Results 2,841-2,860 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: There is no date for that legislation at present.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: That is being worked as a priority at present. The heads are being drafted.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I understand that is a consolidation Bill but there is no date for it at present.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: There will be other Bills where the Deputy can vent his frustration.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: The heads of the Bill have been approved. It is being drafted as a matter of urgency to be brought to the House as soon as possible thereafter.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is not true.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy never saw more public transport investment than he has seen in the past few years. It is unbelievable.

Order of Business (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: There was zero when his party was in power.

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is a matter for the sole member to inform me of certain issues; I am not involved in the workings of the tribunal, nor in the completion of its report. The Deputy asked about the possibility of a progress report. However, such a report would state that the sole member is in the process of completing the final report, which is the case. A couple of developments have arisen, as the Deputy...

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: The question of legal fees was settled in 2002. A particular issue arose with this tribunal regarding an inadvertent rate of €2,500 per day agreed with senior counsel, which should have been fixed at €2,250 per day. I have replied extensively on that to various questions in the House. A reduction of 8% was imposed last year and a further 15% reduction was imposed this year. I...

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I again emphasise it is a matter for the Oireachtas, not the Government, to decide on any change of policy on the tribunal or anything to do with it. Were the Government, as Government, at any time to have indicated or, in view of the correspondence that it was in receipt of, to proceed with a proposal which meant the replacement of counsel, counsel resigning or the sole member resigning, or...

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I have answered that specific question on a number of occasions when the Deputy was present in the House. It is not right to say that this has not been addressed.

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: No, not today because if the whole purpose of Question Time is to answer the same question I answered on a previous occasion there is not much point in dealing with today's issue. Today's issue is whether this report is near its finalisation and what is the information that I, as Taoiseach, have received from the chairman of the tribunal. I have indicated this to the Dáil, the Dáil has...

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: There has been a reduction of 23% in the legal fees as a result of decisions taken in recent months, to take account of that situation. I do not hold a brief for that; I am just trying to see that this matter would be brought to finality as quickly as possible. It is a matter for the Oireachtas how it wishes to proceed-----

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I took the lead in that both prior to last week and since last week I have written about the matter. We have received the views of the sole member of the tribunal on that matter. I do not think anything can be added to that by way of a further letter because we now know the current position. We are all agreed we would like to see this matter brought to a conclusion as soon as possible.

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: Sorry?

Tribunals of Inquiry (11 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: The point I am making is that issue was dealt with at that time in the way it was, based on the advice we received. As I said, I do not hold any brief for what the legal fees are, but my focus is on trying to bring this matter to finality quickly.

Written Answers — Ministerial Appointments: Ministerial Appointments (5 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: Since taking office as Taoiseach, Tom Parlon, Construction Industry Federation (CIF), was appointed by me to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC), under Business and Employer Organisations in March 2009. Mr. Parlon was Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Public Works (OPW), until June 2007 after which he joined the CIF. Name Organisation Salary Other...

Written Answers — Tribunals of Inquiry: Tribunals of Inquiry (5 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Office of the Attorney General that the modus operandi as to representation of the public interest at the Moriarty Tribunal is that there is no standing counsel appointed to represent the public interest at the public hearings of the Tribunal. Rather, the position is that, as and when a public interest issue arises, and when the Tribunal, having identified particular...

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (5 May 2010)

Brian Cowen: My Department does not keep such records as requested by the Deputy unless it is relevant to the current employment of the persons concerned.