Results 7,541-7,560 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: Now the Deputy is criticising us for not going ahead with something, when it was shown in the appraisal that it was not fit to go ahead.
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: It is worth remembering that the public service broker was an innovative concept that was adopted by Government in 2000 as an approach worth trying. Nothing of its kind existed anywhere at the time. Consequently, the project to build it was also, of necessity, a project with significant research elements and because there were no comparators, it was virtually impossible to estimate its...
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I mentioned earlierââ
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: Shouting now when the Deputy has the information will not solve the problem. The Deputy does not want to hear the accurate information.
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I have read it and the Deputy is misrepresenting it in public.
- Computerisation Programme. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy is misrepresenting it.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: Inflation, as measured by the CPI, averaged 4.9% in 2007. On budget day, 5 December 2007, my Department forecast that consumer price index inflation would average 3% this year. This forecast was based on the normal technical assumption of unchanged interest rates and is predicated on the rate of inflation moderating as this year progresses, and it remains my Department's forecast for 2008....
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I do not have that information. If the Deputy puts down a specific question in that regard, I can get accurate figures for him. In examining the causes of Irish consumer price index inflation over the past year, it is important to distinguish between external factors, which are beyond domestic policy control, and internal factors. Externally, the single most important cause is higher...
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: With regard to the question of how inflation is measured, the harmonised index is the best in terms of international comparators and knowing where we stand vis-Ã-vis other countries. I accept the point that when mortgage interest rate repayments are included, the CPI is higher and that these are real payments being made by real families. A significant investment is being made in social and...
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I contend strongly, in response to Deputy Morgan, that Ireland's adoption of the euro, which is a source of stability by comparison with other international currencies, has helped to protect us from much of the recent turbulence on the financial, equity and currency markets. We get more protection by sharing our sovereignty with others, on the basis of a co-ordinated economic policy and a...
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I reject the rather dated notion that an independent and free Ireland should be isolated in the Atlantic, away from everybody.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: That is exactly what the Deputy is advocating.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: It is precisely what the Deputy is advocating.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I hope a referendum on EU matters will be put to the Irish people this year so we can have a debate about the real issues, including the alternatives outside the EU for Ireland, past, present and future.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: If Ireland had not joined the Union, it would be a totally different country from the modern country in which we live today. I remind Deputy Burton that I have increased mortgage interest relief by a factor of two and a half.
- Anti-Poverty Strategy. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy asked how we can encourage people in the rental sector to buy homes for themselves. Over the past 12 months, I have increased the ceiling on mortgage interest relief from â¬4,000 to â¬10,000 for a single person and from â¬8,000 to â¬20,000 for a married couple or widowed person. I have provided a means of paying all interest on a mortgage of â¬400,000 over 35 years at 5%,...
- Social Welfare Fraud. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I have been informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the official complement of joint investigation unit officers is 15, with officers working to varying time allocations. The number of officers on joint investigation unit duties at the beginning of 2008 was nine. They spend between 25% and 100% of their time on joint investigation unit duties. An allowance of â¬5,954 is paid to higher...
- Social Welfare Fraud. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: This type of work is not just carried out by officers from the joint investigation unit, it is also done by compliance officers from the Revenue Commissioners, who actively engage in similar duties as part of their routine daily audit and compliance activities in sectors like construction, private security and entertainment. There has been an ongoing exchange of information with the...
- Banking Sector Regulation. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: The issues raised by the Deputy fall within the remit of the Financial Regulator. The Financial Regulator's annual report for 2006 identified a total of approximately â¬167 million relating to overcharging issues dating from the early 1990s to the present. The most recent information available from the Financial Regulator is that 36 financial service providers and over 250 individual...
- Banking Sector Regulation. (30 Jan 2008)
Brian Cowen: I will bring this matter to the attention of the Office of the Financial Regulator as the Deputy requested and consider in what way its remit can be used to deal with institutions that are not in compliance with the Consumer Credit Act and the various consumer protection codes, which apply to all resident financial institutions. Some months ago we dealt with a Bill in which these issues were...