Results 14,361-14,380 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Ministerial Appointments. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: No. Within the term of the Government.

Ministerial Appointments. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not have before me information on vacancies. I was asked to say which appointments I had made. This relates to the National Economic and Social Council, the National Economic and Social Forum, the National Centre for Partnership and Performance, the National Statistics Board and the Ireland Newfoundland Partnership board. These are the boards to which I have made appointments, but I...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 7, inclusive, together. A total of 84 freedom of information requests have been received in my Department since January 2009. Of these, 40 were granted, 15 were part granted, four were refused, four were withdrawn, there were no records in respect of six and 15 are currently being processed. As to comparisons with previous years, my Department received...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: These relate specifically to my Department. Generally speaking, there has been a considerable extension of the freedom of information legislation to a range of bodies. I am aware of the annual reports of the Information Commissioner and the views expressed, but this Administration has ensured a significant increase in the range of bodies which now come within the freedom of information...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I would not be aware of the detail in that respect or if it is a budgetary or Estimates matter. I would make the point, however, that it is an expensive and time consuming aspect of Government work. As I say, I have no problem whatsoever with the legitimate use of the Freedom of Information Act for individual citizens or, indeed, for others. However, the idea of the Department trawling...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, I am making a general observation. For example, people come in and ask, for purposes that are obvious, how many of this, that and the other were involved in the Department for the past 20 years. A range of information is thrown out there and then one finds out that someone thought it interesting and it made a quarter of a page in some newspaper. The amount of time spent doing that is...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: Many public servants could be doing much other work.

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: One must balance the question of client or patient confidentiality in a health or financial matter against the need for the principles of public accountability to be established and maintained. That is the balance here, and that balance must be respected as well. There is a Data Protection Commissioner and many others who seek to protect information belonging to people, but the idea that...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: Formerly, as Minister for Finance, I presided over the biggest expansion of the Freedom of Information Act since the inception of the legislation in 1988. My record in this area speaks for itself, but that does not mean I agree with every view of others who have a responsibility in this area. They are entitled to bring their views to the attention of the Minister of the day. It is then a...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: No, I am making a general observation. From talking to colleagues and from looking at the situation generally, I know that a lot of time is expended on this issue by many public servants. That time is inordinate to the significance of some of the requests coming in. There is an effort to trawl through everything. If someone has a specific problem they should make a request and we will get...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I know that, but I am not against freedom of information, in case it is portrayed that way subsequently. I extended the legislation more than any other Minister.

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I would not say I got too much praise for it. The next question will be: "Why don't you extend it to another 27 bodies that you did not include the last time?" It is the same old story. We all know how difficult things are in the country at the moment. People have work to do and they must get on with it. While this is an important part of that it should not dominate.

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I agree that the parliamentary questions procedure is a good one for Members, but it should be used appropriately. In many cases, Members table parliamentary questions because if they use the normal correspondence route they feel they do not get the information quickly enough. That causes a lot of work in the PQ system. I do not mind that, however, because at least those concerned are...

Freedom of Information. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is surprising how well it works. The system can sometimes be defensive in the provision of information. A predecessor of mine and former leader of Deputy Kenny's party made the famous point in the House that if one does not ask the right questions, it is very hard to get the right answers. That is not because the then incumbent was not as committed as others to providing full...

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 and 9 together. Having regard to the confidential nature of the work of the national security committee, it would not be appropriate to disclose information about the dates of individual meetings or any of its proceedings. The committee is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government and comprises representatives at the highest level of the Departments...

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I am not a member of the national security committee. It comprises senior officials of various Departments and agencies. It meets periodically and the members are in touch on an ongoing basis. Its role relates primarily to classic security issues, particularly those associated with international terrorism. It does not have any formal role in emergency planning. Co-ordination in this...

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: I would not be given a briefing by the committee but by its chairman, who is also Secretary General of my Department. That would consist of an ongoing appraisal, where relevant, of issues as they arise. I am not briefed very regularly but there is ongoing contact at official level on these issues.

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: It would have been some time ago but I would also have had formal briefings from senior gardaí and Army personnel since then on issues generally, including issues relevant to the committee.

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: That is an issue for the Minister in the relevant Department. Any views we have on this would be conveyed in this way. I do not wish to say much more on the national security committee than what I said in my primary reply given the nature of its work. It liaises with relevant parties, it is an informal group and it keeps in regular contact. Issues such as international terrorism or a...

National Security Committee. (18 Nov 2009)

Brian Cowen: The question relates to the Departments of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources and the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, which continually monitor developments, the prospect of developments and policy issues that arise in neighbouring jurisdictions in so far as they affect us. These matters are brought to their attention in the manner I outlined.