Results 7,801-7,820 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: It was an institution of systemic importance. That investigation is being conducted at the moment and will be finalised and brought to everyone's attention when it is completed. That is the answer to the question.

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. If a Minister were to receive a gift worth more than €650 from a State agency, it would be deemed to be a gift given by virtue of office and would have to be surrendered to the State. It would also have to be declared in the Minister's annual statement of registerable interests. As regards hospitality, I assume that the Deputies...

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: It is the normal arrangement that when Ministers travel abroad in the course or performance of their duties, their travel expenses and accommodation are paid for by the State agency on behalf of which they are travelling. It is right that this should be the case because the Minister is conducting duties in performance of his or her office. I am sure that lessons are being learned from the...

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Standards in Public Office Commission, which sets out the code of conduct for officeholders, does not apply the question of filling forms for the supply of a property or a service, made during the course of such a supply for the purpose of the performance of the duties of an officeholder. The Standards in Public Office Commission has drawn up the guidelines, and we should abide by them....

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not know about that, but I will have it checked. The Department of Finance set out certain guidelines on this. I think the Deputy raised the matter with me before, when he asked that FÁS submit a scheme of expenses for approval by the Minister, on the basis that it is in compliance with the general guidelines set out by the Department of Finance. The question of whether the expenses...

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: The Committee of Public Accounts has been discussing this matter for some time with various members of staff from FÁS. The committee will be making recommendations for consideration, while the interim chief executive has experience that is being brought to bear on the lessons to be learned at the agency. The legislative basis upon which we operate, such as codes of conduct, the Ethics in...

Official Gifts. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: The essence of accountability is that lessons are learned when breaches take place or difficulties arise. If people take on board lessons, change can take place. That is precisely what accountability is about. It is obvious that like other agencies, FÁS needs to learn lessons from the controversies that have been brought into the public domain. As I have said, the new head of the agency...

Freedom of Information. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 7, inclusive, together. Ten freedom of information requests were received in the Department of the Taoiseach in November 2008. The number of requests received in 2008 as a whole was 83, 64 of which were granted or part granted and ten of which were withdrawn. There were no records in respect of six requests. In the other three cases, the records sought...

Freedom of Information. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: The ongoing process of extending the Freedom of Information Acts to public bodies is being undertaken by the Department of Finance. As Minister for Finance, I oversaw the biggest ever extension of the scope of the Freedom of Information Acts, to a further 137 bodies, in 2006. More than 520 bodies are now covered by the freedom of information regime. Just 67 bodies were covered when the...

Freedom of Information. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not know. I will have to check it out. Does the matter in question relate to the Department of the Taoiseach?

Freedom of Information. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: In my previous reply to Deputy Kenny on the fees structure I made the point that it is in no way the deterrent some contend it is for the use of Freedom of Information for the purpose of obtaining information. The fees structure is very reasonable in the circumstances, given the nature of the work that is undertaken and the fact that the fee does not even come close to the cost of such...

Freedom of Information. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not accept that the fees structure is punitive. The Deputy does not seem to have any evidence to suggest it is punitive. As I said, the fee for medical card holders is €35 and €50. This is in regard to quasi-judicial procedures. One could not go into a court with a lawyer and expect to get anything done for €20 or €50. Having regard to the amount of time being applied to...

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 16, inclusive, together. I spoke on the phone with President-elect Obama on 18 November and congratulated him on his election success. I took the opportunity to stress the importance the Government attaches to Ireland's relationship with the United States. He expressed his desire that the relationship would continue to flourish in the coming years. I...

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I do not think he would insult me.

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: Paula Dobriansky was the latest nominee of President Bush and she is returning to other duties. I understand the Obama Administration intends to continue with such an arrangement whereby a person from the State Department will continue to engage his or her capacities with the process and be helpful in every way possible in terms of confidence building and bringing his or her particular...

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: As I said in my earlier response, no detailed arrangements have been agreed yet regarding the visit. I hope to visit Washington and perhaps New York around St. Patrick's Day, and to meet with different interests there as my predecessors have done in the past. We have had no indication yet of any change to arrangements that have become established in recent times. I should not anticipate...

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I shall invite him to the country first and, if he accepts, we can decide afterwards on the location.

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: I will try to keep the US President out of GAA politics. Deputy Ó Caoláin raised several matters. These are substantive meetings and any suggestion to the contrary is rather ungracious. The Deputy's party has been a beneficiary of the process for a long time and, but for the fact that Irish Governments were able to get into such places, his party members might not have been able to make...

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: The assurances we have obtained are satisfactory to this Administration.

Irish-US Relations. (11 Feb 2009)

Brian Cowen: There is no evidence to the contrary. Such assurances are acceptable to us because it is in the interests of this relationship that we continue to conduct our business on that basis.