Results 8,821-8,840 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I have no great feeling one way or another on the issue. If people feel we should commemorate the Famine, we can do so. I have read the files on the matter and the debates which went on in this House for years between the political parties, and with Departments and agencies, about a national day of commemoration. Some 20 years ago there was a sense of a political decision being reached...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I said, I have no strong feelings on this matter. There may be a cross-party feeling in the House that we should have a day to commemorate the Famine. A good case for individual days has been made by various groups. The committee seeking to commemorate 1798 made a good case. Such committees are formed for a period and then move on. The 1641 commemoration committee was another. There have...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I hear what the Deputies are saying. However, looking back over the years and at the 1986 period, and I have made this point to these committees previously, there is nothing worse than organising commemorations when nobody turns up for them. It is almost disrespectful. That happened in the past, when only small numbers turned up. That is the reason I have fought to keep these events together...

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I like the garden county a great deal and I visited a beautiful part of it with the Deputy recently. The easiest thing I could do is agree to the national day suggested. However, 1798 is an enormous event for Wexford. What if somebody sought a designated day for that? Thousands of people died in Wexford. There are other parts of the country——

Official Commemorations. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: Yes. In Deputy Kenny's constituency, people could talk about the passion associated with the Land League. It is not that any single event is not significant, and the Famine is significant in numerical terms, but there should be a way of combining them. That was done in 1986. We can embrace all these events. With no disrespect to the committee in this case, committees come and go. Twenty years...

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I can go back over all the initiatives again if necessary but I will confine myself to answering the questions——

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: ——raised by the Deputy. The ten-point plan the HSE has drawn up in conjunction with the Department is under way. The HSE has now put its own action team into the key accident and emergency departments to try to assist by talking to management and staff with a view to bringing this proposal to fruition as quickly as possible. Some of these matters can happen quickly, others cannot. There...

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I referred to the Health and Safety Authority in response to Deputy Kenny's question as to whether the authority was involved with the HSE in ensuring the executive's initiatives were in line with its requirements. The process is underway. I am told the HSA has acknowledged that hospitals are fully engaged in a process of addressing health and safety requirements in accident and emergency...

Leaders' Questions. (4 May 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As Deputy Rabbitte will appreciate, I have not followed the case in the last few weeks. I accept the Deputy's statement that no one has called on them and will request that the matter is examined. I recall the matter and have the note I used to inform the House earlier last month of what the family's needs were. I recall also why the issue arose and the children were taken from the family. I...

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I do not have a date for the legislation.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It will be included in a Bill. As I understood it, the Minister was talking about better regulation and not about a particular proposal.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I do not have a date for it.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: There is no Bill on Aer Lingus at present.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: It is not listed on the schedule.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Bill has been published and is with the select committee.

Order of Business. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is looking in detail at yesterday's judgment. No Supplementary Estimate is proposed at this stage. On the second question, the Government has already given large sums of money to Cork, the European City of Culture. The Minister engaged with the committee last year and continues to do so this year.

Leaders' Questions. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I said, we have encouraged the parties in the dispute to use the IR machinery to deal with the overtime issue and we are already giving whatever assistance we can. A large amount of people are working on the issue of the workers receiving their money, identifying what is due to them. I did not say — I do not think Deputy Joe Higgins accused me of this — that people should leave the...

Leaders' Questions. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: We continue to ensure that the 1,000 Gama workers in this country are properly looked after.

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. There are no vacancies in my Department at present. My Department and the bodies under its aegis are committed to a policy of equal opportunity for all staff. Staff are recruited through the Public Appointments Commission on the grounds that they meet the requirements of the positions they are to fill. The issue of disability does...

Departmental Staff. (27 Apr 2005)

Bertie Ahern: As I understand it, the target is for the total number of staff. The Department is judged on the quarterly report on its total staff. My Department has always sought to treat the matter realistically. I do not consider the Department's achievement to be great, as the number is small. I would like to see a higher figure. We are always seeking new ways to appoint people with disabilities, many...