Results 1,961-1,980 of 10,459 for speaker:Bertie Ahern

Order of Business (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It is awaiting Committee Stage.

Order of Business (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It will come through shortly.

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. In December 2006, the Government approved a major review of the public service by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD. The review has two main objectives, namely, to benchmark the public service in Ireland against comparable countries and, to make recommendations as to future directions for public...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The OECD review was undertaken last year. The work has been going on for the better part of a year. The report is not simply on the public service. It is the first comprehensive review ever undertaken on the public service as a system. It is holistic and is a service-wide assessment. It will identify many things but it has two main areas in its remit. It will examine how the Irish...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Deputy Kenny and I regularly discuss problem areas in the health service. It is not me that people should congratulate. They should congratulate the staff in the health services. Across a large part of our health services, including cardiac surgery, children's cardiac surgery, liver transplants and maternity services, we are up there with the very best. We have eminent teams of...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am talking about the Civil Service and not the wider public service, although there have been huge improvements in the latter as well. My Department is involved in driving the quality service initiatives. The sections in my Department that deal with this, deal with people across the Civil Service. For several years, the Civil Service has had declining numbers in the overall management...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will answer the second part of the Deputy's query first. Most of these systems and schemes have been in place since the period 1992 to 1997, the year when the Public Service Management Act was introduced. Reforms relating to Revenue customer charges and those that brought about improvements to the social welfare system, improved services for pensioners, replaced the mess that used to be...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I am in favour of voting machines. We have an enlightened——

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: We would still have the same result so it would not matter. The technology sometimes works but it does not do so in other cases. In most cases, the schemes in which the research groups are involved are good and they are doing precisely what Deputy Gilmore is requesting. They are not trying to think up things themselves but rather to reflect on what the public is telling them. Civil...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I will not disagree with that in the context of the wider public service. For example, if gardaí catch an individual robbing a car, they must fill out ten forms to justify they caught the person robbing the car. However, that is called justice and one has to go through these procedures. If we keep going this way, we will have more gardaí who are better at handwriting than catching...

Strategic Management Initiative. (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The point Deputy Burton makes is the very reason charters are important. If there are delays in any of the areas she has mentioned, pensions in particular, targets should be set towards dealing with the issues, getting the paperwork in and turning matters around as quickly as possible. The Department of Social and Family Affairs, given the volume of work it handles, has a good record, but...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The killings in Dublin last Friday and in Limerick last night were appalling. I agree with what Deputy Kenny said and wish to again highlight the threat we face from members of armed gangs who have no regard for human life and who, by extension, shoot people who have nothing to do with crime. Several people were killed this year — we are aware of at least three — who had no association...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: The Government has provided unprecedented resources to help achieve this. In terms of what this means, Deputy Kenny will be aware that during the lifetime of the previous Government an extra 4,000 gardaí were recruited to bring Garda strength to 16,000. Garda strength is at 14,000 now. The current budget is €1.44 billion compared to €0.9 billion five years ago. Garda over-time this...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Other priorities for the Garda Síochana in terms of its ability to break up these gangs are; a major incident computer system which will automate many of the functions currently performed manually following a major incident, the introduction of an automated number plate recognition system, an automated finger-print identification system and an automated ballistic identification system....

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: A large number of gardaí are involved in operation Anvil and the CAB. We are determined that the CAB will go after drug dealers. The change involves gardaí becoming operational at all levels rather than dealing only with bigger issues of criminality. It is an operational issue for the Garda Síochána. On the question of the establishment of a witness protection scheme, Deputy Flanagan's...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: I do not want to simplify the problem to the level of prison places. Nevertheless, we have increased them by more than 1,300. Even allowing for the population increase in the past ten years, the number of people in prison for serious crime, under the various new legislative measures, has substantially increased. In reply to Deputy Kenny's question I listed the resources allocated to CAB,...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Across the range of crimes the Garda detection figures have risen substantially. Long and tougher sentencing, more manpower and better resources is allowing the Garda to deal with the issues, particularly in the area of gun crime. Deputy Gilmore please do not ask me to do what is done in the United States, because if I were to suggest any of the measures taken in the United States, he would...

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: Please do no simplify it. The Deputy knows if you hold somebody for ten years, which is not unreasonable in the US, without a prosecution——

Leaders' Questions (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: On the question of the witness protection scheme, the Minister met the Garda Commissioner to discuss this yesterday. The scheme is ten years in existence. It is under the direct operational control and administration of the Garda Commissioner, in response to attempts by criminal and other groups to prevent the normal functioning of the criminal justice system. A review of that scheme was...

Order of Business (9 Oct 2007)

Bertie Ahern: It is proposed to take No. 7, motion re proposed approval by Dáil Éireann of the despatch of Major General Pat Nash as Operations Commander in the Republic of Chad and the Central African Republic — it is on the Second Supplementary Order Paper; No. 2, Charities Bill 2007 — Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that: (1)...