Results 11,101-11,120 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Written Answers — Departmental Expenditure: Departmental Expenditure (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 53 and 54 together. My Department's expenditure on recruitment advertising, excluding that conducted by the Public Appointments Service, was nil in 2006 and €27,101.14 in 2007.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand from yesterday's Order of Business that the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform provided some information to the Taoiseach in reply to questions on this issue from Fine Gael Members. I cannot recall it accurately.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: Yes, but there is a specific aspect for the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform and he indicated, through the Taoiseach, that he is making progress on that.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: Deputy Michael D. Higgins was in government in the past. He was an eminent colleague and I remember him with great affection.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: My recollection is that the Deputy was far more unhappy with the subsequent three-year arrangement. I would have thought he and I were philosophically closer than he may have been to others.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The property services regulatory authority Bill is being prepared by the Minister, Deputy Brian Lenihan, for this session.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand the social housing Bill will be introduced in this session. The heads of the George Mitchell scholarship fund Bill have not yet been prepared. As it is on the C list, I would say that it will not be introduced until later this year, at the earliest. The fund is in operation at the moment anyway. The Office of the Attorney General is trying to work through some legal issues,...

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand that the social housing miscellaneous provisions Bill will be introduced in this session. The Green Paper on local government was discussed at Cabinet level this week. I do not know when it will be published, but I assume it will be as soon as the discussions which comprise the deliberative process have been finalised and the requirements of the Official Languages Act 2003 have...

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The national monuments Bill will not be introduced in the House this year. Deputies will probably have to wait until next year. The problem is that many issues have to be considered by the Government when giving priority to legislation. While all these Bills have their own individual merits, priority usually has to be attached to matters of more immediate concern.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: There are three health Bills on the A list. Obviously, they are there on the basis that, in the absence of any serious legal problems, they will be published and debated in the House during this session. That is the purpose of putting them on the list.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand no legislation is promised.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Minister for Transport that no legislation is promised.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand this was dealt with yesterday, when the five items of legislation were asked about. They are on the list and will be dealt with as soon as they are brought forward. I do not see the purpose of raising this on a daily basis, since the answer was given yesterday. Various Deputies ask the same questions on different days and nobody seems to be reading the Official Report.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand it is the intention to so do.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Order of Business today shall be as follows: No. 5, Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 — Order for Second Stage and Second Stage. It is proposed, notwithstanding anything in Standing Orders, that Private Members' business shall be No. 31, motion re rate of unemployment, which shall also take place tomorrow immediately after the Order of Business and shall be brought...

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I apologise to the House.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Order of Business shall be No. 5, Twenty-eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2008 — Second Stage (resumed). Private Members' business shall be taken immediately after the Order of Business and will conclude after 90 minutes.

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: On the question of what business can be taken and what debates can be held, that is a matter for the Whips to consider. The House had a debate on the cancer care situation some weeks ago and I contributed to that debate. The Taoiseach made the point yesterday in response to Deputy Gilmore and it is on the record that an interim policy and procedures have been adopted on the serious...

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: I will check for the Deputy the other issues referred to in the legislation. On the question of the possible examination of how electoral commissions will work in the future, comments have been made by Members on all sides of the House on the impact of the constituency revisions that have been published in the report by the commission to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local...

Order of Business (3 Apr 2008)

Brian Cowen: ——for which I have particular sympathy.