Results 5,721-5,740 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Agreements with Members. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I never hold that against Deputy Ó Caoláin's party. I meet his party more than I meet anybody and am always favourable towards it, both North and South.

Agreements with Members. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I may have asked the Independent Deputies to help him over Easter.

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, together. The code of conduct for office holders was drawn up by the Government following consultation with the Standards in Public Office Commission and has applied since 3 July 2003. I have exchanged recent correspondence with the commission with regard to the provisions of section 2.2.3 of the code with a view to providing office holders...

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: There have been very few breaches of the code. Ministers have sometimes not been careful enough or have inadvertently allowed literature go out and three or four of them have had to pay back in that regard. With regard to the advertising which involved Deputy Callely, the Standards in Public Office Commission gave a view which I brought to the attention of all. It is a difficult area where...

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not want to be too fussy about this. Years ago, when I was in Opposition and doing some research on manpower policies, I was able to get access to civil servants to brief me on particular issues. When I researched the Trade Union Act and the changes to the Trade Disputes Act 1906, I was also able to get civil servants to give me a briefing on process. I do not see any difficulty with...

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: When that issue came up, a fair point was made about it and I acknowledged that at the time. It was the subject of a complaint to the commission which examined the complaint but did not consider there was any basis on which to pursue the matter. However, arising from consideration of the matter and following communication with the commission, I issued guidelines to Ministers on the issue. I...

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: No changes are envisaged to the limits or levels. I do not think there were any breaches of the code. There were a few issues concerning Ministers of State who used departmental letterheads wrongly. One Minister of State sent out 15 letters concerning an event and he had to pay back the money. I do not think there were any breaches of the terms of the code and no changes are envisaged. The...

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That issue was raised at the time and the code points out that Ministers should be careful how they promote any particular product, although it is very difficult to do that. If a politician goes to the launch of something and holds it in his or her hand, then——

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That would definitely be bad for one's health. People must be careful but I am not too sure how, in political life, one can have a clear line on that issue. It is quite difficult.

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: The commission pointed out that the latter case was not clear from the code, but how does one make it clear?

Standards in Public Office. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: That is not advisable because of cases where one could be used unintentionally in an advertisement. In the case of someone intentionally placing his or her photograph in an advertisement, the commission said that was something that should not be done. The code of conduct does not stand in isolation. It is part of the wider framework of the Ethics in Public Office Act 1995 and the Standards in...

Public Procurement Policy. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, together. Existing procurement policies provide for procurement of the goods and services required by the Department in a manner which seeks to optimise the value for money of the purchases concerned. It is in accordance with public procurement guidelines as set out by the Department of Finance. There is a requirement to produce an annual...

Public Procurement Policy. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: My Department complies with the guidance on the procurement of supplies and services set out in the public procurement guidelines. The Department of Finance has issued several guidelines in recent years. The last set of guidelines was issued in 2004. In recent times, the Department of Finance has argued that the purchasing power of all Departments must be accumulated. A Department can do its...

Public Procurement Policy. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: Over recent years, because of tax certificate issues they have become very strict but it is not fair on new companies trying to enter the market, so I will raise the point further. For the record, it is expected that the result of this exercise will be to identify even better methods of procuring goods and services required — in my case, by my Department. The benefit of performing a high...

Public Procurement Policy. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: On a number of the points the Deputy has raised, we have such policies in place. In addition, we must comply with the national public procurement policy framework, which came under the Department of the Taoiseach last summer. As I said at the outset, my Department is developing a corporate procurement plan that will have to cover all points within the policy framework. There will be...

Leaders' Questions. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I will give Deputy Kenny the facts at my disposal. First, this callous murder is a brutal reminder of Northern Ireland's tortured and tragic past and I condemn it in the strongest possible terms. At approximately 5 p.m. yesterday, a 999 call was made to ambulance control by a member of the public requesting medical assistance at a house in Clogher Cor, Glenties, County Donegal. The body of...

Leaders' Questions. (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I thank Deputy Kenny for his support for the implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, which is our sole aim. Deputy Kenny is right in saying that whoever is behind this murder, whether an individual, an organisation or a group within an organisation — I hope they are remnants of the past — must be identified. It is important for many reasons that every effort is made to find the...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed). (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think either of those are the basis of the debate. Whatever about earlier arguments, I have been engaged and involved with Aer Lingus for a long time. I was the last Minister for Finance to invest substantial resources in Aer Lingus to keep it flying at the time and to allow it to buy the Airbuses which was a big modernisation issue. As Taoiseach I was involved in the effort...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed). (5 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: If I was to do that I would be open to far more questions.

Written Answers — Departmental Staff: Departmental Staff (4 Apr 2006)

Bertie Ahern: No member of staff from my Department was suspended on paid leave between 31 December 2004 and 31 December 2005.