Results 4,961-4,980 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The heads of the Bill are expected soon. It will be some time before it is drafted.

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Having been in process for at least 25 years, at least it is coming through.

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It is already passed.

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I understand not.

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The adoption Bill is for later this year. I am not aware of a nurses assault Bill.

Order of Business. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: This session. Our definition of "this session" is up to the start of the next session.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny knows the fight against crime is an ongoing battle. It has always been that way and it will continue to be so. That does not only hold true for this country but for every western democracy. We have to keep dealing with the small but vicious and ruthless group of criminals who are involved in this. They will resort to any kind of action and the many murders in north Dublin and the...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny knows my view on this — one death is a death too many, one crime is a crime too many. We must not portray crime levels as being at the same level as in New York state. Our numbers are high but have not changed much in recent years. Headline crimes may have approached 500,000 in the past five years but the figures for headline crime were the same some years previously. That is a...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Minister has allocated an additional €11 million to Operation Anvil for a dedicated group of detectives working to break these gangs.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The group has had some success but could do with more success. When some of these individuals have been shot, suffering serious injuries, they still will not speak or assist in any way with the investigation. That makes the task of the Garda Síochána more difficult in securing prosecutions. Some 20 of the 29 murders this year have been solved from the point of view of the Garda Síochána....

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: There are a number of points. People used the machines in the previous general election. There was no controversy leading up to the election about using electronic voting. In fact, the demonstrations that were held for young and old alike, in urban and rural areas, were highly successful and the acceptance rate of the machines in the election was high among those who used them. People...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: ——we must tread carefully on that. On concerns about how the machines are stored, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is of the view that it would be much cheaper and cost effective if they were stored centrally, given some of the leases that people have taken to budget for these issues. I have stated that, in the absence of political agreement on this issue,...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: For the few million people in our country, I certainly regret that we are not moving down this road quickly enough. A vast democracy like India, with 600 million voting, can use it. It is difficult to explain internationally how we, the world's greatest exporters of software, have a difficulty and still want to use pens and pencils, or chalk, or crayons when we want to vote.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That is a sad occasion but, as with many issues in this country, we will cop on and move on.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I have answered Deputy Rabbitte but I will answer him again. Based on the fact that the general election is next year, I have stated on many occasions that we cannot use them next year. I hope that is clear enough. I understand the Commission on Electronic Voting has carried out detailed examinations, including speaking to international experts, and is to report on that. I have not seen that...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Is he saying this company has sold this equipment, as it has in many countries, on some basis that it was not satisfactory for electronic voting? Is he questioning the facts on the countries in which these machines were used, that there was something wrong with the democratic vote in these countries? Is he questioning the credibility, expertise and technological ability of these people to...

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Does the Deputy know this company, which invested tens of millions of euro in its product, is selling flawed equipment? If so, he should say that to the company because there is no point in saying it to me.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The company has been approved in many countries and it has demonstrated credibility in democratic votes in this country as well.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: If we cannot agree on this, it is a pity.

Leaders' Questions. (20 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Thankfully, this is a democracy and I am entitled to my view. It is a pity that if one votes electronically, one should also have to get a bit of paper out.