Results 9,361-9,380 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen
- Public Service Reform. (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: A consultative panel was appointed which was representative of a range of interested parties, including trade union representatives and those working in consumer advocacy agencies. The task force did not work in a vacuum but in consultation with this consultative panel, which had a range of expertise available to it.
- Public Service Reform. (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: It is always a matter of judgment who is included on such bodies. I do not suggest that the task force has a monopoly of wisdom. Many of its members work in the front line of social partnership, while others have been involved in major change management within companies, do so regularly as part of their job or have an expertise in this area. The objective is to set out an implementation...
- Public Service Reform. (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: It may be one of the few but it shows what can happen with the right leadership, the right approach and the right methodology. It can be done. While it may not be uniform across the service it is more prevalent in the service than it is given credit for. By the same token, it is not uniform and is not to the same standard and imagination as the good examples one can provide. That is the...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The ESRI believes there will be negative growth of 0.4% this year. That would be the most negative forecast we have heard in recent times. The consensus is that we will have some growth. Obviously, we will be providing our half yearly figures from the Department of Finance next week and will make an assessment based on the most up-to-date data we have. By their nature, forecasts are...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The delusion is very much on the part of the Fine Gael spokesperson on enterprise and employment who suggested that the changes we see in the economy currently mean we are back into the 1980s and worse. The ESRI does not say that. It says, that despite the negative short-term forecast, the economy is better placed to emerge from the current difficulties than it was in the past. The ESRI's...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: To portray the difficulties we have as a repeat of the 1980s is delusional on the Deputy's part.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I do not accept that.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: Do the Deputies want to hear the answer? I listened in silence to what Deputy Kenny had to say, although there was not much content to it, but I will answer it.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: With regard to our budgetary policy, in good times we have surpluses and in more difficult and stringent times we have deficits. That is what is called a counter cyclical budgetary policy. That is how one is supposed to run the economy. As a result of running our economy in that way over the past decade, we have created hundreds of thousands of jobs. There is a challenge for the economy...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: A correction is taking place in the housing market, as Deputy Gilmore says. That has a drag of about 4% on growth this year, according to the ESRI. I will not go over the history of it but the uncertain tax cuts proposed by the Labour Party over an uncertain period during which we needed to bring buoyancy into the market and bring prices down to affordability levels, by what we subsequently...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: ââbecause we are in a much better position to deal with the situation than we were then due to our debt reduction policies in the course of the good times. The contention that windfall revenues were used on current expenditure is not correct. Over 70% of those windfall revenues, above what was projected, went towards debt reduction. Some 80% of our expenditure relates to health,...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: What number of special needs assistants and extra teachers should we not have put into schools? Those reflect the increases in expenditure. We are also proceeding with a capital programme that is 12% higher than last year and which we would like to maintain. We are confident in increasing the productive capacity of the economy when the upturn comes. An upturn in the world economy will...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Opposition cannot have it every way. It suggests that the Government should not run a deficit in bad times, which, I understood, is the reason that one should run a deficit, having run surpluses in 11 of the past 12 budgets during good times. If it should not run a deficit, what areas of policy does the Opposition want me to cut?
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Granard school of economics has just spoken.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The basic point is that we are facing challenges.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: Obviously he did not, he was not in government at the time. The challenges remain the same. I stand over my budgetary policy in respect of providing a fiscal impetus this year to the tune of 1.5%, which was the right thing to do. In terms of current expenditure I refused to put the brakes on completely, which was accepted by most economists as the right thing to do. We will continue to...
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: To maintain it.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: With respect, I have done so and will continue to do so. I accept the acknowledgement that we are not in a 1980s situation. Hopefully other Opposition parties will also do so. At the same time as I provide Deputy Gilmore with a critique as I see it of where we go from here, let the Opposition put its critique on the table, but it must be coherent.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: That is the first point.
- Leaders' Questions (24 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The direction of the Government is clear.