Results 14,621-14,640 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Standards in Public Office. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: On the progress towards enactment of the Ethics in Public Office (Amendment) Bill, such inquiries are best directed to the Minister for Finance whose Department has responsibility for this area. The Bill has completed all Stages in the Seanad. The taking of the Bill in this House is a matter for the Whips who arrange the business of the House. The House has been dealing with legislation on...

Standards in Public Office. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not have before me the foreign travel policy guidelines 2009 which were issued by the Department of Finance. It would be best to submit a question to the Department to obtain the detail directly. The Government speaks as one on these issues.

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together. The 2009 estimate for travel for my Department, including home and foreign travel, is €731,000. Expenditure from January to the end of November 2009 for me and officials in my private office was €148,482. In respect of Minister of State, Deputy Pat Carey, it was €15,014 and in respect of Minister of State, Deputy Dick...

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: Yes. In the last set of questions I dealt with the fact that there are revised travel guidelines in place for the purpose of ensuring that things are done as one would expect. Not alone are facilities made available to the Government, but in certain circumstances they are made available to members of the Opposition where it is appropriate as well, and it is only right that this is the case....

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: Practices existed in the past on how those issues were handled. The question arises about their appropriateness at any time, but they are not part of the arrangements, given the current circumstances. It is not the case that Ministers make those arrangements for themselves. The arrangements are made, the Ministers go about their business and do their job. The important thing is that it is...

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: Those arrangements were made by the Department of Foreign Affairs. Speaking for my Department, there is a policy based on guidelines laid down by the Department of Finance that is applicable to all staff. It sets out the policy regarding appropriate class of air travel, standard of hotels to be used and use of own transport. The aims of that policy are to minimise official travel costs and...

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: There may be an assumption behind the Deputy's questions which suggests that I receive many requests and he asked me how many I refused. I receive very few requests. I cannot-----

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: Is that right? The Deputy is obviously keeping a closer eye on it than I am.

Ministerial Travel. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The guidelines are complied with in that respect. For example, there are occasions when Ministers accompany the President on foreign visits. That would be an occasion when the spouse of a Minister would be authorised to travel. It is where representational duties would require it. It is done far more sparingly than perhaps the Deputy might think.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together. The expert and consultancy reports that have been commissioned by me and the agencies under the aegis of my Department from June 2007 to date are listed in the following tables. The tables provide details of the expert and consultancy reports commissioned by the Department of the Taoiseach and the agencies under its aegis from...

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The cost of that review of the economic regulatory environment was €108,900. The forum was one of the recommendations of the report where, on an annual basis, it would interact with the relevant regulators to review how regulation was handled during the course of that year and any issues which arose from it.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy asked a question on the economic regulatory environment which comes under my Department. I explained that the cost was €108,900 and the recommendations of the consultancy report are being looked at and implemented. The questions relating to the habitats directive and the National Parks and Wildlife Service perhaps should have been contemplated when the Government that brought...

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The habitats directive-----

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The legislation that implemented the habitats directive in this country was enacted by the Deputy's Government. He supported it.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The issue of biodiversity came up and the Deputy's party found it very important to legislate for it at the time.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Opposition enacted the legislation.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy must live with it as the Opposition enacted the legislation when in Government.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: That relates to the regulatory impact analysis.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is described to me as the operation of the regulatory impact analysis.

Consultancy Reports. (8 Dec 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy's is different. I do not have the authors of the reports.