Results 2,221-2,240 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: I would like to give the full picture because sometimes I am afraid that statistics can be used for particular purposes. If one looks at the situation with regard to the increase-----

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: I have listened to the Deputy's leader with respect and I ask him to step back for a minute-----

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----and hear some context and understanding of what is going on.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: With regard to the administrative situation, bodies have been subsumed back into the Department. I want to explain this because there is no point in putting out information and then everyone assuming-----

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----it is just random spending on areas that are not essential. The issue is that there are bodies which needed to be brought back within departmental responsibility and they are being subsumed back into the Department.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: The administrative costs of subsuming them back into the Department are less than the cost of the previous entities when they were separated. With regard to the question on value for money, if one is spending, as we are, more than €15,000 million of taxpayer money on health services of course one will increase value for money initiatives to see, in a sustainable way against the background...

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----to the greatest extent possible the front line.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: If it is the contention that the solution to the problem is simply to increase the allocations against a background where we know more money is not coming into the Exchequer, that will not solve that problem.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: I have not suggested they are a problem.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: Facts and figures were brought forward by Deputy Stanton's leader.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: I would put my record in this area against Deputy Stanton any day of the week. I would put my record on this issue against anybody in the House and my record will prove it and has proven it.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: It was the Cinderella part of the services for a long time and there were significant moneys involved. In fairness to those involved in the area, this has often been fully acknowledged and recognised. The point is that we have a problem now and the problem we need to address is how we re-organise the provision of those services to try to maintain sufficient moneys at the frontline-----

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----and a value for money audit is required for that. It is ongoing and will be available to the Minister by August or September. A question was asked on whether international conferences on health issues will come to this country, which is part of the subhead mentioned with regard to expenses. No Member of the House would stand over non-essential spending in some of these areas but there...

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----aspects of the work of the Department that are ongoing. I want to come back to the central point. Some of the issues raised by Deputy Kenny can and should be answered in full. They will be answered in full but I am explaining the context in which all of this is happening. The real point to make is that every effort will be made to work with people providing disability services. How...

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: That is what we intend to do; that is how we intend to work with the services. In the meantime, we have to try to address the difficulties that arise in the context of the budget. Against the background of last year's budget, an extra €20 million-----

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----over the 2009 spend was provided for disability services. In total it is in the order of €1.6 billion. I recall when I announced in this House a five year programme for the development of disability services what the initial baseline figure was. That aside, it does not take away from the fact that issues arise today that we want to try to resolve but they can only be resolved if we...

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: To suggest it would be resolved otherwise, simply by providing for more expenditure regardless of the budget situation, is not being honest or straightforward with the people with whom we want to engage on this issue.

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: The figure is expected to be 13.4%, up from the May figure of 13.2%. Due to seasonal factors, the live register rises every June without exception. The increase this year is considerably less than the increase in June last year of more than 21,000. Based on seasonally adjusted figures from the Department of Social Protection, the increase in June is expected to be approximately 5,800. The...

Leaders' Questions. (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: This is the issue with which we are dealing on an ongoing and daily basis and the only way in which we can create more jobs is to make our economy more competitive. We have had this discussion on a number of occasions. Jobs will not be created in a vacuum and will not be created on the basis of letting our public finances go out of control. They certainly will not be created by the...

Departmental Expenditure (30 Jun 2010)

Brian Cowen: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. Under the terms of an initiative introduced by the Department of Finance in August 2001, my Department pays the salary of secretarial assistants employed by former taoisigh up to the maximum of the higher executive officer standard scale. The initiative provides that a former Taoiseach may employ two secretarial assistants for a...