Results 13,321-13,340 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business (17 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: The foreshore (amendment) Bill is due later this year. It is on the list, as the Deputy said. I do not know when the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities will be ratified. I will check that for the Deputy, but a parliamentary question to the relevant Minister would provide him with the exact situation. I will have to check the third issue the Deputy raised....

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. The Cabinet sub-committee on climate change and energy security has met nine times since August 2007 when it was established. The most recent meeting was on 29 April last. I also chair the Cabinet sub-committee on health. The other members are the Ministers for Health and Children and Finance and the Minister of State with...

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy will be aware, all Cabinet meetings are conducted under the principle of collective responsibility, so providing specific detail on the attendance at the meetings would impinge on that principle. That is only to say that I think I have attended them all. The question on legislation is a matter for Government to consider at any time. Our commitment is as outlined in the...

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: Those are matters for the line Minister. They are policy issues. As a general principle it is open to Ministers to bring forward any proposal to Government for approval and it is up to the Government to decide to approve it. We operate under a collective authority.

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, that has not occurred yet. On the other matter the Deputy raised, the EU's objective is that a new international treaty will be agreed at the conference of the parties at the Copenhagen meeting in December 2009 to come into effect when the five-year commitment under the Kyoto Protocol expires at the end of 2012. Ireland remains fully supportive of that position. We are hopeful that a...

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: Cabinet sub-committees comprise an integral part of the Cabinet process and questions about the business conducted at Cabinet or Cabinet sub-committee meetings have never been allowed in the House on the grounds that it is internal to the Government. The reasons for this approach, as the Deputy knows, are founded on sound policy principles and the need to avoid infringing the constitutional...

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: To be helpful, it is important to point out that there are wind energy projects coming onto the grid now which is up to 12% or 14% in terms of capacity. We are well on course to meet our wind energy targets, ambitious though they are, for our future energy requirements. I will ask the Minister to see if there is anything in what Deputy Kenny says about pre-planning issues that would enable...

Cabinet Sub-committees. (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I chair the Cabinet sub-committee on climate change and energy security and the membership includes the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Foreign...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am constrained because it is a matter of record that one cannot engage in a detailed discussion about what goes on at Cabinet sub-committee meetings, no more than one can talk about what goes on at Cabinet until such time as decisions are taken and are communicated to the House and to the public.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: Sub-committees deal with various policy issues on an ongoing basis. This Cabinet sub-committee met in February, March, April and May this year. Issues such as Monageer can be dealt with generally at Cabinet meetings.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I always like to be helpful.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: Whether what I have to say is regarded as helpful is a different thing.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is highly unlikely. I have not been able to surprise the Deputy so far. His basic question is whether the sub-committee engages itself in operational matters that come under the statutory authority and remit of the HSE and the answer is "No". However, the sub-committee seeks to ensure in the implementation of policy that the operational responsibility, where it lies, is exercised with...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I would well believe that. The issue is when one compares the money being expended on paediatrics in this city to other cities of a similar size, there is a great deal of room for ensuring that the resources are provided to the front line more easily than is the case currently. That will require support from everyone in the House to look to reforms, which are necessary in the context of...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: The reorganisation of the bus fleet in Dublin or anywhere else depends on the facts. From memory, bus passenger numbers are down by 10% which, against a background of finite budgets, means that some reorganisation has to take place in the interest of providing a sustainable public transport system in the city. These are the challenges management in that company, as in other companies, have...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I will look into the suggestions that are being made and come back to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: If the Government so decides, of course it will.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: I made it clear the Government has yet to consider such a Bill. I cannot give a commitment to introduce a Bill until I have seen it.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: There is no room for mystery in this regard. The situation is that it is open for any Minister to bring any initiative to Cabinet. No such initiative has been brought for consideration by Cabinet at this point.

Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2009)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy is aware, the Attorney General has given his advice, having regard to the Constitution. As the Deputy is also aware, the case law interpreting that advice is confidential. The decision not to impose the pension levy on judges was made on the basis of that advice. The wording of Article 35.5 is clear. In express terms it imposes a prohibition on the reduction of a judge's...