Results 8,201-8,220 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The 37-page document does not——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am just trying to answer Deputy Rabbitte's questions as opposed to those of four or five Deputies.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I point out to the Deputy that I would like to answer the question — it is about important matters.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will start answering everyone if Deputy O'Keeffe wants me to do that. The 37-page document did not come to a conclusion about Mr. Barron.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy is assuming-——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I want to answer Deputy Rabbitte. It is clear that his party does not want me to answer him but I would like to do so. The report of August 2000 from Assistant Commissioner Conroy, of which I said he forwarded a 30-page summary——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——a 37-page summary, did not come to a conclusion about what happened Mr. Barron.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Rabbitte was trying to give the impression it did but it did not.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It did not.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: In November 2001, which was a long time after that——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——having consulted the Director of Public Prosecutions on foot of the Attorney General's request to see the Garda file, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions noted that it would be difficult for persons reading themselves into the case to make sense of the issues without sight of these papers. That was a long time after that particular period. The full Carty report was not...

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: He had written asking for advice and looking for the options and that issue was dealt with. Six months after this was done, the Director of Public Prosecutions was still raising the issue of the doubt.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Since Deputy Rabbitte is intimating that there were divisions between the Minister, me and the Attorney General when everyone knows that was not the case, I will again repeat that it was this Government and not the Opposition which identified the solution to the impasse which existed during this period, namely, the enactment of legislation to enable a tribunal to hold part of its proceedings...

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——brought forward that amending legislation to facilitate this. That is why we passed in this House the Tribunals of Inquiry (Evidence)(Amendment) Act and that is why we have the Morris tribunal today. Those are the facts.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy is again raising the issue of the delay. As I have already stated, the reason for the nine-month delay was that the DPP was considering the file over that period. Even in November 2001, a long time after that period, the Office of the DPP——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——remarked that it would be difficult for persons reading themselves into the case to make sense of the issues without sight of the papers. That was the position. The Director of Public Prosecutions, the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform were all concerned, but there were cases pending and this could not simply be ignored. That was the issue. In the...

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: He did not say that.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is a pity, just to try to confuse issues, that Members of the House——

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no confusion in my mind about this. The Attorney General, the Director of Public Prosecutions, the then Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, the Garda Commissioner and the assistant Garda commissioner, Mr. Carty, knew there were cases pending.

Leaders' Questions. (28 Jun 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Director of Public Prosecutions was dealing with those cases. The Attorney General was not prepared to give the options and the DPP was not prepared to go to finality until they saw the full report. That is what happened and no amount of bluster will change that position.