Results 541-560 of 19,445 for speaker:Brian Cowen

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: The costings that the Deputy has had done in the Department of Finance in respect of his initiatives are fine in themselves. The simple point I am making to him is that he is now saying that the Fine Gael Party would have made an adjustment of €6 billion in yesterday's budget without raising income tax. That requires------

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: That would require further cuts in the order of €1.1 billion for the full-year effect.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: The Deputy might outline to us in a few moments in the budget debate how the party intends to do this. If that is the position-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am coming to that point now. If that is the position, the level of social welfare cuts to be contemplated, given that social welfare is 38% of total spend, would be far deeper than what the Government brought forward yesterday. The Deputy goes on to make the point-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: Not alone would the Deputy's party not raise income tax, to the cost of €1.1 billion, it now would not have made any changes in the payments mentioned. That would require a further €90 million, meaning the total would be approaching €1.2 billion.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: Coming to the next point, if there were other areas in the social welfare budget-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----that needed to be hit-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: The total amount reduced on working age payments-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----would be a further €3 per week. That would be €11 plus adjustments for qualified adult allowance. Those are the facts.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: If the Deputy wants a sensible debate-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: I am answering the question.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: The figures do not add up. Fine Gael cannot have Deputy Noonan speaking out of both sides of his mouth-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----and this man coming in facing five different directions the same morning.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: I do not have the details of the issue raised by the Deputy but I will certainly follow it up. It is clearly a detailed Finance Bill matter. I want to make the social welfare position clear. We have had to make changes for the full-year effect. There was a time, before we came back into office, that an increase - when there were increases - was not effected until July the following year....

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: For 25 years he spoke about social justice and when he got a chance to raise the old-age pension, he put it up by 30 bob.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: We must be straight with people.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: It otherwise would not be possible to make a €15 billion adjustment over the next four years, to which the party is committed, in order to reduce the deficit to 3% of GDP by 2014.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: It is not possible to make that adjustment-----

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: -----without including savings and adjustments in the social welfare budget. We must be straight with people.

Leaders' Questions (8 Dec 2010)

Brian Cowen: We are saying we will bring it back to 2007 levels. When the Opposition was last in Government, child benefit was £30.