Results 601-620 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: Shortly. It will be in this session.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The Criminal Law (Defence of Life and Property) Bill will be introduced later in the year. As I indicated, it is just one of the measures to deal with this issue; it will not cover all aspects.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It is listed for next year.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I do not think there is any outstanding legislation but we are trying to meet the May deadline.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It will be later this year. I do not know the exact date. The draft heads are not yet completed. I am not sure how long that will take but work is under way and it is hoped to have the draft heads of the Bill shortly. It will probably be later in the year.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It will take some time to put the commission together so I cannot see it being completed before the local elections.

Order of Business (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The heads of the Bill have been approved but I do not have a date for their publication.

Departmental Staff. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The number of Bills introduced in the past two years was 42 and 38. That is a high number as against many other parliaments — I have seen that chart. It is not the case that the workload or throughput here was not high in the last Dáil. There were over 208 Bills, approximately 40 a year — that is the average — so we are covering a large amount of legislation. Private Members'...

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, together. Since the OECD report, Regulatory Reform in Ireland, was published, significant progress has been made in the area of regulatory reform. The Government White Paper, Regulating Better, published in January 2004 in response to the OECD's report, provides the basis for work on the better regulation agenda. Some of the key areas...

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: As I stated, regulatory impact analysis must be applied for all proposals for primary legislation. They cannot go through the system unless an RIA is carried out on them. This does not just include primary legislation; it also includes statutory instruments, European Union directives and significant European Union regulations. All of the proposals must automatically go through that system.

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It must have gone through the process. Whether a proposal relates to primary legislation, statutory instruments, European Union regulations or European Union directives, they must all go through the process. It is done in two ways so that it does not become just a costly and burdensome process. This was one of the issues that Departments but especially business felt strongly about. The...

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: On the first point, the preliminary results from the review of the operation of the RIA process seem to indicate that in the region of 70 assessments have been produced since its introduction. Some 70 full RIAs have been produced across Departments and offices, although I do not know if they have been produced on the websites. Also, they have looked at areas from the preliminary results of...

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: The Bill to deal with the legal services ombudsman will be introduced this session, but the Minister has not come to final conclusions on the issue of the professions.

Regulatory Reform. (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: It must do so.

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: On the first question of whether I have misled the Dáil, the Mahon tribunal or the Revenue, "No" is the answer. On the utterances I have made here in the House and on the issue of confidence, I have no difficulty in reconciling my support for the Government's motion expressing confidence in the Mahon tribunal and my decision to seek a judicial review on certain procedural issues. On the...

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny is right on that point. I am accountable to this House. To be clear, I am not changing, withdrawing or amending anything I said in the House. The answer to the Deputy's direct and fair question about whether there is something I am concerned or worried about is no — absolutely nothing whatsoever. In the Deputy's other main question, he was wrong in stating that we did not...

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: I did pay capital gains tax and gift tax, and I provided all the details on those issues. I gave comprehensive reports. Not only that, but all the people involved went before the tribunal, gave their evidence under oath and were cross-examined. All these issues have been dealt with. Deputy Gilmore can say, from a political point, that it is not a constitutional issue, but that is not the...

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: My legal team will deal with the correspondence. However, when I am told by eminent legal people that something is improper, and that the only way to test this is in court, I do not have any other alternative. As Deputy Kenny said, this issue has not just jumped out but has been in circulation since September 2006 that if the tribunal did not change its procedure I would have to deal with...

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Gilmore is wrong. It is not about protecting myself. It is about respecting the Constitution and the law.

Leaders' Questions (12 Feb 2008)

Bertie Ahern: In those cases, the Deputies attempted to make expansive use of Article 15.13 of the Constitution. I am far less ambitious. I am only saying plainly that the Constitution should be enforced. The former Tánaiste, Dick Spring, and his counsel argued in the Supreme Court that Article 15.13: protects all that is said in the House. The object of the privilege is to protect Members of...