Results 12,061-12,080 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: That is what the Deputy is saying; I am not saying that at all.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: It will change a lot more than what Deputy Kenny will be able to change from those benches, I can assure him, on the basis that they support the Government.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: They have been in a position——

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: ——to see improvements in those areas which they sought and they will continue to make representations regardless of whether they still support the Government.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: Being an open-minded Deputy, I will listen attentively to any proposal on the basis of its intrinsic merit. In fact, I have helped out a few of Deputy Kenny's own party from time to time——

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: ——when representations were received. I am very open to helping others.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: As I made clear in a previous response, there are conditions attaching to political agreements with Independents just as there are for the programme for Government itself. All commitments are predicated on the availability of resources, both those the Government has prioritised——

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is not in the same spirit that this will happen. The idea that those would be central to solving the scale of the problem is an irrelevance.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am trying to answer the Deputy's question. What is not on the table is the ability of the Opposition to renegotiate agreements which Independents have entered into with the Government. Were the Deputy in my position and I in his, would he suggest that this was a tenable proposition? Absolutely not. Let us get real here.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, that is not what the Taoiseach is telling the House, as the Deputy well knows. The Taoiseach has made it clear what the position is with regard to those agreements, the same as agreements with other parties in our own Government. As a former Minister who also negotiated with me on an agreement, the Deputy will know that all commitments are predicated on the financial provisions which...

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am not. Deputies who support the Government are entitled to continue to pursue the priorities they have identified with the Government in good faith and the Government is obliged, in good faith, reciprocally, to progress those as best it can in the context of the overall framework we are trying to work to. That is simply a political arrangement, a political understanding that permeates...

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, they do not require publication now. Those agreements were reached with the individuals concerned on the basis of and subject to the conditions I have outlined. Therefore, of course the taxpayers' interests are kept in mind by the Government in respect of delivering on all priorities, whether those mentioned in the programme for Government between parties or indeed any arrangements...

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is not just a number of questions, a number of tomes were brought forward by Deputy Ó Caoláin. I want, first, to thank him for advising us how to negotiate a programme for Government. If he does not mind, we shall take our own advice in that regard.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, it is not.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am answering the question. The Deputy asked me a question.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: Let me answer the question.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: The first question Deputy Ó Caoláin asked was why we did not, as part of our overall negotiation programme, negotiate with the Independents when we were agreeing our programme for Government. With all due respect, my answer to him is that we shall decide how to negotiate our programme for Government. The second point is that we decided to negotiate a programme for Government with the...

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: On the change of Administration, when I became Taoiseach, having been Minister for Finance, I indicated I would continue to implement those arrangements with Deputies on the basis of their continuing support, which was the understanding they had on entering into the agreement in the first place.

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: As regards south Kerry, without referring to the Ceann Comhairle, the people there have indicated their level of support for Fianna Fáil candidates and our party in the last election——

Ceisteanna — Questions (4 Mar 2009)

Brian Cowen: ——and made it very clear that they associated much of the progress and development with our party, in Government——