Results 1,721-1,740 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: Every area of expenditure is looked at in the context of Estimates and what is available for the following year. As I said, this area has contributed to a reduction of 27% since I came to office.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: I do interviews with the media all the time on any subject and where any issue can be raised. This medium of the Internet was used to set out the work of the day, what took place at meeting and its relevance to the Irish public. As I understand it, I am not obliged to pick and choose what media I deal with. I deal with them all, including the Internet. There is no more to it than that and...

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: What is the Deputy's basis for this claim?

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: That covers it so.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: Deputy Gilmore makes the charge of propaganda but does not give an example. That is an interesting way of making political assertions. The website has been well commented on by media sources, both international and national, as a good source of information. Most websites of this nature are text-based while this one introduces an audio-visual element to make it more user-friendly. No one...

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: It has to be propaganda because Deputy Gilmore says so.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: If Deputy Gilmore says it, it must be true then.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: Deputy Gilmore would know more about propaganda himself. He is harking back to the old days of political instruction down in a little cottage in County Meath over a weekend.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: I apologise. Deputy Gilmore's crowd was more interesting than Deputy Ó Caoláin's. While Deputy Ó Caoláin's just took it all in, Deputy Gilmore's boys had to be trained. The old Stickies' days.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: On the matter to which the Deputy referred, as I said it is the use of technology for the purposes of dealing with people who have been waiting for services which has eliminated 25% of the cost. It made a lot of difference to the people who got in much quicker as a result. I do not see why-----

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: If other consultants took up the same practice, maybe they would reduce their fees by 25%. Bringing that to public attention is a good thing but it seems that the premise of the Deputy's questions is that the Government's entitlement to bring it to public attention should in some way-----

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: I doubt it, Deputy, unfortunately.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: I apologise, Deputy. I do not think the number of hits on the Deputy's website-----

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: I do not think the number of hits on the Deputy's website is quite as high.

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: We are talking about hits, I suppose. The issue I am trying to get across is that these are good examples of good practice in the health services which need to be, and are being, brought to the attention of the public by whatever means necessary. I find it amazing that people would regard that sort of information as something in which the public are not interested. They are very interested...

Departmental Expenditure (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: If the Deputy tabled a question to the Department of Education and Skills, he would get a full up-to-date response on what the ICT strategy is in terms of providing for public schools.

Written Answers — Cabinet Sub-committees: Cabinet Sub-committees (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: The Cabinet Committee on Irish and the Gaeltacht, which I chair, has met four times since May 2008. The membership of the Committee has been set out in the reply to Parliamentary Question Number 32334/10 on 29 September, 2010. It is not the practice to give details about the attendance of Ministers at meetings of the Cabinet or of Cabinet Committees.

Written Answers — Job Creation: Job Creation (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: Implementing the Government's strategy to sustain and create jobs is the central focus of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Renewal and Jobs which I chair. The Heads of a number of the Agencies with key responsibility for implementing the Jobs Strategy were invited to meet with members of the Cabinet Committee on 22 September to review their plans to support job creation and help the...

Leaders' Questions (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: The letter was circulated by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government in his capacity as leader of the Green Party. It is very important, from the point of view of that party and from the point of view of everyone else, to see if there is some way a form of general consensus might be arrived at. As the Deputy stated, there is consensus among the main political parties...

Leaders' Questions (12 Oct 2010)

Brian Cowen: Any briefings will be provided by designated officials from the Department of Finance. There is no question of directions or anything else being given in respect of the advice that will be provided. The facts of the matter, as they are emerging, can be conveyed. The Deputy stated that Deputy Noonan will be meeting some officials tomorrow in order to discuss the means by which the relevant...