Results 161-180 of 27,741 for speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Unfortunately, when I was a councillor there was no CLÁR programme.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The roads are selected by the council and sent to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which checks to see whether the roads comply with the specifications that have been laid down on its advice.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I do not see what roads have been chosen until the list comes back to the Department.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I suppose it seems so to the Senator. We give a block allocation to County Galway. Galway County Council chooses the roads that are to receive the funding. I presume the councillors have a say in this — I hope they have.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: The councillors pick the roads.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: Somebody in the council picks the roads. If councillors do not make sure their own officials are involved, that is their problem, not mine. The roads are picked by somebody in the council, be it officials or councillors. The list comes back to my Department and, without reference to me, it is automatically sent to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government for its...

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I cannot understand how anybody could talk about slush funds and building roads to supporters' houses when the process is carried out in such an open, clear and transparent manner. There is one curiosity about all this. A number of years ago I attended a committee meeting of the other House at which Senator Burke's colleague, Deputy McGinley, was present. Not only did he praise me for...

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: That is why the Senator is so annoyed. It hurts him that this scheme has been so successful on the ground.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: In the Senator's constituency. Each of these areas was picked by objective criteria. I can show the Senator all the maps and the details. When the revision took place there was not one DED added west of the Corrib. There were quite a number of DEDs east of the Corrib because the figures stood up that way. I did not do the first analysis, but when we got the 2002 results and examined the...

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If that is wrong, then the Senator is right and I stand accused and guilty. As long as I am in politics, however, I will try to do the things that people in my area need, request and tell me to focus on. I will do it fairly and objectively but I will do it and if I am subject to criticism for that, I will accept it. I do not want to take up too much time but I wish to correct the record....

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I have always treated all my colleagues on both sides of the House fairly. During the debate on dormant accounts however, Senator Ulick Burke, not for the first time, started throwing around allegations about me like snuff at a wake.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: They are not.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: However, I will give the Senator this much——

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ——when I received a letter headed "Abbey affordable housing — dormant accounts", addressed to me as Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, who has the ultimate responsibility for the plan and also for the dormant accounts——

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: ——my reading of that letter was that it was asking me to make representations about dormant accounts.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: No.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: It will all be on the record.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If the Senator is now saying that he was not writing to me about dormant accounts, I cannot understand why "dormant accounts" was at the top of the letter. However, if the Senator says it had nothing to do with dormant accounts and that he thought I had some funds, I cannot understand why "dormant accounts" was mentioned specifically on hisletter. If he tells me that is the way it was, I...

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: If the Senator tells me that, despite the fact that dormant accounts were mentioned in the letter, it had nothing to do with dormant accounts, then I will accept that it was just a very badly written letter.

Seanad: CLÁR Programme: Statements. (7 Apr 2004)

Éamon Ó Cuív: I have the grace to accept that my limited ability to read "dormant accounts" where it is written is in some way down to the convoluted writing of the Senator. However, I would hope the Senator would have the good grace to accept that I have proven quite conclusively that CLÁR funds are dispersed in a fair, open and transparent manner at arm's length. The allegations the Senator has made...