Results 9,321-9,340 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leader's Questions (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: However, I firmly believe there is still evidence to show that we will be in a far better position next year and the year after than was the case even in the recent past. The growth achieved has yielded solid achievements; they are evident. We will face greater challenges——

Leader's Questions (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: ——but let us be fair. It is not a case of this economy suddenly becoming a bad economy. It is facing difficulties and there are reasons for that. I accept that some of them are domestic but others are international, from which we cannot be immune. Ultimately, however, we can still get back to growth in the economy and build on those achievements on the basis of trying to provide as...

Financial Resolution No. 15: General (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: I move: THAT it is expedient to amend the law relating to inland revenue (including value-added tax and excise) and to make further provision in connection with finance.

Written Answers — Departmental Agencies: Departmental Agencies (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: The following agencies were created since 1997. Details of staff numbers and the funding provided from my Department's Vote for each in each year from their date of establishment to date, are provided in the tables below. 1. National Partnership Centre (NCP) Year Funding Staff € 1997 148,559 5 1998 432,981 5 1999 622,172 5 2000 298,388 5 The National Centre for Partnership and...

Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Programme for Government 2007-2012 is as its title suggests a programme of priorities to be delivered over a five year period. Progress in delivering the Programme is kept under review. The Department of the Taoiseach website published on 24 September 2008, statements regarding the progress made by Government departments in implementing each of the commitments in the Programme for Government.

Written Answers — Public Service Reform: Public Service Reform (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: In May 2008, I appointed a Task Force to develop an Action Plan for the Public Service which takes into account the analysis and conclusions of the OECD Report — 'Towards an Integrated Public Service'. The terms of reference of the Task Force included the preparation of a comprehensive framework for renewal of the Public Service, and to recommend, in particular, how best to secure; an...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: I travelled to New York to attend the UN High Level Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on 25 September to re-affirm commitments to reaching the MDGs by 2015. The United Nations High-Level meeting marked the half way point of the pledge given in 2000 to halving world poverty by 2015. At the invitation of the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, world leaders took stock of...

Written Answers — Decentralisation Programme: Decentralisation Programme (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: There are no proposals to decentralise my Department or any of the agencies or bodies under its aegis. The Department of Finance has responsibility in Government for the overall Decentralisation Programme.

Written Answers — Information Obligations: Information Obligations (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: Regulations coming within the remit of my Department and Bodies under its aegis have been examined in the context of the Government programme to measure and reduce administrative burdens which is being co-ordinated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The CSO has identified 17 Regulations which impose burdens on business and is in the process of listing the individual...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Department of the Taoiseach has not had any EU Directives which require transposition into primary or secondary legislation in the past 12 months. My Department does however have a role in monitoring the transposition of EU Directives. Minister of State Dick Roche chairs an Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on European Union Affairs. The Committee keeps under review, and works to...

Written Answers — EU Directives: EU Directives (14 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Department of the Taoiseach has no EU Directives awaiting transposition. My Department does however have a role in monitoring the transposition of EU Directives. Minister of State Dick Roche chairs an Interdepartmental Coordinating Committee on European Union Affairs. The Committee keeps under review, and works to ensure coherence on, the full range of issues on the EU's agenda. The...

Written Answers — Official Engagements: Official Engagements (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am unable to attend the ceremony to mark the United Nations International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. My colleague, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, who has primary responsibility for such matters will mark the day with an address to the Biennial Conference of the Irish Forum for Global Health in Cork on the same date. The eradication of extreme poverty and hunger is the central...

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: Let us be fair. People are entitled to information and I will give as much as possible, but we also have to be fair to each other, make sure we get this right and take into account all the issues concerned. If the EU says that we need to avoid the distortion in the capital flows which it believes could possibly emerge or that we should deal with other banking institutions in the country in...

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: It is not helpful to refer to this as a Pandora's box; nor is it accurate. It is not a question of an impediment. There is a question from the European Union about what it regards as the possible discriminatory nature of a scheme provided for just the banks incorporated or regulated in one state. We must deal with this issue. We are engaging constructively with the European Union. The...

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: Of course; they are the questions we all put to one another.

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: No. What it points to is the need to deal with these questions comprehensively. We are having constructive discussions with the parties I mentioned. We are sitting down with them and seeking clarification. They are going back to their people and coming back to ours. That is what one would expect — that it be done in a diligent, proper and rigorous way. It is a different situation. We...

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: It is not a question of putting the cart before the horse. To reduce the challenges facing the country to carts and horses says more about the Deputy——

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: Carts and horses. What does that mean?

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: A speech in Trinity College last weekend.

Order of Business (8 Oct 2008)

Brian Cowen: That is not under examination at this time.