Results 13,221-13,240 of 29,533 for speaker:Brendan Howlin

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy can be sure it does. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has repeatedly said that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: An bord snip.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That was the troika’s understanding.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is not included in the tender.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It is not for sale at the moment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: On the question of the shareholding abroad, we have approximately a 50% shareholding in each of the two power stations rather than full ownership of them. In terms of the further deleveraging possible by ESB, it has been expressed in kilowattage terms. When ESB has delivered on the first phase, it will make an announcement on the next phase.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: As regards Aer Lingus, the same level of due diligence that applied to Coillte has happened and will happen. Decisions will be made in the round, not simply on the basis of maximising a sum of money. The implications for tourism, exports and accessibility to the country will be taken into account. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport has made that crystal clear. If and when we...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is the question that is being parsed and analysed constantly. In terms of the amount of money that would accrue from the sale of the remaining shareholding, we will see whether it is worth it in terms of the impact it might have on other areas. That is the valuation that has largely been done by the Minister, Deputy Varadkar. He will make a recommendation to Cabinet in that regard in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Deputy O'Donnell is right. We have to ensure that the investments we make will be strategic in terms of creating jobs in the medium term but that they will not be short-term jobs. The outcome has to be an important contribution to our recovery. There would be different manifestations of this. In the stimulus plan I introduced last year I announced what people would describe as traditional...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: It was always our intention to retain ownership of the land. We are growing the trees for a purpose and are now embarking on a different strategy. I thought the Deputy might embrace this new strategy and welcome the development of a new bio-energy company and wish it well.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am sorry to destroy his campaign for the summer.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The Deputy takes it as a victory for himself.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is a shocking thing to say.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: The last person who was capable of looking into his heart and discerning the view of the people was Éamon de Valera. Deputy Boyd Barrett clearly has a similar understanding of the will of the people in a way that the rest of us mere elected representatives do not. He speaks for the people but we are apparently unable to do so. It must be the case that we manifest ourselves into...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am sorry the Deputy is so annoyed that his summer-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I am sorry the Deputy's summer campaign has been disrupted. We did not make this decision because he was outside with a poster or anything else. The reality is that the criteria I set out on behalf of the Government were not met in this case. We are not proceeding with our initial plan because it does not make economic and strategic sense for the people of Ireland.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: That is a perverse view.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: How does one deal with that type of attitude?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: Bord Gáis was set up as a gas distribution company, is operating profitably in that capacity and will remain as such. In recent years it has built up an energy-generating capacity, in competition with another State company, ESB, which heretofore had a very significant share of the energy-generating market in the State. As I indicated in my response to Deputy Sean Fleming, the entry of...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform: Disposal of State Assets and Quarterly Review: Discussion with Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform (19 Jun 2013)

Brendan Howlin: I do not agree with the Deputy, who is trapped in an ideological view. The notion that he would describe two power stations, one in Amorebieta in Spain and the other the Marchwood plant in England, as being strategic for Ireland-----