Results 12,181-12,200 of 18,851 for speaker:Fergus O'Dowd

Bond Repayments: Motion [Private Members] (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I move amendment No. 1:To delete all words after “Dáil Éireann” and substitute the following: “recognises that: — decisions taken by the previous Government have unfortunately resulted in the inclusion of the promissory notes as a part of Government debt since they were issued in 2010; — this Government successfully reached a conclusion to its...

Bond Repayments: Motion [Private Members] (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The Minister for Finance, Deputy Noonan, is unable to be here as he is attending the Select Sub-Committee on Finance. Ireland is on the right track. Since taking office, the Government has stabilised the banks, restored confidence in the economy, reduced unemployment and introduced fiscal reforms to improve the management of the public finances. It has made difficult decisions that it...

Bond Repayments: Motion [Private Members] (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: If this motion is passed, seeking to lobby the ECB for an exemption from monetary financing to allow the Central Bank to destroy €25 billion in sovereign bonds validly issued by the State and for the Government to unilaterally cease payments on the interest associated with that sovereign debt would be detrimental to the recovery of Ireland and its ability to obtain funding from...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: HSE Funding (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: Senator Burke is seeking transparency in respect of the requirement to provide information and whether it is has been supplied. As I am not a Minister in the Department, I will ask the Minister to revert to him directly on this important issue.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Services (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: It is very important that the views of all Oireachtas Members - including those of Senator Daly - should be brought to the attention of the Minister. The Minister stands over the reply because it comes from him. Notwithstanding what the Senator stated, the most important aspect to note is that there will be a meeting with representatives from the advocacy group tomorrow. In other words,...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: HSE Funding (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I take Senator Colm Burke for raising this important matter. There is a long history of non-statutory service providers providing health and personal social services in Ireland. While many of these organisations have access to financial resources through fund-raising, they rely substantially on the HSE to fund the services the provide. The HSE funds a range of service providers under...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Animal Welfare (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Conway for bringing this matter to the attention of the Oireachtas and assure him that the Minister of State, Deputy Brian Hayes, will be made aware of his comments directly. The property in question is leased by the OPW from Dublin City Council. It was originally leased from the local authority in 1972 for use as a Garda station. Following the completion of the more modern...

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Animal Welfare (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I will bring the Senator's views to the direct attention of the Minister of State. If they have not already done so, it might be useful if the community groups, the support services or those who are interest and support Dogs Aid would so communicate.

Seanad: Adjournment Matters: Hospital Services (26 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank Senator Daly for bringing this matter before the Seanad. I would assure him that I will bring it to the attention of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Kathleen Lynch. In answer to the Senators specific questions in relation to the number of paediatric tracheotomies and nursing care, I will put the following on the record of the Seanad. Information available...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Remit (21 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 144 and 151 together. The Water Services Act 2013 provides for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann. The Act provides that Irish Water is required to submit an annual report on the performance of its functions each year to the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government and the Minister for...

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: That is mild from Deputy Martin Ferris.

Government Decision on Exiting Programme of Financial Support: Motion (Resumed) (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: "Revisionism" is a word that trips lightly off the lips of my colleague across the Chamber. When the troika came here to bail out the economy, it was a gentlemen by the name of Deputy Adams who stated that it should go home with all of its money. No matter what economic funny book Deputy Martin Ferris might be reading over there, if that had happened we could only have funded the economy by...

Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Staff Redeployment (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Deputy for the detail he has provided to the House. I will ensure the Minister for Justice and Equality is made aware of what he said. Any additional resources that are made available to the vetting unit must be sanctioned by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, and the Minister for Justice and Equality must have sufficient resources to pay the additional staff. It...

Topical Issue Debate: Water Services Provision (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The word is "abstraction", not "diversion". Diversion suggests a change to the physical course of the river, but abstraction is the taking, by licence, of a volume of water from the river. As the water can only be taken at particular times, as the Deputy rightly points out, the level of the River Shannon cannot and must not be affected by the abstraction. It will be done according to a...

Topical Issue Debate: Public Sector Staff Redeployment (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I thank the Deputy for bringing this matter to the attention of the Dáil. I apologise for the absence of the Minister for Justice and Equality who is on official business elsewhere. The Deputy and the House will be aware of the importance of delivering a vetting service that protects the most vulnerable in our society. Significant additional resources have been provided for the...

Topical Issue Debate: Water Services Provision (20 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I am sorry I cannot give the Deputy the guarantees he requires because, with due respect to him, his summary does not make sense. My note suggests the Deputy is talking about robbing Peter to pay Paul. In my reply, I want to talk about the economy and the future of the country, including the area represented by the Deputy and the greater Dublin area. I want to broaden the issue. The...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources: Offshore Exploration (19 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: While petroleum systems assessments for the Irish offshore frontier basins based on geological criteria and regional comparisons may indicate significant potential reserves, I must stress that the only commercial discoveries of petroleum made in the Irish offshore since exploration began in the early seventies are the three producing gas fields in the Kinsale area, along with the Corrib Gas...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (19 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 434 and 435 together. The Water Services Act 2013 which provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bórd Gáis Éireann, to be formed and registered under the Companies Act, also provides for the normal governance arrangements for a commercial State body in relation to its financial sustainability.  Bord Gáis has...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Staff (19 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: I propose to take Questions Nos. 452 and 454 together. The Water Services Act 2013 which provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bórd Gáis Éireann to be formed and registered under the Companies Act. Irish Water is currently recruiting to build up the internal capabilities required within the organisation and the numbers of staff employed is an...

Written Answers — Department of Environment, Community and Local Government: Irish Water Establishment (19 Nov 2013)

Fergus O'Dowd: The Water Services Act 2013 provided for the establishment of Irish Water as a subsidiary of Bord Gáis Éireann, to be formed and registered under the Companies Act. Further proposed comprehensive legislation will transfer statutory responsibility for water services to Irish Water and will provide for local authorities to act as agents for Irish Water, with this relationship being...