Results 2,681-2,700 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I have just referred the Deputy to the speech. That is the information as it stands.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: As regards the other matter the Deputy mentioned, it is an absurd proposition to suggest that the Government is making decisions on these budget questions in the month of April. What caused it was an attempt to misinterpret what the Minister had to say. He was asked what his position was on these matters. He said he was simply starting an Estimates process, as any Minister would do at this...

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: We are not having another budget this April. The cause of it is the political opportunism and scare-mongering in which the Deputy and his likes engage.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: He did not raise it. Go and chase your own hare. Put him in the slips.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I understand the fines Bill is imminent and will be ready for discussion shortly.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is the attachment of earnings Bill. The legal costs Bill is not due until next year. I will have to come back to the Deputy, if that is not the one to which he referring.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: That is a separate matter altogether.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: In the past few weeks these questions have been asked concerning a number of legislative proposals. I do not know whether the Ceann Comhairle can refer to Standing Orders because not all Deputies attend the Order of Business every day. Nonetheless, we have questions being asked about the same Bills. Perhaps all Deputies should be notified when Bills are due to be taken. That would avoid a...

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is a fair point in terms of our procedures and how we operate them in the House. I do not think it makes sense to have different people asking the same questions about the same legislation every week. The situation has not changed from last week regarding the eligibility for social services Bill.

Order of Business. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am just making the point that I do not think it is a good procedure. I will abide by the Standing Orders of the House, but I think my point is reasonable.

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I do not agree with the Leader of the Opposition that we can fix the banking system without recapitalising the banks. That intervention has been found to be necessary by every government in the developed world, with the exception of Canada.

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is important to recognise that the recapitalisation of the banks was an absolute necessity to get credit flowing and return them to their core business of lending to the real economy. This involved cleaning up their balance sheets and providing an outlet to NAMA. I reject the Deputy's suggestion on the motivation for NAMA and consider it an awful slur against the integrity of those who...

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: To assist small businesses, or any business, we have to get banking back to its core function of providing credit to the real economy. That required recapitalisation of the banks and the provision of credit. The credit review arrangements we have put in place under Mr. Trethowen allow appeals by viable but vulnerable businesses against bank decisions which they feel are unjustified.

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: Why refer to him as a political operator then?

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: In setting out the recapitalisation plans for the banks, the Minister for Finance gave a statement to the House indicating that he is awaiting sectoral plans from the banking system in respect of those banks that are in the process of recapitalising. Bank of Ireland is doing so currently. It is about making sure the €3 billion per year that the Minister has outlined for this year and next...

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: First, I do not accept the Deputy's misrepresentation of the speech I set out last Thursday. Second, I was simply pointing out that the causes of our problem relate both to the international crisis and to the vulnerabilities identified in the Irish economy. Third, despite Opposition contentions to the contrary suggesting that we did nothing about the situation or were indifferent to it, I...

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: Fourth, I set out what lessons were to be learned based on what we now know. I refer Members to the full speech and ask that they not accept the characterisation Deputy Gilmore places on it. One of the points I made was that the balance of evidence suggested that the vulnerabilities in the economy could affect the soft landing for the construction industry. I made the point that I was the...

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am sure they were based on the best judgments and advice then available. I did not oppose them at the time. In hindsight one can look back on many issues. What I said candidly was that looking at it now, knowing what subsequently happened, one will see that the elimination of property-based incentives could have happened sooner. In hindsight that would be the way in which one would try...

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: The suggestion that this Government or previous Fianna Fáil-led Administrations were indifferent to the problem is not correct. I also made the point that in the run-up to the last election there were Opposition Members suggesting that we needed to reduce stamp duty further, which would have led to even greater increases in property prices.

Leaders' Questions. (19 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: Again the Deputy seeks to synopsise and misrepresent what I had to say last Thursday. I at no stage suggested that this is a matter of the Government not taking its responsibilities. I have always taken my responsibilities; I take them fully and absolutely. Every action I took was on the basis of a decision taken rationally at the time based on advices received and my own judgment.