Results 6,541-6,560 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: This year we have not seen spending cuts. Year on year, there has been an increase in spending.

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: A criticism from the other side of the House, depending on which side of the debate one is on, is that too much is being spent. In the interests of good budgetary discipline, we are trying to ensure all voted expenditure will come in on target, which is the best way to maintain improvements in services year on year. To do otherwise would be to put the improvements at risk, which would be in...

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: As I already noted, I will outline on Thursday the pre-budget outlook in terms of our economic and budgetary forecasts for the next several years. It is clearly the case and it has been widely noted that a drag exists on growth because of the reduction that has occurred in the residential property market over the past number of months. That will be reflected in projections for next year and...

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: It is interesting that the Labour Party spokesperson on finance is saying that we are spending too much on public services when the critique before the election was that funding was inadequate.

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Exchequer account recorded a deficit of €3.1 billion in the first nine months of the year compared to a deficit of €136 million in the same period last year. While the Exchequer balance at the end of September had worsened in comparison to the same period in 2006, this was not unexpected. The budget day forecast was for an Exchequer deficit of €546 million in 2007 compared to a...

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: With regard to the programme for Government, it involves a five-year term. The programme for Government was based on the assumption of being able to achieve an average annual growth rate of 4.5%. We may not achieve that rate next year but the programme should be considered over the five-year period. This is all predicated on maintaining an overall budgetary policy of broad budgetary...

Tax Yield. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: We are in the first six months of a new administration. Certainly, there will not be the added buoyancy in tax revenues that applied in the past and an adjustment is taking place in the residential housing market that must be completed to allow for a soft landing. The sustainable level of housing output, based on demographics, demand and so on, is reckoned to be between 60,000 and 70,000...

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: There is no shift in Government policy on decentralisation. The programme states that the Government will continue to move ahead with decentralisation and ensure that no public servant is obliged to accept decentralisation against his or her wishes and that promotion opportunities remain available. I assure the Deputy that this remains the case and that the Government has not abandoned any...

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I would not agree there has been no progress whatsoever with State agencies. There has been some, but it has been slow. One of the reasons for the slow pace is the industrial relations issue outlined by the Deputy, which was only recently resolved in the context of a Labour Court recommendation between FÁS and SIPTU, when the issue arose in connection with FÁS. With regard to the Revenue...

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy is aware, an initiative cannot be taken when an industrial relations issue is the reason no one is engaging. That issue has now been dealt with. I have written to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and asked for discussions to take place quickly. Regarding the agencies involved, they have established a presence at nine locations, although not to the degree one would seek.

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The intention was to move that many posts out of Dublin, including existing, new and recruitment posts.

Tax Code. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: When discussing the plans that the European Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union has for a common consolidated corporate tax base, it is important to not only address the implications for Ireland but also to address the implications for the European Union as a whole. It is also important to note that as of now only technical work is under way; the Commission has not made any final...

Tax Code. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy knows that was a joke.

Tax Code. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I always knew the Deputy had a sense of humour.

Tax Code. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: There is no formal proposal on the table. Technical work has been done at Commission level and has been brought to the ECOFIN Council from time to time. Commissioner Kovács indicates the level of progress but nothing definite has been suggested at this stage. Most people are courteous in listening to that, as we should be, not indicating outright disapproval since no proposal has been...

Tax Code. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: It has been suggested, as a way of getting around the inflexibility inherent in the common, consolidated corporate tax base proposition, that some decisions would be made in committees by qualified majority voting and that there might be some co-ordinating tax authority across the EU. We believe those would be ineffective mechanisms in terms of policy flexibility which would further erode...

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: My Department has been in contact with ICTU seeking to get discussions under way on the range of industrial relations issues impacting on relocating State agency posts to locations outside of Dublin. I understand that ICTU is considering this proposal and I remain hopeful that meaningful discussions can take place on the full range of issues impacting on the relocation of the State agencies....

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy is missing the fact that to have a discussion people need to engage. The industrial relations problem in FÁS was used as a reason engagement could not take place until clarification was brought to certain issues, which I would regard as self-evident.

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: On the contrary, no enforced moves are envisaged. The Government has always recognised that this aspect of the programme presents different challenges from that of the Civil Service. As the Deputy said, more than 1,000 employees of State agencies have expressed a preference on the central applications facility to relocate with either another public service or Civil Service organisation. It...

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: My response is that that is not the recommendation of the Labour Court, which we need to implement in full. The membership has once again received an assurance from the Labour Court that no involuntary transfers are envisaged and that those who do not wish to be transferred should be offered some alternative career options. The same Labour Court recommendation also states that there is a...