Results 9,481-9,500 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

European Council: Statements (25 Jun 2008)

Brian Cowen: And Sinn Féin's campaign.

European Council: Statements (25 Jun 2008)

Brian Cowen: I negotiated it.

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (25 Jun 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Department of the Taoiseach has no Directives awaiting transposition. The information sought by the Deputy requires the review of a large number of records. This information is currently being compiled and will be forwarded to the Deputy as soon as possible.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. The Government appointed Deputy Pat Carey as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at my Department and the Department of Defence. Deputy Dick Roche was appointed Minister of State at my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs with special responsibility for European affairs. As Chief Whip, the Minister of State,...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: The number of Ministers of State I have appointed is appropriate in terms of the responsibilities they have been given. Some of these responsibilities are cross-departmental, an aspect that needs to be further developed. Following the OECD report on the reform of the public service, I am mindful of how we can better organise government with a view to ensuring we assign to Ministers of State...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: I do not agree with the Deputy's contention. There is a set procedure for the Adjournment debate, under which notice of matters to be raised is given by Members and replies are provided by the various Departments. It is open to Members on the Government side or those in opposition to give notice of matters they wish to raise on any given day and the Ceann Comhairle will deem which ones are...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: That certainly is beyond the remit of this question but I will answer the first part of the Deputy's question and respond to the second as best I can. In regard to the first part of his question, promoting Dáil reform is a shared responsibility of all Members and parties in this House. We will seek to play a constructive role in that effort. I have commented in the past that too often...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy's first question was about Dáil reform. We must ensure the provision of considered and accurate information for the House is not supplanted by topicality, as if we were here to provide a day-to-day commentary on newsworthy issues. The Parliament must do its business according to the priorities it sets itself, which must include policy formulation and dealing with issues that...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: It beggars belief but these things happen.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy raised this question because he has heard about this, as have I. What was being misrepresented was that the ten year exemption is up and that the blanket bog and special areas of conservation issue comes into play. This does not mean people will not be able to pursue their turbary rights which are not affected by special areas of conservation. Perhaps opponents of the treaty...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: The matter was referred to the all-party committee to see if all-party consensus can be achieved. Consensus has not yet been reached due to a difference of opinion and we will have to see how we proceed. We must take on board what the Director of Public Prosecutions is saying in contributing to the debate.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: We had more than the Deputy's side, actually.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: It is not the case that Ireland's "No" vote will lead to the EU having 27 Commissioners — that is precisely the point.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Nice treaty provided that when the EU reached 27 member states, the number of Commissioners would be reduced, although a unanimous vote is required to that end.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: No. The Lisbon treaty was actually different. We will not go over it again.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: We lost the referendum. I am aware of that. I will restate the position in the interests of accuracy. I would hate the Deputy to be under a continuing misapprehension about what is in the treaty. The Lisbon treaty provided that all 27 member states could continue to have a Commissioner until 2014.

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: No, the Deputy is wrong again. The treaty provided that, if agreed, the number of Commissioners could be reduced to 18, subject to the principle of equal rotation. It also provided that the number of Commissioners could stay at 27, if unanimous agreement could be reached on that. That is what it said. It was not in the Sinn Féin literature, but that is what the treaty said. As the...

Ministerial Responsibilities. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am absolutely satisfied that, in order to discharge political accountability, two or three democratically elected politicians — a Minister and one or two Ministers of State — should be asked to run a Department which may have many hundreds of thousands of people working for it. I do not see what could be more respectful of our democratic institutions than to give political...

Social Partnership. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, together. At the social partnership plenary meeting on 15 February 2008, the Government invited the social partners to participate in a formal review of Towards 2016, as provided for under the agreement. Given that the terms of the pay agreement for the private sector expired in March, the review process includes negotiations on a new pay...

Social Partnership. (1 Jul 2008)

Brian Cowen: No pay offer has been made by the Government at this point. We are bringing the published official estimates on the performance of the economy in the first six months to the table so the social partners will be informed precisely as to what the Government regards as the short-term and medium-term prospects. Doing so will comprise an important input into the talks in an effort to determine...