Results 6,041-6,060 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: Throw him out.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Order for Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I move: "That Second Stage be taken now."

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I am glad to introduce this, my fourth Finance Bill to the House. In my first Bill in 2005, I concentrated on reducing the tax burden on low and middle income earners. In my second Bill in 2006, I reformed and refocused the structure of investment tax reliefs and set a minimum tax which the well-off must pay. In my third Bill earlier this...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: Ah jaysus——

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: That is the best conspiracy theory the Deputy has come up with.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I want to write that one down, now, for the first day of the Dáil. That is the best one she has come up with in a long time. We have had a few good ones but that is the best.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I thank Deputies for their contributions. As Deputy Mansergh pointed out, this issue was discussed at length and in detail at the instigation of the Opposition which came forward with proposals that it then changed four times in three weeks — that is how well thought out they were. It was also pointed out that they would cost at least €500 million to implement.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I listened to the Deputy in silence. He has rabbited on about this issue for months.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I will listen to the Deputy within the order of the House.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: There seems to be an incapacity on the part of Fine Gael to go with the order of the House on anything today.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I know Fine Gael is upset about losing the election and the quicker we let it go on its holidays the better because everyone is very upset.

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I represent people too and they heard this argument in great detail and took the common sense approach we have adopted. That is why we have come forward with a proposal in line with our commitment, as I said we would. We are not coming back from the Áras to look for money in the bottom drawers of offices in the Department; we are basing this on what is affordable, targeted and credible. I...

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: It is necessary to restore stability to the market quickly——

Finance (No. 2) Bill 2007: Second Stage. (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: ——after all the nonsense that has been ongoing for six months, which I am glad to say the people have rejected, despite Fine Gael's effort to buy them off.

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: Stamp Duty from residential property in 2006, the latest full year for which details are available, made up approximately 35 per cent of the total Stamp Duty yield in that year. While my Department does not base its forecasts of Stamp Duty yield for the residential property sector on the number of transactions at the different rates of duty, a breakdown of the 52,901 such transactions in 2006...

Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy may be aware, a full progress report on the Programme for Government between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats of June 2002 was published in April 2007 and is available on the Department of the Taoiseach website. As outlined in that report, substantial progress has been made on meeting the targets set out in the Programme for Government. In the finance area good progress...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the application of Financial Reporting Standard 17 — known as FRS 17 — that requires annual accounts to show the total accrued value of future pension liabilities in respect of staff. FRS 17 is applied through-out the private sector and in the accounts of all commercial State bodies. In the public service, FRS 17 does not arise in the case of...

Written Answers — Public Investment Projects: Public Investment Projects (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: I announced a comprehensive package of measures in October 2005 to achieve better Value for Money on major capital and ICT projects. As one element of these measures, which are codified in a Department of Finance letter on Value-for-Money of January 2006, each Department and Sponsoring Agency must appoint an individual as Project Manager for each capital project at the planning/procurement...

Written Answers — House Prices: House Prices (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: At the outset, I would like to remind the Deputy that it is not appropriate for me to speculate on the likely path of interest rates, as these are set by the ECB which is independent. That said, I do not consider that potential first time buyers are facing exclusion from the housing market. There are several reasons why this is the case. The first is that mortgage interest relief was doubled...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (26 Jun 2007)

Brian Cowen: The commitment in the Government Programme is to use tax credits and bands to keep low income earners out of the standard rate band and average earners out of the higher band. For 2007, in terms of gross liability to tax before the application of tax credits, the position is that a person earning the average wage, estimated to be about €33,000, will not face a liability to tax at the...