Results 13,681-13,700 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Labour Party will get its soundbite from that. It can keep at it because that is the way it wants to go. In the meantime we will do what is necessary to take the distressed assets off those balance sheets and get credit into the Irish economy flowing more quickly, with or without the Opposition's support.

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: If we cannot get it, unfortunately we will have to do without it.

Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: With regard to the McCarthy report, that informs the Government's consideration of the budgetary position for 2010. There will be cuts and savings and I look forward to the Labour Party being prepared to support an approach that brings our public finances back into order. I doubt it will happen.

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. The meeting with the Church of Ireland archbishops of Armagh and Dublin on 15 June last was my first opportunity to receive them officially since becoming Taoiseach. I was accompanied at the meeting by the Minister for Education and Science and the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs. Our meeting was a...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: One takes note of what anybody with an historically central role in education has to say. The archbishop addressed the Irish Primary Principals' Network in Dublin on 16 June last and made a speech on these general matters. In the past, representatives from the Department of Education and Science met Archbishop Martin and the chairperson of the bishops' committee on education to discuss more...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As already stated, the Department of Education and Science is currently consulting directly with patrons with regard to specific areas where the establishment of new schools would be required and how emerging demands in these areas would be addressed. As part of this process, we will seek details of any schools where a change of patronage might potentially be relevant. A review of...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not agree there is reluctance on the Government's part. Obviously the Constitution bestows rights on parents and religious denominations involved in education. This is not simply an issue for teachers or stakeholders but is a wider public societal issue. Archbishop Martin stated: "Education is too important an issue for it to be left just to teachers, or just to the Department of...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: Obviously there are different attitudes in different times. However, I make the point to Deputy Gilmore that a major conference was held by the Minister last year in respect of the question of governance. There is an acknowledgement that we must find governance structures for the future that reflect diversity and which, as the Deputy observed, are founded on the financial and other...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: These questions go beyond the structured dialogue one has with churches and faith communities as referred to in this question. I do not have the information available and I do not know the position on correspondence with the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform. This must be taken up with him.

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: Regarding the meeting with the religious congregation on 24 June to review progress on this matter, they indicated they were well advanced in the preparation of statements of their financial affairs. These will be signed off on by their financial advisers and submitted over the coming weeks. The Government decided these statements will be assessed by a panel of eminent persons to give an...

Government and Church Dialogue. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, it was a general discussion on Northern Ireland. The Archbishop of Armagh and the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Dublin attended. There was an opportunity to discuss these matters, the commitment of the church to ethos-based education, minorities being accommodated, the challenges that face the country in respect of reductions in public expenditure and the implications for our services...

Constitutional Amendments. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 5 to 7, inclusive, together. When I last answered this question I indicated that two potential referendums are being considered for 2009, one about the Lisbon treaty and the other about children's rights. As regards the Lisbon treaty, at the European Council on 18-19 June, Ireland secured the guarantees that we required on tax, neutrality and ethical...

Constitutional Amendments. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Government cannot make a decision until it receives the report in October of the committee established for that purpose. We have had interim reports from it and when we receive its full report in October the Government will have to consider the matter in light of the fact that thus far it has been impossible for the committee to come up with a consensus position which was the purpose of...

Constitutional Amendments. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: That is precisely the point I am making; it will have to be examined by the Government in due course and, as I stated, a report is due in October and we will deal with all of this seriatim and in logical fashion. As Deputy Ó Caoláin stated, it was not possible for the committee to come to a common view on it and it is obvious that the complexity of the issue is not resolved to everyone's...

Constitutional Amendments. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am aware of the general issue that Deputy Gilmore raised and there is a need for all broadcasting companies, including public broadcasting companies, to exercise their remit with care and to ensure that the public airwaves are not used for the promulgation of false assertions or for abdicating from the process of informing the public as to what exactly it is about and not about....

Constitutional Amendments. (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As I said in my reply, it will be a matter for the Government to examine all of the work that has been done at committee level. People work on committees regardless of their party's affiliation and views. The strength of a committee system is that people work to see if it is possible, in the context of the set-up of the committee, to bring forward an agreed proposal. There is liaison from...

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is proposed to take No. 25, Defamation Bill 2006 [Seanad] - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages; No. 4, Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009 - Order for Second Stage and Second and Remaining Stages; and No. a11, motion re Statement for Information of Voters on the Twenty-Eighth Amendment of the Constitution (Treaty of Lisbon) Bill 2009. It is...

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As has been said, this Bill was published three years ago and has been debated extensively in both Houses. The amendments the Minister has tabled on Report Stage are broadly technical and the other amendments are restated on Report Stage, having been comprehensively discussed on Committee Stage. It is not a question of their not having been considered. There is a broad understanding that...

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: Mr. Justice Frank Clarke will chair the commission.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: With respect, rather than introducing this Bill, which we are not in a position to take, it would have been preferable to maintain the position that having set out the all-party motion, which included this question of returning at the end of the month with a considered view by Government and across all Departments, we would see how we can best respond to the Ryan report. It is a matter for...