Results 11,101-11,120 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: EU Funding (2 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 116 and 117 together. Last year, in the context of the agreement on the EU's Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), Ireland was successful in securing €1.2 billion of Cohesion policy funding for the period 2014-2020.  It should be noted that this represents an increase in 8% in real terms over the 2007-2013 programming period, at a time when the...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is a different issue and has nothing to do with this Bill.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: No, it has nothing to do with the Bill. Let us deal with the legislation before us. Deputy Mathews talked about research. He said that we should work out the number of hours of research and divide it-----

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We are talking about this Bill and the amendment before us. Finally, I hear what the Deputies have said and have no doubt that these matters will be debated again. These issues will come back and we will change things over time but I believe this is the right formula for now.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I will deal with the points made because we have a long debate and everybody's position is very well enunciated. Perhaps I should start by surprising Deputy Naughten by saying that I strongly agree with him. The Executive is too strong and we need to rebalance. All my political life, I have wanted a stronger Parliament. I applaud some of the initiatives that are happening to make...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I thought he was gone. The Ceann Comhairle is taken into account as part of the Fine Gael elected Members. It is the same argument and issue. It is not payable to an individual. Once the election is over, the number of people elected in each political party is the determining figure. Deputy Shortall reiterated her strong view that there is no basis for doing this. I think there is and...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Yes, I presume the child's name is Bradford. I wish her well. In terms of the points made, the Deputy talked about there being exceptions, for example, when we had a move across the House during the course of a Dáil, as in 1994. However, it of course makes sense to rebalance when the resources of Government suddenly become available to a party and are taken away from another party....

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Yes, and he came back again. Is the suggestion that the Member should lose or gain depending on how long the censure is or whether somebody applies to come back, and so on? My basic thesis is a simple one and it is the way this has been crafted from the beginning. There is a snapshot in time, and that is the general election. The people determine that and they own the vote and the...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: Yes.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I have not spoken on it yet.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We have had a long debate on this issue, which is entirely extraneous to the issues of the Bill. This is not new legislation to create the funding model to which the Deputies, who have spoken on these amendments, are referring - this has been the practice. The first purpose of the Bill is to reduce the full quantum of money available to fund political parties in recognition of the...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Order for Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I move: "That Report Stage be taken now."

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We held a good discussion on this point on Committee Stage. I accept the Deputy's intention, but I still consider it proper that the administration of this allowance be the responsibility of the person who is accountable for it, that is, the leader of a qualifying political party. I will clarify the current system. The allowance is paid electronically into a specified account, the details...

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: That is my point.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: With amendment No. 4.

Oireachtas (Ministerial and Parliamentary Offices) (Amendment) Bill 2013 [Seanad]: Report Stage (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: We wish her well.

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Bord Gáis Privatisation (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The House will be aware of the Government's consistent position that the funds released from asset disposals, including the sale of Bord Gáis Energy, should be used, in one form or another, to support job creating initiatives in the economy. At Budget time, I factored a total of €110m into the Estimates for 2014 in respect of projects supported from the sale of...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Public Sector Pensions Levy (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: The Public Service Pension Reduction (PSPR), which affects certain public service pensions and which was introduced on 1 January 2011 under the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Act 2010 is not a levy on pensions; instead it is an actual reduction of a public service pension, based on a progressively structured set of income bands...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Capital Programme Expenditure (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: My Department is responsible for setting the overall allocations (both capital and current) across Departments and for monitoring monthly expenditure at Departmental level. Within the overall allocations set by my Department, individual Ministers and their Departments allocate funds across various projects and programmes in line with their Department's priorities. Information in relation to...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Bord Gáis Privatisation (1 Apr 2014)

Brendan Howlin: I am happy to inform the House that BGE last week entered into a definitive agreement to sell the Bord Gáis Energy business to a consortium comprising Centrica plc, Brookfield Renewable Energy Partners LP and iCON Infrastructure on the basis of an enterprise value of €1.1bn. BGE and the buyer consortium must now move to deliver on the conditions for completion of...