Results 8,541-8,560 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Public Private Partnerships. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: In reply to Deputy Ó Caoláin I again make the point, as I have done several times, that 10,000 sites were available. Most developers will tell one that the process takes six years and it was never the intention to make the sites available and to build in the same year. However, the sites are now available, and there are people to get on with it. The quicker they do so, the better. Some of...

Public Private Partnerships. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The land is there and I hope they get on with it. In reply to Deputy Kenny, we spent much time discussing this issue, and there are many reasons for increases in costs. Let us take the National Roads Authority. Several lessons have been highlighted, and the NRA has taken them on board. I am not saying that everything is perfect, and many of the comparisons are nonsensical. It has appointed a...

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. 18, Disability Bill 2004 — Report Stage (resumed) and Final Stage; and No. 19, Driver Testing and Standards Authority Bill 2004 — Second Stage (resumed). Private Members' business shall be No. 46, motion re Aer Lingus, resumed, to conclude at 8.30 p.m.

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I am aware of the problem but there is no legislation as listed. I will bring the Deputy's comments to the attention of the Minister for Education and Science. I have been told by the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources that the report on the review of inland fisheries will be brought to the Cabinet and will be published in a few weeks' time. I have no date for the...

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It will be part of the discussion on the ten-year plan on transport which must come before Cabinet. It is being discussed by the infrastructure committee at the moment.

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There has been no Supplementary Estimate so far, but if the resources are needed, there will have to be one. The Minister for Education and Science has just informed me that a task force is working on the issue of disruptive children in schools.

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Bill will be published in the next few weeks.

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no Supplementary Estimate yet, but we will await the three reports into the terrible tragedy in County Meath.

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The legislation covering the licensed trade comes under the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. That Department is consolidating all the legislation. There are a great number of Acts governing the licensing laws which date back to 1600. The alcohol products (control of advertising, sponsorship and marketing practices/sales promotions) Bill comes under the Department of Health and...

Order of Business. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I have no Bill listed. The Deputy should ask the Minister about it.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I can return to the figures in two minutes. Deputy Kenny is giving a list of statistics across some of the areas which is not compatible with the overall figures for the last few years.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I will come back to that. More importantly, the Deputy has asked what the Government has been doing in this area. We have put additional resources and numbers into the Garda, particularly into some of the areas mentioned such as Blanchardstown, where there has been a particularly difficult crime situation over the last few years. The Garda Síochána, using all its specialist resources, has...

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The number of community gardaí has been increased. The number of headline crimes recorded in 2004 compared to 2003 has decreased by 4%, and by 14% overall. These are the figures from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. Perhaps somebody else is doing a separate set of statistics, but these are the official figures.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The latest figures expose the lie from the Opposition benches that crime rates have increased. They have not.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The 2004 figures show that despite more precise and more accurate recording of crime by the PULSE system which now includes all statistics, that crime has fallen from about 28.4 incidents per 100,000 of the population some years ago, to 24 per 100,000. It is still too high, but the Garda, in terms of its resources, overtime, manpower and special units, including Operation Anvil, which was...

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We have never had more gardaí on the streets than at present. That is a statistical fact.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The overall figures I am giving are factual. Deputy Kenny can take individual areas and I have already raised the issue about Blanchardstown but that does not take from what I stated, namely that even though there are 400,000 more people in the country, an increase from 3.6 million to 4.04 million, headline crime is down 14%.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Murder and manslaughter is down 13%, sexual assault is down 28%, aggravated burglary crime is down 14%, the figures for theft from the person are down 14% and the figures for robberies from the person are down 14%.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There are individual areas where crime is still too high. I do not want to go into the statistics because as long as there is one crime it is a crime too many.

Leaders' Questions. (25 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny cannot come into the House and give figures for the overall position that shows that crime levels are up when the overall figures are down.