Results 8,801-8,820 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Obviously, relevant matters relating to planning and environmental impact assessments will be looked at in due course by the officials involved in trying to make this a proper location.

Appointments to State Boards. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. I refer the Deputy to the reply I gave to a similar question on 5 October 2004. I am circulating in the Official Report a table showing the appointments which have been made since then. State Board-Agency Name of Appointee Occupation-Organisation Date of Appointment National Economic and Social Forum — — — There...

Appointments to State Boards. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: To which board does the Deputy refer?

Appointments to State Boards. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I believe the overall figure for women on boards is approximately 40%. The figure for the NESF is 44% and the figure mentioned by the Deputy probably refers to the NESC. The big problem regarding the boards for which I have responsibility, those which come under social partnership and outside organisations, is getting the nominating groups to appoint women. This is an ongoing battle. We have...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, together. As I outlined to the House on 1 March last, in so far as the report makes recommendations for improvements in the procurement procedures, additional procedures have been approved by the Government for incorporation into the Cabinet handbook and are available on my Department's website. Those procedures will give the Secretary...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: They apply to existing and new Ministers — and will forever, I hope. I have implemented the recommendations Mr. Quigley made regarding my Department. He also made recommendations about other Departments which I hope have also been implemented. They have certainly been given to the other Departments to implement. The guidelines apply in particular, as Mr. Quigley asked and recommended, in...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: If somebody is working in or associated with a Ministry, normally the group travelling is cleared beforehand. In the case of a European Council meeting, the full delegations from all Departments are put to me for approval before they go. If a Department was making a case for an outside expert to come, a rare occurrence, my consideration is that it is not a good idea. It is better that the...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Is Deputy Rabbitte asking if there is a procedure if the tender is under a certain amount?

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Regardless, if it is directly associated with a Minister, it still should be checked. That is my understanding, subject to correction. I do not think there is a monetary amount on it. It is up to individual Departments and Ministers to satisfy themselves whether particular tenders or contracts need to be referred to the Secretary General. It is, however, now a requirement of the Cabinet...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It has been implemented in the Cabinet guidelines. The book has not been reprinted but it is on the website. The Deputy asked if an adviser can be of a political nature. The report does not mean an advisor cannot be of a political nature. Quigley highlighted that if someone is being appointed on that basis, the appointment must go through the procedures. That is what is set down, not that a...

Consultancy Contracts. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The relevance of the issues raised has served a useful purpose. Government guidelines and procedures have been changed to deal with these issues and to ensure they do not happen again. If public relations or communications issues arise, they go through a different procedure, particularly if they are associated or there is a direct service element to the Minister or Minister of State. In...

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 9 together. The cost of the communications unit for the first quarter of 2005 was €78,783. Of this, €32,017 was a direct cost to my Department, with on average €9,353 being borne by the five other Departments that have staff seconded to the unit. The cost of the communications unit for the first quarter of 2004 was €75,069. Of this, €29,560 was...

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is confined to the greater Dublin area. It does not monitor media outlets outside Dublin.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The costs highlight the good value the unit provides in so far it not only gives information to Ministers, but a host of people within the Civil Service. The information is up-to-date and factual news material. It gives Departments transcripts and other materials which they require, mainly from national radio, which cuts down on large costs charged by several companies in this business.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The unit covers local Dublin radio stations and the national media. The information is given to Ministers, their advisers and senior civil servants when they are abroad. The information can be dispersed through ISDN systems and text messaging. It is not available to every Member because they have that information if they listen to the morning news. The unit simply puts it into a handy form...

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is not. Before the unit was established, all Departments and agencies sought transcripts and tapes on an individual basis. However, this was costly. On a cheaper basis, six civil servants cover an 18-hour day, monitoring and giving useful and up-to-date headlines to Ministers, Ministers of State, their staff and a range of other civil servants.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The data prepared by civil servants in the normal course of work are not made available to everyone. They are only made available under freedom of information requests. Such requests have been made to the unit to get lists of the day's events. The normal work done by civil servants is not given to Deputies. This case is no different.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As Deputy Durkan knows, civil servants do not get alarmed, they simply pass on the information. Ministers get alarmed.

Departmental Expenditure. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: That is what happens in this case. The alarming information is passed on.

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 14, inclusive, together. I received correspondence last year and again recently from the committee for the commemoration of the Irish Famine victims. An interdepartmental committee to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Great Famine and the bicentenary of the 1798 rebellion was established by the Government in 1994. Significant public funding was...