy Durkan knows, civil servants do not get alarmed, they simply pass on the information. Ministers get alarmed.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: That is what happens in this case. The alarming information is passed on.

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together. I received correspondence last year and again recently from the committee for the commemoration of the Irish Famine victims. An interdepartmental committee to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine and the bicentenary of the 1798 rebellion was established by the Government in 1994. Significant public funding was...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I have no great feeling one way or another on the issue. If people feel we should commemorate the Famine, we can do so. I have read the files on the matter and the debates which went on in this House for years between the political parties, and with Departments and agencies, about a national day of commemoration. Some 20 years ago there was a sense of a political decision being reached...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I said, I have no strong feelings on this matter. There may be a cross-party feeling in the House that we should have a day to commemorate the Famine. A good case for individual days has been made by various groups. The committee seeking to commemorate 1798 made a good case. Such committees are formed for a period and then move on. The 1641 commemoration committee was another. There have...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I hear what the Deputies are saying. However, looking back over the years and at the 1986 period, and I have made this point to these committees previously, there is nothing worse than organising commemorations when nobody turns up for them. It is almost disrespectful. That happened in the past, when only small numbers turned up. That is the reason I have fought to keep these events together...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I like the garden county a great deal and I visited a beautiful part of it with the Deputy recently. The easiest thing I could do is agree to the national day suggested. However, 1798 is an enormous event for Wexford. What if somebody sought a designated day for that? Thousands of people died in Wexford. There are other parts of the country——

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Yes. In Deputy Kenny's constituency, people could talk about the passion associated with the Land League. It is not that any single event is not significant, and the Famine is significant in numerical terms, but there should be a way of combining them. That was done in 1986. We can embrace all these events. With no disrespect to the committee in this case, committees come and go. Twenty years...

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Order of Business is No. 15, Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Bill 2004 — Report Stage (resumed) and Final Stage; and No. 16, Land Bill 2004 [Seanad] — Second Stage (resumed). It is proposed notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders that Private Members' business, which shall be No. 43, motion re suicide, shall also take place tomorrow immediately following the Order of Business...

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is the intention to implement all the regulations and to try to stop these kind of public order offences. The Garda currently have powers to investigate these matters. The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has already spelled out in detail the action which he intends to take in regard to amendments to the legislation. I do not have details of any particular amendment which he...

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We will formalise them as soon as possible.

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think it requires legislation. The work in setting up the procedures to deal with this issue are moving forward. Regular discussions take place on an almost daily basis to try to bring forward the scheme. I am sure the Tánaiste would be glad to answer questions on it.

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The charities Bill will be brought forward next year. The Planning and Development Act was enacted three years ago.

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no provision for a Supplementary Estimate.

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will have to ask the Department.

Order of Business. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is not possible to indicate a date at this stage but legislation is being prepared to alter the corporate status of the VHI. I understand it is not likely to come forward in the immediate future.

Written Answers — Dublin-Monaghan Bombings: Dublin-Monaghan Bombings (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Joint Oireachtas Committee which examined the Barron report into the 1974 bombings last year recommended the establishment of a commission of investigation to examine matters relevant to this jurisdiction including specific aspects of the Garda investigation at the time and missing documentation. The Government has established a commission of investigation in accordance with that...

Programmes for Government. (10 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. The membership of the community and voluntary pillar of social partnership was expanded following on from ratification of Sustaining Progress. The pillar now has 15 member organisations, which have endorsed Sustaining Progress, six on an individual basis and nine organisations in the strands of older people, disability, housing,...