Results 1,801-1,820 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: What was previously regarded as an administrative provision will now be part of the legislation. People have criticised the fact that the commencement order has not been put into effect. The Government wants to do so and needs this amendment Bill. It is a practical simple measure to which I do not believe any amendment will be required.

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: The work of committees will continue this month and in September and the work of the Cabinet will continue until August. Last year, there were 22 committee meetings in July after the plenary sessions was completed. Since September 2004, we have published 30 Bills and enacted 22 Bills, while ten Bills are awaiting the signature of the President. In legislative terms, this indicates that the...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: People in this country are being educated to the highest standards and are getting jobs commensurate with their abilities. We have an economy that is outperforming all our competitors in Europe and that is significant enough to defend the record of the Government. We have achieved unprecedented success and we look forward to continuing this work in committees during July and September and...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: I have not had any direct communication from the Minister since the debate on yesterday's private notice question. If Deputy Kenny wishes to pursue the matter, I advise him to take it up directly with the Department and the Minister's office. Regarding the second matter, the House can be assured that the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is conducting the tendering process for such a...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: I cannot comment further on the matter raised by Deputy Kenny. I am not in a position to do so. Arrangements were made here yesterday at short notice to take a private notice question. The matter was fully aired in the House and the Minister set out the position. As Deputy Kenny said, a separation of powers principle is involved here. Anything further that can be done by the Minister in...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: On the first matter the Deputy raised, he and other Members will always insist that the House respect court orders regarding other matters.

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: It is in the context of respecting this principle that the Minister is trying to determine how he can assist in the matter. Court orders must be respected. At least Deputy Kenny acknowledged the complexity of the matter and the sensitivities involved in the Executive taking action on foot of a court order that has come from the bench. There is no point in trying to describe a Pontius...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: This House is not in a position to supersede a court order. On Deputy Sargent's surprise over Bills published without notice, parliamentary Question Time is for the purpose of asking the line Ministers the legislation being contemplated by each Department. It is open to the Deputy to find out this information at any time by phone or by tabling a formal question. The efficiency and...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: There are many other debates that need to be held in this House on the economy and other matters, which I would welcome but which we do not seem to hear as much about from the Opposition as——

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: I presume the Deputy believes they are on weaker ground.

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: The point I am making to the Deputy is that the lists provided by the Government are formulated on the advice of Departments. This is why we publish them. I hope, for the sake of everybody who participates in the legislative process, both in committee and plenary session, that much more attention is paid to their work and that it receives much more coverage. Thus, more Members will feel they...

Order of Business. (1 Jul 2005)

Brian Cowen: The organisation of the committee's work is a matter for the committee. It has been referred from the House to the committee and it is a matter for the latter to order its own business. While I will certainly pass on the Deputy's comments to the Chairman of the committee concerned, Deputy Ardagh, the fact remains that it is for the committee to arrange its business and take the Bill if that...

Written Answers — Motor Fuels: Motor Fuels (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: Fuel prices are driven by a range of factors including the price of oil on international markets, exchange rates, production costs and refining costs. The rise in oil prices over the last year also reflects additional factors such as geopolitical uncertainty, supply disruptions and strong economic growth in "catch-up" countries such as China. Mineral oil taxes are, of course, also a factor...

Written Answers — Information Society Initiative: Information Society Initiative (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: Overall Government policy on the information society was initially set out in the report Implementing the Information Society in Ireland: An Action Plan published by the Department of the Taoiseach in January 1999. A new action plan entitled New Connections was approved by Government in March 2002 covering the next three-year period 2003-05. In response to the first action plan, my Department...

Written Answers — Tax Code: Tax Code (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: Tax relief for pension contributions is available only against earned income. The purpose of tax relief for pension contributions is to encourage employees and the self-employed to provide for a pension in their retirement when their earnings cease. Income derived from renting is treated as a separate category in the taxation code and is subject to special rules. Rental income is investment...

Written Answers — Consultancy Contracts: Consultancy Contracts (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: My Department had spending on contracts in each of the years in question. These contracts were mainly concerned with reports, consultancies, other advisory or PR commissions, departmental training and maintenance. The NDP-CSF unit, which operates under the aegis of my Department, also had such spending, but a breakdown of that spending is only available on a project by project basis. In...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 466 and 475 together. The information requested has been forwarded to the Deputy. Tax has been defined as total receipts from taxes and social contributions using the definition specified by the European System of Accounts 1995, ESA95. This is a comprehensive definition of tax and includes commercial rates, social insurance contributions, health contributions,...

Written Answers — Income Distribution: Income Distribution (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant data, which would allow the information in the form requested by the Deputy to be compiled, are not readily available for the complete period in question.

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: I assume that the Deputy is referring to the percentage of the tax take raised from excise duties and value added tax. The total net receipts from these taxes and duties for the past five years as a percentage of the total net receipts from all taxes and duties are set out in the following table: Year Excise as a percentage of total net tax receipts% VAT as a percentage of total net tax...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (28 Sep 2005)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 469 and 471 together. I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that the relevant information available for property taxes is in respect of the total yield from various capital taxes, namely capital gains tax, capital acquisitions tax, stamp duty on property and share transactions and residential property tax, while the taxes on capital are also these capital...