Results 4,881-4,900 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Health Service Executive signed a contract with KPMG-McCann Fitzgerald to administer the public long-stay charges repayment scheme. The contract sum is based on the number of repayments processed by the company and will be capped at €15 million, exclusive of VAT. The scheme will make repayments to approximately 20,000 patients and the estates of between 40,000 and 50,000 people who were...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I should not answer questions relating to internal Government party issues but I assure Deputy Rabbitte that both my colleagues and those of the Tánaiste want to successfully implement policies — and continue to do so after the next election — that will ensure this country continues to thrive. This will be done through the creation of jobs, continued strong economic growth and the...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte has covered six or seven areas. However, we will continue as we have done——

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: ——by providing resources to recruit more gardaí and more teachers. There are now 14,000 gardaí and 12,000 teachers. There is also an extensive programme of capital investment. I assure Deputy Rabbitte that we will continue to work with the same determination we have always shown. Deputy Rabbitte will continue in Opposition, as he has done for most of his political life, growling about...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Mr. Positive.

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: With regard to our policies, I hope we will continue to take people out of consistent poverty. The Deputy asked what we will do for those who are less well-off and are in need of assistance. Although some 65,000 remain in consistent poverty, our policies have removed 250,000 from that category. This is a major achievement. The accident and emergency service is the one part of the health...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: We will continue to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio, particularly in disadvantaged areas where in many schools it is as low as 12:1 or even 10:1. These are significant areas of improvement. The Deputy asked me for three steps; I apologise for giving him five.

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. There was no meeting of the cross-departmental team during May. The team last met on 13 June. The items on the agenda were water supply, airports and ports. The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government presented an overview and update of the water services investment programme. The Department of Transport gave...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will try to cover all the points the Deputy has raised. Airports were discussed at the last meeting, particularly all aspects of airport development. There was no particular discussion about Cork Airport where the issue is not confusion but that the airport authorities want to get the best deal they can for development in the overall structure. The airport authority must consider the whole...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will bring the issues to the attention of the line Ministers as it is a matter for them to answer in detail. I will bring the Deputy's views to the cross-departmental committee. It has set out what it will do in all these areas. It is for the responsible Ministers to deal with them through parliamentary questions. They are well aware of these issues. The main issue is affordability which is...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The public capital programme deals directly with that area. We are now spending the better part of €6.5 billion on infrastructural deficits and new infrastructure in areas, be it water, sea ports infrastructure, airports or road investment. All local authorities have area development plans and these take account of the facilities that are necessary. As Deputy Higgins is aware, as he was...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Schools come under the capital programme. While, once a year, the team reports on the schools programme, it is separately handled by the Department of Education and Science. The dramatic increase in resources at primary, secondary and third levels is due to the increased population numbers. We are now at a stage where more projects are being developed in one year in primary and secondary...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Sargent's question relates to the details of a specific project.

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy should put down a question to the relevant Minister on the details of this matter. On energy and waste issues, the cross-departmental team has focused its discussions in recent months on climate change and the overall policy direction to be given to the Environmental Protection Agency in preparing the second national allocation for the emissions trading scheme. The deliberations of...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: ——on that occasion the team was concerned with water supply, airports and ports. The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources recently launched an initiative to increase the use of renewable energy. I am sure Deputy Sargent has put down questions to him on the details of that programme, which aims to more than double the contribution of renewable sources of electricity...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That is in line with the EU directive on the promotion of electricity production from renewable energy resources and our aim to increase the total capacity of renewable energy technologies to 1,450 MW. Responsibility for water services lies with the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and work is ongoing in this area by the cross-departmental team. In particular, it...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: To answer Deputy Naughten's question, one only has to look at the roads system. If one looks at the list of projects for this year outside the Dublin area, it includes the Dundalk-Border road, the Monaghan bypass, the Castleblayney bypass, the Edgeworthstown bypass, which was opened last week, the Kinnegad-Athlone road, the Ballyshannon-Bundoran road, the Mullingar bypass, the...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I agree. It will cost in the order of €400 million. It is an enormous project and is moving ahead, in the planning stage, at pace. Work has also begun on the Atlantic corridor, linking rail and road. The first section of the rail line will link Sligo and Ennis. Work on the road network between Limerick and Galway is also advancing. These projects are enormously costly. Approximately €1.5...

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The team has done a great deal of good work on ports in recent years, all of it predicated on their importance, since we depend on seaborne trade. Ports are of great economic significance to the country's prosperity, being vital gateways for commercial freight and sea passengers. Almost all our overseas trade goes by sea, underlining ports' commercial significance and strategic importance....

Interdepartmental Committees. (27 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: On the first point, I do not want to answer for our traffic engineers, particularly those who worked out the strategy for how traffic will work in Dublin city.