Results 24,321-24,340 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

Appointments to State Boards (3 May 2011)

Enda Kenny: I do not accept Deputy Higgins's assertion that this is cronyism.

Appointments to State Boards (3 May 2011)

Enda Kenny: Even the Deputy will understand that there is a difference between what will happen in the future and what occurred in the past. It is clear that there is at least serious intent on our part - and a demonstration thereof - to allow the Oireachtas committees bring before them those who will be nominated to hold positions as chairpersons of State boards and companies. That is a good...

Appointments to State Boards (3 May 2011)

Enda Kenny: That could happen in much the same way as the Deputy said to me when he told me he had a couple of nominees for positions whom he said I might consider.

Appointments to State Boards (3 May 2011)

Enda Kenny: I do not know whether they are the Deputy's friends. Accountability for State and semi-State organisations is part of the Government's focus on the comprehensive spending review. For years, long before Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett came here, when the Minister for Finance allocated money to a Minister, a Department or an agency, there was never a real analysis of what went on, other than an...

Appointments to State Boards (3 May 2011)

Enda Kenny: The first decision made by the Government was to reduce salaries. We will continue to reduce costs insofar as governance is concerned. The matter of the serious salaries of chief executives of State bodies is one for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform.

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: I thank the Deputy for his having arrived at a point of distilled wisdom after all the years. I agree on behalf of everyone else in the House that Members should have the capacity to have authority to investigate such matters properly. The Nyberg report speaks for itself. However, what it does not state is that the entire culture was such and that banks knew they were lending too much and...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: While there was a regulation committee in the last Dáil, it was not able to do its duty. The question to be asked of the people will give the Oireachtas and its committees real authority and teeth to do their job both in a specific case and for all others. I believe the Deputy will agree with and support this measure. While the Nyberg report speaks of systemic failure, it also deals with...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: When the Abbeylara consequence has been dealt with, the appropriate committee to deal with these matters also will be able to call before it politicians representing the Government. I refer to my quotation from the Nyberg report yesterday, "The higher ... [the office], the greater their responsibility", and that did not exclude politicians or the political process. This is the reason a...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: The Minister, Deputy Michael Noonan, has pointed out that decisions will be taken in conjunction with the EU directions for changes and in respect of what the Government will implement.

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: I heard the leader of Sinn Féin say he had issued warnings about what would happen. I am not sure how severe the warnings were, but I know that his party knows a lot about banking. There is no question about this.

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: As Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin is aware-----

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: As Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin is aware, the money was paid to Mr. Doherty last year before the general election occurred. I make the point to Deputy Gerry Adams that the Government has taken action and that the Minister for Finance has outlined a series of changes that are to take place. There may well be other senior banking executives who have legal entitlements to similar deals. I...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: The Department of Finance is examining that matter following the making of a request by the Minister. We have to look at new remuneration allowances for the future. As the Deputy is aware, there are similar developments in the European Union where there are directives on the remuneration of senior bankers and in which their bonus culture is attacked head on, which did not happen here. We...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: Correct.

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: I did say it was the Department of Finance, not the Department of Defence, as the Deputy said. The position is that I do not know the contractual arrangements of other senior bank executives and whether there are similar deals that were done. I do not know the answer to that question, but the Minister for Finance has asked the Department of Finance to inform us of what the position is. The...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter again and if he provides me with a copy of the letter I will reply to it on behalf of the Minister for Health and Children and the Deputy. It is only right and proper for us to say that the needs of cystic fibrosis patients must be respected and recognised. I took the opportunity to attend the annual gathering of the cystic fibrosis organisations in...

Leaders' Questions (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: I have always commended Deputy McGrath for his continuing interest in genuine matters related to health. As I understand it approximately 1,200 people in the country must deal with cystic fibrosis. The new unit is being built in St. Vincent's Hospital to increase the capacity and level of facility available for people who must deal with the condition. The Deputy is also aware that it is...

Order of Business (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: It is proposed to take No. 8, Road Traffic Bill 2011 [Seanad] - Report and Final Stages; No. 9, Nurses and Midwives Bill 2010 - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; No. 10 - statements on suicide prevention (resumed); No. 11 - statements on the commission of inquiry into the banking sector in Ireland, the Nyberg report, to be taken at 3.45 p.m. today and the Order shall resume...

Order of Business (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: The McCarthy report will be published today, and it is important that there be a public debate about its contents. Obviously, the Government will consider its implications. The programme for Government, as the Deputy is aware, states clearly that we believe the sale of non-strategic State assets should be enabled in order to obtain a fund of €2 billion. That will only apply at...

Order of Business (20 Apr 2011)

Enda Kenny: What I said was that we agreed yesterday that the original promised debate on the EU-IMF memorandum of understanding, which was to be held this week, would be replaced by a debate on the Nyberg report, and the original debate would take place the week after the Dáil comes back. The Deputy may not agree with the format of the debate; he will be entitled to have his say about that. The...