Results 5,781-5,800 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: Including in the GMS.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: The sale of alcohol Bill is due next session. The NAMA Bill, as I said, will be published in July and there will be plenty of opportunity to discuss all aspects of it in September. On the parliamentary question position, a telephone call or e-mail might get the answer quicker when the Dáil is not sitting.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I cannot say when the legislation will be published. The report will be published before the summer and we will proceed from there.

Order of Business (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I would have to check with the Tánaiste's office as to what is possible in that regard.

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: The following tables detail the expenditure by my Department and the Bodies under the aegis of my Department on public advertising from 1 January to the end of June 2009. Departmental spend January - June 2009: StatutoryAdvertising Non-StatutoryAdvertising Dept. of the Taoiseach â'¬ 1,765.00 â'¬ 9,076.05 Spend by Bodies under the Aegis of the Department: Body StatutoryAdvertising...

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (8 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: The following table details the total expenditure by my Department on legal fees for the years 2006, 2007 and 2008: Year Amount 2006 € 60,846 2007 € 12,197 2008 € 159,677* It should be noted that payments in respect of the Moriarty Tribunal are not included. *€159,377 of this expenditure relates to costs from the Independent Commission of Inquiry.

Leaders' Questions (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is important to state that it is clear a situation has arisen that is damaging to the specific industry in which the industrial dispute has arisen and which potentially has wider damaging effects for the economy. I note that a Private Notice Question has been scheduled for 5 p.m. this afternoon regarding the details of the dispute and it is important that rather than emphasising the...

Leaders' Questions (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As I explained to the Deputy, the general principle is that registered agreements such as this form the basis upon which rates of pay are set. Obviously, this is not simply a legal issue. I acknowledge there have been challenges by various employer bodies to the actual basis of the registered employment agreement, REA, itself. However, the position is that were it a simple case as outlined...

Leaders' Questions (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I thank Deputy Gilmore for his comments. Powers are available under various Acts to a Minister, and in this case the Tánaiste, in respect of interventions in disputes. The use of that statutory power does not guarantee an outcome, nor does it provide us with the means by which an outcome may be achieved. At the request of the National Implementation Body, a reference to the Labour Court...

Leaders' Questions (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I agree that all Members of the House wish to see a resolution of this dispute as quickly as possible. We have industrial relations machinery in place. Engagement with the Labour Relations Commission has not been exhausted. We are bringing forward the Labour Relations Commission as a means of dealing with many of these issues without getting to the ultimate position of the Labour Court....

Order of Business (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is proposed to take No. 23, Criminal Justice (Amendment) Bill 2009 - Committee and Remaining Stages and No. 24, Harbours (Amendment) Bill 2008 [Seanad] - Order for Report, Report and Final Stages. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that the Dáil shall sit later than 8.30 p.m. tonight and business shall be interrupted not later than midnight; Second and Remaining...

Order of Business (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I understand the Harbours (Amendment) Bill has been extensively debated in the Seanad and here over a long period and that many amendments which have already been extensively debated are being re-entered. It is a prerogative of Deputies to re-enter amendments if they so wish. It is not correct to suggest that many of these amendments have not already been debated. They have, but are being...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The support and liaison arrangements in place for the Independent Members of Dáil Éireann who support the Government continue as before. They operate in the context of the political agreements with these Deputies, which are confidential and based on the programme for Government, which incorporates the national development plan, approved...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As the Deputy has been aware for some time, agreements entered into by my predecessor with a number of Deputies are political in nature and details relating to them are not covered by parliamentary questions. These agreements are confidential but, as has always been the case, they are based on the programme for Government, which incorporates the national development plan, approved Government...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I know this issue is a matter of some frustration to the Deputy, who raises it every week. However, these are confidential political agreements that are in place. As I noted, they exist within the context of the programme for Government, which in turn is in the context of the availability of resources. All these issues must be dealt with on the basis of established priorities and the...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: As I have stated to the Deputy, in liaising, public servants obviously will pass on whatever information or views are expressed at interface with Ministers and Departments in the normal way. Ministers are the people who make the ultimate decisions in respect of expenditure. That is the normal provision and there is no need to involve public servants in that process, apart from doing their...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is important that people do not involve the assistant principal, who is simply a liaison officer who deals with queries from Independent Deputies and passes them on to Departments. There is no need to involve him in political discussions or suggest he is involved in this. That is not his role. With regard to the liaison that takes place for Deputies who support the Government, per head...

Agreements with Members. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I did not give any specific terms of reference in respect of this and neither did the Government. The Government asked that all spending programmes be reviewed. Obviously, the issue of public service numbers is being reviewed and examined departmentally. The point returns to the basic issue. This is a political arrangement the Government has undertaken with those who support it on the...

Northern Ireland Issues. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, together. My most recent contacts with the British Prime Minister were on the Lisbon treaty and discussions which took place at the recent European Council meeting on which I have already reported to the House. I last met with the Northern Ireland political parties at the eighth plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council which...

Northern Ireland Issues. (7 Jul 2009)

Brian Cowen: On policing, I understand the First Minister and Deputy First Minister will have a further meeting next week with the British Prime Minister on the matter. There are financial arrangements and implications with regard to the decision and it is necessary to address those issues as part of the process that has been agreed for the transfer of devolved powers of policing and justice to Northern...