Results 5,041-5,060 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I am not saying the current inspectorate is ideal. Obviously, we would not be changing it if we thought it was ideal. Nevertheless, an inspectorate exists so it is not the case that no checks are being done. The Government has not received the O'Neill report, which I understand is with the HSE. Constitutional issues of natural justice have arisen which must go through a very painful legal...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: All these improvements, most of which are new, significantly help elderly people in their homes and hospitals. We are continuing to build on what is a good service and to put more people into it to improve the service.

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: This issue was raised in the House approximately three months ago. On that occasion, I asked the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to carry out a full examination and produce a report on how this situation can be legislatively addressed, if this is the only way it can be dealt with, which Members argued is the case. This process is being examined in the Department. I...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will confine myself to Deputy Rabbitte's question. Management companies were never regarded as desirable or essential for residential housing estates. Management companies in housing estates represent an unnecessary cost unless residents wish that they are established, and that is a decision to be made when people are living in their houses rather than beforehand. The matter is being...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte asked what the Government is doing about this matter. I have discussed it with the Minister and his advisers. If it cannot be done by his giving directions or instructions to local authorities, the legislative route should be examined. I am not sure how far that has gone, but I will check. It has been a number of months since I answered a question on the issue and I asked the...

Leaders' Questions. (14 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: ——where people have their own front and back gardens and an open space is wrong. I agree with that point. If the practice cannot be stopped in the planning and development stage, it should be examined. It is an unnecessary increase in the cost. Most residents say they could live with the contracts if they got the services, but the management companies, even though there are regulations,...

Written Answers — Constitutional Challenges: Constitutional Challenges (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: As I indicated to the House last week, there was a failure of communications within the Office of the Attorney General that led to the Attorney General not being personally informed about the Supreme Court hearing of the CC case. The Attorney General has now put in place additional procedures to prevent any recurrence. Details of those are contained in the document that I circulated to...

Written Answers — Ministerial Responsibilities: Ministerial Responsibilities (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: My statutory functions, in so far as they relate to the Central Statistics Office, are currently delegated to Mr. Tom Kitt T.D., Minister of State at the Department of the Taoiseach. The Statistics (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2004 was made by Government on 19 October 2004 (Statutory Instrument No. 664 of 2004). No other statutory functions have been delegated to any of the...

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. 11, motion re referral to select committee of proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of Ireland's contribution to the International Development Association's multilateral debt relief initiative and to the International Development Association's 14th replenishment; No. 20, European Communities (Amendment) Bill 2006 — Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; No. 21,...

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It is ODA.

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will communicate with the Minister. Is it the Deputy's point that he wants the Bill published quickly in order that it can be dealt with next week?

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: It will not be taken on Thursday.

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will discuss it with the Minister. I am not sure that it will be taken on Thursday but I will ask that it be circulated quickly.

Order of Business. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The heads of the Bill have been approved and the Bill is due to be published later this year. It will not be during this session.

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I appreciate the question and the spirit in which it is put. An enormous effort has been made in the past 18 months on this issue, although that is not to take from those groups which have been involved for a much longer period. Last year we raised the issue with the President, Mr. Bush, and we did so again this year. We also worked with the lobby group over the past six to nine months. The...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The best way to make progress is to make an effort before the summer. Taking the Bill that has been passed by the Senate and the Sensenbrenner Bill, we must try to find a compatible Bill which brings the two together, which is not easy because of their differing bases and the heated arguments over the topic. The Minister for Foreign Affairs was told that as the politics play out in this, we...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The Government continues, through the decentralisation implementation group, to work through the proposals with staff. More than 10,600 civil and public servants have applied to the central application facility to relocate and it receives new applications every week. To answer Deputy Rabbitte's question on the current situation, several Departments have been prioritised and are working their...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I have stated in the House in recent weeks that we cannot implement the programme within the timescale first envisaged but that there are priority areas where advance negotiations with the staff side have been undertaken to move specific sections or units of Departments. That is the clear position, and those plans are moving ahead. They cover approximately 2,500 civil servants from those...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: However, the Deputy is talking about a small hard core, and all Members who have been in Government, including the Deputy, know that policy units are small. That issue is being discussed in the implementation group and it has been put forward by senior civil servants, especially from the higher grades. Their case must be listened to because the process is voluntary and the Government has...

Leaders' Questions. (13 Jun 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I agree with Deputy Sargent's comments about the deaths of three inmates at Guantanamo Bay. The full circumstances surrounding the deaths remain unclear but the fact that three detainees committed suicide is deeply troubling. I welcome the promise by the US Government to hold a full review of procedures used at the camp. It has been agreed that the International Committee of the Red Cross may...