Results 11,761-11,780 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: That Bill will be taken in the next session. I do not know whether it will incorporate what the Deputy anticipates.

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: I understand that the national property services regulatory authority Bill has 74 heads. The earliest it can be taken is later this year. There is considerable work going on.

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The fact that reports are issued and recommendations are made does not mean that any Government must accept those recommendations in whatever area of policy.

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: That is the first point. The fact that reports issue recommendations and Ministers do not act upon them does not mean the Ministers are at fault in any way. We may not agree with the recommendations and there may be other ways of dealing with the recommendations. The Department of Education and Science has developed policy in this area in recent years. It has been having a great degree of...

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: It is hoped the clarification of the legal position which has been brought to this situation should inform future action so that referral to the courts is not the means of providing a solution to that problem. Much ongoing work and consultation, including work in partnership with people in the community, are the means of finding the best solution to these issues. It is wrong to suggest that...

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: As the Taoiseach said yesterday in reply to a question from the Labour Party Whip, it is expected this legislation will be taken this session and will provide an opportunity for Deputies to contribute.

Order of Business (31 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The commitment to a speedy enactment is welcomed by the Government.

Written Answers — Programmes for Government: Programmes for Government (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: As I have indicated in previous responses, the Programme for Government is a five year programme in which a number of guiding principles in relation to economic and budgetary matters have been set out. In October 2007 I published the Pre-Budget Outlook which set out the cost of providing for the existing level of services over the medium term. As the Deputy is aware, the first instalment of...

Written Answers — Property Repossessions: Property Repossessions (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy will appreciate that reports of a higher level of court proceedings for property repossessions need to be interpreted with caution, given the variety of circumstances that give rise to such cases and the fact that not all of the proceedings relate to residential property. It should also be noted that even where the orders are secured some are not enforced. The number of orders...

Written Answers — Airport Customs Controls: Airport Customs Controls (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: Persons arriving in Ireland from another country may be liable to pay duties and tax on goods purchased abroad. The amount, if any, of duty and tax to be paid depends on whether: The goods were purchased in an EU Member State or in a country outside the EU — a third country. The goods are for personal or commercial use. In the case of alcohol and tobacco products, Revenue have set...

Written Answers — Commission on Taxation: Commission on Taxation (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos 89, 130 and 138 together. The "Agreed Programme for Government 2007-2012" contains a commitment to establish a Commission on Taxation. The purpose of the Commission is to review the structure, efficiency and appropriateness of the Irish taxation system. The work of the Commission should help to set the framework within which tax policy will be determined for...

Written Answers — Proposed Legislation: Proposed Legislation (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: I propose to take Questions Nos. 90, 108, 117 and 158 together. As I have informed the House on previous occasions, the Standards in Public Office Act 2001 already allows the Standards in Public Office Commission to carry out investigations on its own initiative, where it considers it appropriate to do so, on breaches of the provisions of the Ethics legislation, by persons in the...

Written Answers — Customs Service: Customs Service (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: I am informed by the Revenue Commissioners that Revenue's Customs Service currently has a total of nine x-ray scanners. One is a high-energy x-ray mobile container scanner which is deployed at the main container and ferry ports to scan containerised and vehicular traffic. A further eight low-energy x-ray scanners are used to scan smaller packages at ports, airports and postal depots, three of...

Written Answers — Benchmarking Awards: Benchmarking Awards (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: Public service pay must develop in a manner that is consistent with competitiveness, price stability and budgetary policy. Government policy on public service pay is that the public service should be in a position to attract and retain its fair share of good quality staff at all levels. It should neither lead the market nor trail it. The current public service pay agreement under Towards 2016...

Written Answers — Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The proposals published by the Commission begin the process which will lead to an agreement on the contributions of individual Member States towards meeting the EU targets agreed at the 2007 Spring Council. The Commission's proposals require Ireland to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2020, based on 2005 emissions figures, and achieve an overall target of 16% of final energy...

Written Answers — Public Service Accounts: Public Service Accounts (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: As Deputy O'Dowd is aware, there are two forms of accounting in the public service. The accounts of Government Departments and Offices are prepared on a cash basis while Local Authorities and Commercial State-Sponsored Bodies, for example, prepare their accounts on an accrual basis which includes the charging of depreciation. As the Deputy is aware, the Appropriation Accounts for central...

Written Answers — Tax Yield: Tax Yield (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: Budget 2008, presented to the house last month, was framed on the basis of new house completions amounting to around 55,000 units this year. The forecasts have not been changed.

Written Answers — Pension Provisions: Pension Provisions (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy will recall that projections of future pension liabilities were published in the Government's Green Paper on Pensions last October. These indicate that the cost of Social Welfare pension provision will increase from around 31⁄2% of GDP to over 10% by 2050. This primarily follows from the ageing of our population. The National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) was established under...

Written Answers — Departmental Projects: Departmental Projects (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The responsibility for undertaking project appraisals rests in the first instance with the individual Departments and Agencies. They are prepared to facilitate and inform the internal decision making process. It has not been the practice to publish these appraisals as they generally contain commercially sensitive information, the publication of which could be prejudicial to the State's...

Written Answers — Tax Collection: Tax Collection (30 Jan 2008)

Brian Cowen: The collection and recovery of tax and the specific circumstances in which tax may be the subject of write off is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners. I am advised by Revenue that its primary focus and priority is the collection of tax. Inevitably, however, cases do arise where, because of the particular circumstances, collection of the tax is not possible or the tax cannot be collected...