Results 4,661-4,680 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Please stop. The commission gave it to the Department and the Department gave it to the Minister.

Order of Business. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: On Friday, I think, but the Minister did not circulate the report.

Order of Business. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Neither was it shown to the members of the Cabinet. The Minister spoke to me over the weekend but did not give me the report.

Order of Business. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I am not talking about the terms of reference, I am just trying to be helpful and tell the Deputy what happened.

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 11, inclusive, together. All the recommendations of the 1995 report of the review group on the Office of the Attorney General have been substantially implemented. In some cases, further developments have occurred in the intervening 11 years to enhance the means by which those recommendations were implemented. One of the recommendations of the 1995 report...

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: On the final question, in the normal course, I never get a report on cases the DPP takes against individuals. I am not advised by the DPP or the Attorney General. The Attorney General has regular communications with the Director of Public Prosecutions on various issues under the 1994 Act. For convenience purposes in many cases they use the same team, as they did in this case. That is a...

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: In the normal course, not like this particular case but in any other——

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It is not normal. However, it is not that abnormal either, unfortunately, that the Supreme Court strikes down law we pass in this House. We could have a long debate about who is right and wrong.

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: In the normal course, I have to accept the position and that is how it operates. I would not normally know the results of any of these cases. Even when my inquisitive mind might know it, it is not the easiest way to find out information on these cases. The reason there was a delay in finding even this information — I know perhaps some people thought it was peculiar — was because it had to...

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy will appreciate that following a case such as this, the Attorney General's office advised me on every case for a few weeks. It gave me 1,000 pages on every case to read over the weekend. It is clear there is a huge number of cases——

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Not if I was to read them all. A substantial number of complex cases go through the system all the time and, in fairness, of literally hundreds of cases, whatever case goes wrong will be a huge one. There is a vast array of cases and while procedures are in place to ensure every issue goes through the Attorney General, and it should under the protocols, people probably just follow a system,...

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I was never known or never purported to be a legal wizard in any form. I always had great difficulty grasping or understanding the law.

Office of the Attorney General. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That was not a breach of the law. It was trusting people maybe more than I should have. At least we have followed the procedures and there are new measures. I will, as I promised Deputy Rabbitte some weeks ago, publish that report this week if I can.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It is the old story. The report came out at 2.30 p.m.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The report came out at 2.30 p.m., experts have spent two years preparing it and the Opposition is an expert on it in half an hour and issues statements that are totally at variance with what it says, even on the courtesy remit.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Howlin is worse than Fine Gael. The only co-operation between the Labour Party and Fine Gael is when they keep making noise whenever I stand up to speak.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: After only a quick look at the report, we are an hour debating it here. I hope people study and examine this report and give it comprehensive consideration. Off the top of the head remarks, which are possibly based on reading just the first few pages, are an unsatisfactory way to deal with it.

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: On behalf of the Government, I thank the chairman, Mr. Justice Matthew Smith and the members of the commission for their thorough work and the resulting second report on the Nedap-Powervote electronic system. The report is, undoubtedly, one of the most comprehensive official reports ever produced on the matter of electronic voting. I am particularly pleased with the commission's overall...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The commission's overall validation of the €46 million investment in the electronic voting machines and the associated software is very pleasing and I hope Deputy Kenny will acknowledge that is the view of Mr. Justice Matthew Smith's report. That is clear to be seen. The commission concludes that the main hardware components of the system, including the voting machines, are of good quality...

Leaders' Questions. (4 Jul 2006)

Bertie Ahern: A Cheann Chomhairle, there is no interest. I hope the national media that attends here will take more interest than the Opposition which is not prepared to look at an independent report produced over two years.