Results 3,201-3,220 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am aware of that. I will answer all the questions.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I want to answer.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: No, if I may say so, Deputy Gilmore's introduction suggested it is a question of paying out €2 billion per year with nothing to be gained from it. In respect of the capital we have provided, we set out a promissory note arrangement over ten years. In return for this, we have the shareholdings in the bank and the assets that have been bought by NAMA.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: The suggestion has been made that the assets bought by NAMA are worthless. These valuations were done under due diligence and set out by NAMA yesterday.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: It paid €8.5 billion for €15 billion in loans and it expects to recover the value of those loans over its seven to ten year lifetime. That is the purpose of the NAMA operation. Elements of this morning's debate seem to suggest that we are handing over money to the banks and getting nothing in return. We are getting assets to the value of the bonds we are giving to the banks over that...

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: The second point raised by the Deputy concerned representations. I did not receive any representation from Anglo Irish Bank on what was to be done that night.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: On any night.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I reject the continuing effort to suggest otherwise. The Minister for Finance and I dealt with this on the basis of advice from public officials. We made the decisions on that and no other basis. In regard to the question of what else was involved, we made the decisions that night and the discussions continued until the early hours of the morning. It was not a question of me getting...

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: That is wrong.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I have had respect for Deputy Gilmore as a Deputy down the years.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: If, as he says, this respect is reciprocated I want to tell him very sincerely that in my 25 years in politics I have been beholden to nobody. Every decision I ever made in the privileged positions I held in this and other offices has been in the best interest of my country as I saw it. I accept that in a democratic debate, irrespective of how arduous or tough it may be, people may hold...

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I consider that to be beyond the Pale. I understand that people are angry about what has happened, and rightly so, but I also have the responsibility to say that anger in itself is not a policy. We have to fix this and move on. We have to make sure the country can employ people and has the prospect of growth, businesses with access to credit and a banking system that is fit for purpose.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy should be under no illusion about the motivation behind every decision I have made during the difficult times in which I have held this office, irrespective of whether he agrees with them. They were the very same, laudable motivations that would have moved him had he been in my position. I would never come into this House to accuse another Irishman of what he accused me.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: The second point I wish to make-----

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am a politician and I know how it works. I can see the opportunity which the Opposition wishes to grasp in terms of seeking to inflict political damage. I can defend myself by arguing and debating. I am well able to look after myself when it comes to that.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: However, I also know the game that is being played here.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: A game is being played.

Leaders' Questions (31 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: The game the Deputy is trying to play involves accusing me of economic treason on the basis that I am beholden to some unnamed people who were in the property business and that is what my party and I stand for.

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: My Department is not currently leasing any properties from property landlords.

Written Answers — Departmental Properties: Departmental Properties (30 Mar 2010)

Brian Cowen: My Department is not currently leasing any properties to commercial business.