Results 13,441-13,460 of 36,764 for speaker:Enda Kenny

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: I answered the question on when the committee met. I chaired the meetings myself. I must say, for Deputy Martin's general information, that from January to the end of June, the number of meetings involving the diplomatic services, Ministers, Ministers of State and civil servants at many different levels ran to a couple of thousand. From my point of view, Ministers were really active, both...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: The dates were 5 May, 13 May, 14 June and 23 October.

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: I read the report last week about a number of children in Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital in Crumlin with tracheostomies. I understand parents have been trained to deal with the very difficult issues that arise for them personally due to their young children requiring such serious operations. They need to be able to deal with suction of the children’s air passages. Our...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: I am not aware of when this kind of arrangement was first approved and how far back it goes. I do not agree with the practice. The instruction from both the Minister for Health and the HSE to the section 38 hospitals and agencies is very clear and is not in contention. It was said that they must comply with the direction that non-Exchequer payments could not be made to chief executives,...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: In the HSE-run hospitals it is very clear what people are paid, but because the voluntary hospitals are run by boards - yes, with political appointments - they operate in a quasi-independent way. Unauthorised top-up payments are now subject to a contract that can be assessed against public pay levels. That instruction has gone out following the internal audit of the HSE. I hope we...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: -----with regard to the information that is now coming to light because of the internal audit carried out on the instructions of the Minister for Health. We must sort out the issue and that is what we will do.

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: This is emerging because of the internal audit being carried out. I will not mention the name of any individual but we need the full picture of all the section 38 agencies.

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: Today is the last date for receipt of the information from the 44 agencies that were written to, and all the responses have not yet been received.

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: Let me confirm to the House that when the report is submitted by the HSE to the Minister for Health, it will be published on the Department website and it can be discussed by the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children and the Dáil. The position is very clear and public pay service agreements should not and cannot be breached by unapproved non-Exchequer payments such as those...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: It is a fair question. This came to light last May in respect of the governance of Tallaght hospital. Following the information I have given to Deputy Martin, the Minister for Health ordered an internal audit in respect of all the section 38 hospitals and agencies involved. As I have already indicated, today is the closing day for the receipt of return information following the internal...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: The call has been made and we are acting upon it. The Minister and the HSE are awaiting receipt of the information requested. I repeat that on 30 September a circular letter was sent from the national director of human resources in the HSE and it could not have been any clearer. It required that the agencies involved respond in writing by today to the HSE and that:1. Remuneration payable...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: These issues are emerging as a result of an audit carried out by the HSE of section 38 agencies, which are hospitals and disability agencies. I do not know when these were originally sanctioned or when they came into being. This Government is attempting to weed out additional sweeteners and expenditure in the health service at a time when any funding, Exchequer or private, should be going...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: What I and the Minister need is for the agencies involved to respond fully to the HSE double request that they comply with the public pay issues outlined here. Clearly, non-Exchequer funding to top up allowances is not allowed. Therefore, I expect the HSE to provide the Minister for Health with a full picture. The report will be published on the Department of Health website and will be...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: What is required is for the letter sent out by the HSE to each of the section 38 agencies to be adhered to and to be seen to be adhered to. We cannot have a situation where those further down the line, who have taken serious change in the restructuring of the health system, have borne the brunt of the situation while some people who have received non-Exchequer top-up payments amounting to,...

Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: In May of last year the Minister for Health requested that HIQA carry out an internal audit on all section 38 funding recipients to ensure similar unsanctioned payments were not being made in other locations. The HSE audit report concluded that there were 36 types of allowances being paid to 191 senior managers at an annual cost of €3.224 million. Some of the allowances were for...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Constitutional Convention Expenditure (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: The total expenditure on the Convention on the Constitution to date is €908,000. The Convention was first convened in Dublin Castle on 1 December, 2012 and all of its plenary meetings have been held in the Grand Hotel, Malahide, which was selected following a competitive tendering process. A breakdown of the costs involved in running the plenary meetings up to and including...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: The following table sets out the total amount paid by the Offices of the Attorney General and the Chief State Solicitor to the specified companies for each year from 2004 to date. Amounts marked with an asterisk (*) are in respect of expert evidence relating to litigation against the State. Year Arthur Cox Matheson A&L Goodbody McCann Fitzgerald William Fry Mason, Hayes, Curran...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Seanad Reform (19 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: On 23 October 2013, I listened in the Seanad Chamber to the views of Senators on how to move forward in relation to the Seanad. I now intend to meet with the leaders of the parties in the Dáil and Seanad to discuss the matter further with them. I will take all of the views into account so that the future of Seanad Éireann can be shaped in a way that will enable it to become a...

EU-IMF Programme: Statements (14 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: I wish as a matter of courtesy to inform Dáil Éireann of the outcome of a Government meeting this morning. The Government has decided that Ireland will exit the EU-IMF assistance programme on 15 December next without the need to pre-arrange a new precautionary credit line from our EU and IMF partners. This is the right decision for Ireland and now is the right time to take this...

Order of Business (13 Nov 2013)

Enda Kenny: I have a surplus of material from Europe to read at the moment. I have not had an opportunity to read that Bill. There are quite a number of criminal justice Bills on the list and I am not sure to which one the Deputy is referring.