Results 4,041-4,060 of 16,537 for speaker:Brian Lenihan Jnr
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: Under the Freedom of Information Acts, the Information Commissioner is completely independent of the Government in the performance of her functions. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on her legally binding decision in this or any other case.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Information Commissioner is not accountable to me in any sense. She makes her own decisions in this regard. She has decided that the materials in question are not required to be disclosed under the freedom of information legislation.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: It is not customary for such information to be disclosed. It is not covered in the freedom of information legislation for a good reason. That is the position. There is nothing unusual in any of this. The position I have set out in respect of these records applies to all Government records. As I understand it, that position is in accordance with the view of the Information Commissioner,...
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have noââ
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: The Deputy will appreciate that I do not decide on requests for information.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: No, I do not decide on requests for information.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I do not decide on information requests at the Department. An official in the Department is designated to do that. That person's decision can be appealed to the Information Commissioner. That system applies to information concerning my Department.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have not changed or varied the policy that was pursued by my predecessor. As I understand it, the protection of Cabinet records is fundamental to the operation of the legislation.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I have not sought to change the policy. As the Deputy is aware, the Department decides separately from me on each freedom of information request. I have not engaged in any of Deputy Burton's verbal histrionics. I have not disemboweled or filleted the freedom of information legislation.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I do not have a precise statutory function in relation to any of the matters that have been raised so far this afternoon.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: This was all discussed in the House at the time.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: A great deal of information can be gleaned from the parliamentary debate on the legislation that was produced following these meetings, during which I was questioned extensively about what exactly was said on the night in question. The question before us this afternoon has nothing to do with that issue. As Deputy O'Donnell is well aware, the terms of reference for the scoping inquiry do not...
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: If the Deputy has studied the crisis to any extent, he will be aware that by September 2008, Government action on the matter was unavoidable.
- Freedom of Information. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: Public servants will co-operate with any inquiries that are established.
- Labour Market Participation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: The latest data on labour force participation relate to the third quarter of last year when, according to the quarterly national household survey, 62.5% of the total population over the age of 15 was in the labour force. As labour force participation peaked in the third quarter of 2007 at just over 64.5%, it has declined by 2.1 percentage points over the last two years. There was a fall in...
- Labour Market Participation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: Of course the Government has a policy to bring people back to employment and to improve the economy. It requires improving our competitiveness, getting our financial house in order and restoring our banking sector to stability and to the capacity to provide credit to the economy. The Labour Party has consistently chosen to oppose the various measures adopted to advance such policies, which...
- Labour Market Participation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: While I accept Deputy Morgan's good faith in putting this question, I do not accept its premise. I consider the quarterly labour force survey to be a far more reliable indicator of the extent of unemployment than are the CSO data relating to the live register. It provides a more accurate picture because not everyone who is on the live register is unemployed. Nevertheless, the position is...
- Labour Market Participation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: Again, I agree with some, albeit not all, of what the Deputy said. However, I accept that the introduction of competitiveness in the sheltered private sector is of crucial importance. One reason I placed on a standard rate the reliefs available for medical expenses in the penultimate budget was because I considered it to be an important disincentive towards medical inflation. One must take...
- Banking Sector Recapitalisation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 147 together. As a condition of state aid approval, in respect of the recapitalisation by the Irish Government of both Allied Irish Banks and Bank of Ireland, the European Commission required that the two banks each prepare and present restructuring plans to the Commission. The plan for Bank of Ireland was submitted on 30 September 2009 and the plan...
- Banking Sector Recapitalisation. (3 Feb 2010)
Brian Lenihan Jnr: There is a fundamental distinction between a bond that provided for the repayment of interest advanced on foot of an arrangement with a private investor and a capitalisation arrangement that was approved by the Commission itself. While the position is that the payments are stopped at present, that is without prejudice to the State making its case in the context of the restructuring plan that...