Results 7,901-7,920 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If that side of the House keeps interrupting when I speak, every time their leaders speak, my colleagues will just interrupt. We can have it both ways.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I tell my colleagues not to interrupt the Opposition leaders, but we can have it both ways.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The problem, as Deputy Rabbitte knows, is that outside the House one only gets two minutes.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Yes, but if Deputy Rabbitte had heard all I said yesterday, he would have realised that I was pointing out that a decade ago the health boards decided they needed to move from a manual payroll system to a proper information communications technology system. They did not move on with this in 1994 or 1995. In 2000 they returned to the issue and got approval for a more extensive system. Hay...

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: They overused outside consultants and should not have had a consultancy contract to the extent they had. I accept Deputy Kenny's valid point on this. In my Department, we brought in the entire e-Cabinet project on time and on budget for €5 million. The reason we did this was because we used our own staff. If I did not have that expertise in the Department, it would have cost a fortune. I...

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I understand the politics of the issue.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is important the Health Service Executive gets a proper system so that at least the organisation will know who and how many are on its payroll. It does not have that system and it must be introduced.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We do not want to see taxpayers' money wasted but we need a system that will prevent waste in the future.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Some 40,000 people are on the system and it is working.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The issue is how the executive moves to bring the entire system into place. The system was costed at €100 million but up to the end of last year it cost €116 million, €16 million over the estimate. The cost of finishing the job has been excessive for the reasons outlined by the Department of Finance. This is what is being reviewed. I am not getting into the personal remarks Deputy...

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I accept Ministers are responsible for Departments and in turn I am responsible for Ministers. However, in this case——

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The reason we amalgamated the health boards——

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——and moved from 11 health boards to a unified health system properly structured under the HSE was to move away from issues of waste in the past. This was highlighted in the Hay consultancy report. It stated that a reduction in the costs of absenteeism, which currently stands at €350 million or 5% of the total bill, would result in projected savings of €56 million.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: A reduction in staff turnover would also make——

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Why is it necessary for the Opposition to ask questions and as soon as I begin to answer, they need ten people to answer?

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: That is not the question. I was merely quoting what the Hay Group consultants said, that a reduction in absenteeism would lead to savings of €56 million.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If the Opposition Members continue like this, these questions will not be much fun, because my colleagues will make as much noise as them.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Opposition Members should listen.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If the Opposition will not listen to my answers, I will stop restraining the Government Deputies.

Leaders' Questions. (5 Oct 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The review that has been taking place for the last number of months is to establish how the objectives of this system might be achieved. The objectives were too advanced. Too many good and correct ideas, from their perspective, were incorporated in a system which they could not then make workable.