Results 10,001-10,020 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy has shown me disrespect.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Irish people got that. They need have no worries in respect of the fact that I formally brought to the attention of the Council the fact that the Irish people had voted "No" in the referendum and that, therefore, we were not in a position to ratify the treaty as matters stand, which it already knew. I made that point, which is accepted, and the Deputy does not need to hammer it to...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: As they have.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy's party has offered it. It has its view. As I pointed out to the Deputy last week, this is a 27-way street where the agreement of everybody is needed rather than the Deputy's view being imposed on everyone else. It must be agreed by everybody.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The Deputy's party went into negotiations before on other issues concerning national questions and did not achieve what it set out to achieve either.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: It did not achieve it so let us get real here. The situation is simple. As matters stand, we are not in a position to ratify the treaty, but the ratification process is proceeding in all the other countries. They wish to discuss the situation with me. I can only discuss it with them on the basis of analysing the outcome on the conclusion of the vote and considering if and how we can...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I will work within my constitutional remit to defend our interest as I see it to the best of my ability and the people will always be the arbiters of whether I continue in that job. There will be no coercion, threat, implication or ambivalence about where the sovereign will of the people resides. It resides with the people as all true republicans know.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I am sure when the Deputy heard that facetious comment, he was able to dispel the surprise by confirming that would be a very inaccurate reflection of what I said.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I am glad to hear that and to hear that some traditions and conventions are respected here. On that issue, I made the comment to colleagues in answer to a question on the first day of the campaign that I had not read the treaty from cover to cover. The point I was making was that I did not need to read it from cover to cover because I had negotiated 95% of it as Minister for Foreign Affairs...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: No, there has not been because we are in an uncertain situation. The agreed conclusion that emerged from the discussion was that we would analyse the situation because it was only a week since the referendum result and that the October Council meeting would see the matter discussed further to see if there was a way forward at that stage. The point is that there is uncertainty as to how to...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: Ireland has always supported various phases of enlargement of the EU, once the Copenhagen criteria are met and the negotiations and accession treaties are agreed. That requires unanimity. The issue for many member states is how they see the effectiveness of the EU in the future and, in the absence of arrangements contemplated in the Lisbon treaty, the impact enlargement will have on the...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I do not know what message Deputy Bannon got but the only time I saw him, he was going into Kilbeggan races. The Referendum Commission did a good job. Issues arose when some questions were asked at a press conference and it took some time to get the reference in the treaty and this was regarded as a major indication of a problem. It was a marginal question and I am not sure the answer was...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: The common consolidated tax base is a dossier which has been in European circles for many years. The current Commissioner for Taxation and Customs Union is László Kovács. I have attended a number of ECOFIN councils where the issue was discussed and I put the Irish case clearly and succinctly. It requires unanimity. We should not ascribe the fact that the dossier was mentioned in...
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: It was the same clarification I gave verbally all of the time.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: It was the same policy.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: No, I negotiated it with a blind man's buff blindfold on.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: I know Deputy Bannon tries to be constructive and helpful but it is just not in his nature. I watched him at midland's health board meetings since he first came on the scene.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: He is one of the greats. He is one of the best we ever produced down there.
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: Am I bullying the Deputy now?
- European Council Meetings. (25 Jun 2008)
Brian Cowen: Deputy Bannon is easily bullied.