Results 11,421-11,440 of 13,375 for speaker:Pat Rabbitte

Legislative Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: The Taoiseach stated he could not recall where the Seanad reform issue stands. Is the Government serious about Seanad reform or is the purpose of this entire exercise the inclusion of representatives from Northern Ireland on a cross-community basis? Does the Taoiseach intend these to be included in the 11 nominees of the Taoiseach or would it be otherwise? Does the Taoiseach accept the...

Legislative Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: So did I.

Legislative Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: The Taoiseach might take an initiative, legislatively speaking.

Cabinet Committees. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 6: To ask the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on social inclusion and drugs last met; and when the next meeting is scheduled. [24375/05]

Cabinet Committees. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: It strikes me there are more people on the sub-committee than in the Cabinet. In view of recent experiences in this area, is there an argument for reorganisation of Departments so a single Department focusses on needs of children in all respects as responsibilities for these needs is currently scattered across several Departments? The experience of successive Ministers of State is that they...

Cabinet Committees. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I am not asking the Taoiseach to specify them, but are any new initiatives planned to cope with the relatively recent phenomenon of cocaine abuse?

Cabinet Committees. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I am merely asking a general question, Sir. Last weekend alone, we saw three gangland killings.

Cabinet Committees. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: There were three killings last weekend alone.

Decentralisation Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: Question 12: To ask the Taoiseach the number of staff in his Department, broken down by grade, who have applied to the central applications facility for transfer to locations outside of Dublin under the Government's decentralisation proposals; the likely impact of these transfers on his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24377/05]

Decentralisation Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: Based on the experience of the Taoiseach's Department, will the cost of retraining people to replace those who have been decentralised be a significant factor throughout the Civil Service? Is anyone within the Government examining the price being paid for land——

Decentralisation Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I am not sure about that. It applies across all Departments, including the Department of the Taoiseach. The cost seems to be prohibitive. Some of the replies to parliamentary questions we have tabled suggest that as much as €430,000 an acre is being paid for land in urban centres. Is there a concern within Government about this?

Decentralisation Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: The Taoiseach is the Head of the Government. His Department——

Decentralisation Programme. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: His Department is minimally involved and therefore I am entitled to ask whether anybody is looking at the prohibitive prices being paid for land to accommodate the decentralisation programme.

Order of Business. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I read with some amazement this morning the conviction of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment that for 18 years, the groceries order has acted against the interests of consumers. Whatever hope I had for consumers, when I heard the Minister predict that the abolition of the groceries order would save the consumer €1,000 on average annually, my heart fell to my shoes for...

Order of Business. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I am sorry. I know the Ceann Comhairle has been in the Chair a long time, but I am not at all finished yet. Are any measures promised by the Taoiseach in that area? Given the Taoiseach's interest in the matter, I am surprised at the delay in setting up the authority to facilitate the transfer of DIT to the Grangegorman campus. What is the delay in naming the authority and letting it get on...

Order of Business. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: So the authority will be announced soon.

Leaders' Questions. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: Has the Taoiseach surveyed the results of a child care survey which are published in today's Irish Examiner? The approach advocated by the Labour Party in a comprehensive child care policy document it has published is strikingly borne out in the results of the survey. I am aware that a couple of people are permanently employed by Fianna Fáil to publish statements about the Labour Party every day.

Leaders' Questions. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: I notice that no statement has been produced in this regard.

Leaders' Questions. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: No such statement has been published in respect of the Labour Party's criticism of the Government's child care policy.

Leaders' Questions. (9 Nov 2005)

Pat Rabbitte: Does that mean the Taoiseach and the Government are contemplating the acceptance of the Labour Party's child care policy? The Taoiseach is aware that just one person in ten believes child care is affordable. Some 84% of those who responded to the survey in the Irish Examiner believe the Government has failed to address the issue of child care. The average cost of keeping a child in crèche...