Results 1,621-1,640 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: In holding the office of Taoiseach one sees a good deal of hypocrisy. One day people complain about the number of drivers that are on the road without complying with the law, while the next day they bemoan the fact that a law must be complied with. Perhaps some day the Opposition will make up its mind. The truth is the Opposition says "Yes" to whoever approaches it.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Deputy will say "Yes" to whoever asks him a question without defending anybody or making a decision.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The decision made by the Minister, Deputy Dempsey, means that in a matter of months there probably will be a greater degree of compliance with traffic regulations in the country than ever before.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Several hundred thousand tests will be conducted in the given period.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: People need more time to take these tests and that is fair enough, although, in some cases, they are already breaking the law of the land. However, we must be fair and pragmatic.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I hope there is strong support for the Road Safety Authority in the House. This is the authority's third report and I hope everyone supports the efforts we are making to get greater compliance and to keep the number of road deaths and injuries down. It takes time to create a different culture where people no longer believe they can ignore these things. The Minister is right to give the...

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Stop that. Is the Opposition serious about people being killed or not?

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Then stop.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The point I made about the figures is that 122,000 people are on the waiting lists, while 430,000 people have provisional licences.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: If people had to comply with the law by Tuesday, this would have created horrendous difficulties. However, we must face up to the difficulties. We cannot go ahead ——

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The waiting list can be cleared within a few months, but if the Garda starts to enforce the regulations, which it has not been doing and which has never been done, that would affect 430,000 people. That was not the focus for the Road Safety Authority, which worked on this matter every day, the Garda or ourselves. The people who work on this matter every day did not focus on that issue. It...

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will tell the Deputy. Some 40,000 people have had more than five provisional licences. They have no interest——

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: These people never bothered to apply to do their test.

Leaders' Questions (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Some have been driving on provisional licences for 20 years, some have had 17 or 18 provisional licences. The point is they have never bothered to apply for a test. Only one in five people bother to apply. That is the reason for the difference as between 120,000 and 430,000. Everybody driving on our roads will have to comply with the new regulations. The position is that the number in...

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, together. These are political agreements that I have entered into as leader of the Fianna Fáil Party with individual Independent Deputies. The agreements are confidential, but I am happy to confirm to the House that they are, as always, based on the programme for Government, which incorporates the national development plan, approved...

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: In this Dáil, which started a number of months ago, as in the last two Dála and previous Dála, this is the procedure followed. In this Dáil, apart from the parties in Government, Fianna Fáil, the Progressive Democrats and the Green Party, the Government appreciates and acknowledges the support it receives from Deputies Finian McGrath, Michael Lowry and Jackie Healy-Rae. We appreciate...

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will deal with the Deputy's questions separately. It is not a question that agreements one makes, either political agreements between parties or in this case we are talking about agreements with Independents, are meaningless. I have been doing this for the last ten years. Independent Deputies may emphasise their national or international priorities. Deputy Finian McGrath, who is present...

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: ——and people landing on international flights from the United States or other countries would be based on a UN mandate.

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We agreed to that.

Agreements with Members. (31 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Yes, but the Deputy knows how many arguments there have been about that.