Results 6,561-6,580 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: My staff, the group and everyone involved in this process are available to discuss all those issues. What has been absent has been engagement.

Decentralisation Programme. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: Proposals cannot be made in the absence of co-operation from all concerned and a commitment to resolve the problems. Up to now, we have had a stand-off. Indeed, the policy of non-co-operation has been stated on the SIPTU website, even in the aftermath of the Labour Court recommendation. Having got their clarification, it is time for us to get down to discussing the issues to see what can...

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: At €31,462 million, Exchequer tax receipts to end-September were €490 million or 1.5% below profile. They were up 6.1% on the same period last year. Corporation tax and income tax both performed well, coming in at €296 million and €56 million above profile respectively, reflecting the health of the economy generally. Receipts from each of the other main tax heads were below...

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: Some of the offsetting issues relate to the cost of debt repayments. As of now, however, the deficit is estimated to be €1 billion over a projected estimate of €546 million at budget time.

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: Yes, but we estimate that there will be some offsets in terms of debt repayment issues and NTMA issues. What was the Deputy's second point?

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: This year, together with the Central Bank, the ESRI and others, my Department examined the question of how to improve forecasting in order to be as accurate as possible, not that we were very inaccurate. Obviously, it is always difficult to project or predict improvement in property markets, depending on the extent of activity that occurs. I will receive that report shortly.

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: Last year's points were made on the basis of maintaining current economic strength. In the first six months of this year the economy improved by 6.4% but there has been a different story in the second half. We will have to make decisions closer to budget time, when we know the outcome of revenue trends, where we stand on future expenditure levels, and how we will try to maintain a capital...

Tax Receipts. (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: We have had a strong budgetary position recently, bringing in surpluses in ten of the past 11 years, while also having an unprecedentedly large capital programme, enhanced by the national development plan, as well as increases in current expenditure. A significant amount of revenue comes in at the end of the year, in October and November, from the self-employed and in corporation taxes. We...

Order of Business (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy should get some rosin for his fiddle. He is out of tune.

Order of Business (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy should vary it a bit.

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I have been advised by the Revenue Commissioners that 401 cases were selected for random audit as part of their 2007 programme. As of 30 September 2007, 148 cases have been concluded, 253 cases are still ongoing. In 2006, 402 cases were selected for random auditing and 352 of these cases have been completed leaving 50 cases ongoing. In 2005, 410 cases were selected for random audit. Of...

Written Answers — Carbon Budget: Carbon Budget (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Programme for Government states that the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance will present an outline carbon report, referred to as a carbon budget, in conjunction with the annual financial budget. The Programme for Government also states that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, will follow the carbon budget with a report outlining our use of energy in the...

Written Answers — Price Inflation: Price Inflation (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I will set out my pre-Budget outlook later this week. However, at this stage I can once again reiterate that I do not subscribe to the more gloomy views of the economy that are currently abroad. Inflation, as measured by the CPI was 4.6 per cent in the twelve months to September, down from 4.8 per cent in August 2007. Although the annual rate of inflation has increased in the past year,...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I will be bringing proposals to Government in the near future on matters relating to the establishment of the proposed Commission on Taxation including its membership and terms of reference. The Commission will be specifically charged with considering and making recommendations on the following: Examine the balance achieved between taxes collected on income, capital and spending and report...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Programme for Government signals that a carbon tax/levy would be introduced over the lifetime of this Government. The matter of the introduction of a carbon tax is one of the issues to be considered by the new Commission on Taxation to be established under the Programme. Consequently, at this stage, the precise design of such a tax has yet to be determined. This will, of course, form...

Written Answers — Departmental Reports: Departmental Reports (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: Hay Management Consultants were commissioned to size the chief executive positions of all the commercial State bodies by reference to comparable positions in the private sector and rank them according to job score. Based on an analysis of rates across the private sector for jobs of comparable size, Hay identified median rates for the various job score level. They recently submitted their...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (Fund) and the Boards of Governors of the World Bank Group (Bank) normally meet once a year to discuss the work of their respective institutions. I will attend the meeting to be held this year in Washington and will speak on behalf of Ireland. In addition there are meetings of the International Monetary and Financial Committee...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 122 together. The Irish deposit protection scheme is based on the harmonised arrangements set out in the EU Deposit Guarantee Schemes Directive 94/19/EC. The Directive currently provides for a minimum level of protection of €20,000 or 90% of the loss incurred by a depositor when a credit institution cannot repay funds, whichever is the lesser. The...

Written Answers — Public Service Pay: Public Service Pay (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The first Public Service Benchmarking Body was established as an independent body in July 2000 under the terms of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness to examine public service pay and jobs by comparison with the private sector. The Body reported in June 2002 and recommended varying levels of pay increases for the grades examined, with the average increase being 8.9%. The cumulative...

Written Answers — Financial Services Regulation: Financial Services Regulation (16 Oct 2007)

Brian Cowen: The Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO), established in April 2005 to deal with consumer complaints about financial service providers, has made a very significant contribution to protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of financial services. Where a complaint is upheld the Financial Services Ombudsman can direct the financial service provider to pay compensation to the complainant...