Results 8,521-8,540 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. At budget time, an Exchequer deficit of €4,866 million was projected for this year. This was based on an economic growth rate of 3% in GDP terms. However, a number of risks to the economic forecast were identified, including the possibility of a sharper slowdown in the US, the possibility of adverse exchange rate movements, the...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: My budget stance in recent years has been appropriate. I do not accept that the stance involved the building of permanent spending programmes with the benefits associated with improvements in economic performance, including surpluses. Much of the surplus beyond what was predicted was put towards reducing debt, and that is why our ratio of GDP to debt was practically halved in a ten-year...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: There is no problem at all. I will answer all questions to the best of my ability. The Deputy made some assertions that I want to rebut. If I do not do so, he might assume I agree with them. It is clear that if the goals set out in the programmes under the national development plan are not met, prioritisation of programmes will be required. As members of the euro area, we must adhere to...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: Yes, I do. Once again I reject the assertions made in the Deputy's question. The first part of her critique was a suggestion that my fiscal policy was not sufficiently loose in terms of not meeting the current programme, which the Deputy and many other Deputies in her party and the main Opposition party continue to call for. By the same token she then refers to a change to a deficit in the...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I will take Deputy Burton's question first. The Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector, the Labour Court and all the pay determination bodies that are in place have served us for, in some cases, more than 40 years in dealing with some aspects of public pay remuneration. The pay increases are being made available to the Judiciary and senior people in Garda, Army etc. to...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: We will manage the nation's monetary affairs in the context of our programme for Government, which is seeking to achieve broad budgetary balance. Clearly in the event of the anticipated growth rates not being achieved we will need to adapt to that situation, otherwise we would not achieve broad budgetary balance. The questions tabled asked what revised expenditure Estimates etc. I would...

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am explaining my stance, which is a fair point to make. The Deputy put his point. I do not believe that we should at this stage, as other governments have done at various stages in an economic cycle like this one, resile on the capital programme, particularly in those areas for which we get a return.

Fiscal Policy. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy is saying both things at the same time.

Price Inflation. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: Inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, reached 5% in the 12 months to March 2008. Most of the upward pressure on prices here is due to external factors, particularly mortgage interest rate increases and rising fuel and food prices. When comparing our inflation rate with that in other EU member states we must use the EU comparable measure of inflation, the harmonised index of...

Price Inflation. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: There is nothing more hypocritical than seeking to support an independent pay determination system that has served successive Governments for 40 years and then walk away from it when a populist argument arises that suits one's case. On external factors that affect inflation, we do not control the price of oil. Exchange rate deterioration vis-À-vis the dollar or sterling, which makes the...

Price Inflation. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I have one third of the time the Deputy had to ask his question yet he is interrupting before I have had a chance to answer. Answering the Deputy's question in one third of the time it took him to ask it is a stiff challenge. I will do the best I can but the content may not be as good as the Deputy hopes. Regarding Government regulated costs, we have opened up to independent regulation to...

Public Sector Reform. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: Public service reform is essentially about improving the service provided to citizens at all levels in the most efficient and cost effective way. Any reasonable analysis must acknowledge that the public service has come a long way since the strategic management initiative was launched over a decade ago with the objective of ensuring that the public service would make a greater contribution...

Public Sector Reform. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I have already brought forward initiatives relating to the budget that mean the Deputy and others in committees can look at output statements and examine whether we are getting the outputs Departments set for themselves at the beginning of the year. I have unified the budget process considerably and I would have thought there would be some acknowledgement of change in this area. If this is...

Public Sector Reform. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: In fairness, a structure is in place for the committees of this House to analyse Government expenditure across all areas of the public service on the basis of targets they would place for themselves. Before I introduced changes to the budgetary process, there were criticisms of no references to outputs. I have put an obligation on all Departments to set out their outputs at the beginning of...

Public Sector Reform. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: It is not just a question of doing something different and what I just referred to is new. It was not done in the Deputy's time in the Department or ever before.

Public Sector Reform. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The committee system has a large responsibility. I suggest that should be used for effective scrutiny. Although I am not a close watcher of everything going on in every committee, from my observations I note that committees decide their own agendas as to who attends and when depending on what issue arises daily or weekly, when they could set out a strategic job of work to be done. If we...

House Prices. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: There is a general view that the sustainable level of new housing completions is approximately 60,000 units per annum. This estimate is based on factors such as the demographic structure of the population. In the past several years, the level of output has been in excess of that level. The Government has always been aware that activity would have to revert to more sustainable levels at some...

House Prices. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I do not understand the Deputy's argument. He argues I should have moved earlier on stamp duty reform but it was his party's main policy plank going into the general election. This canard has been going about for 12 months. The Deputy has just decried the fact that housing output was increasing exponentially, which is a function of the market. The housing market and the capacity of the...

House Prices. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am pointing out the paradox in the Deputy's argument.

House Prices. (24 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I do not accept that point.