Tag Archives: Brendan Howlin

00159479Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin this morning

“Well, there’s one net issue in the Referendum, and that is, should all citizens in this Republic be treated equally under the Constitution, and that’s the one net issue, everything else is extraneous to that. I listened to the spokesperson for one of the groups this morning because I was anxious to hear what was the conscience issue.

There is absolutely no fear at all that any school or religious organisation couldn’t continue to espouse its own views on any religious matter without any fear of any funding being touched in any way. So that’s a complete red herring….”

Brendan Howlin this morning, on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland

That’s all right then.

What!?

Call for conscience clause in same-sex marriage referendum (RTÉ)

(Sam Boal/Photocall ireland)

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You may have missed The Media Show presented by warm-throated business journalist Conor Brophy on Sunday night on RTÉ Radio One.

Irish Examiner columnist Michael Clifford and Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin (above) engaged in a civilised but revealing debate about the current media-government interface with a critical Mr Howlin wondering why the press is “obsessed” with ministers who break pay caps for advisors. Hmm.

Also…

Liam Geraghty writes:

Shalini Sinha talks about the banned documentary film India’s Daughter, Vice President at Nickelodeon UK Tim Patterson and Cross-Divisional Head of Children’s Content at RTE Shelia de Courcy discuss the future of children’s television and Colm Keegan on memes breaking the internet. Oh and Bosco makes an appearance…

Listen here

(Sam Boal/Photocall ireland)

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This morning.

Ministers Brendan Howlin and Jan O’Sullivan announce the building of four new secondary schools – St Mary’s College Dundalk, Co. Louth; St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, Co Clare; Comeragh College, Carrick-on-Suir, Co. Tipperary and Skibbereen (Replacement) School, Co Cork.

Ministers Announce Construction of Four New Schools through Public Private Partnership

Pic: Brian O’Donovan

00010025[Brendan Howlin in the 1990s]

Anyone seen the secret vaccination files?

Um.

“As Labour Health Minister in 1993, Brendan Howlin (above) assured victims that an inquiry had found they suffered no ill effects from the experimental medical tests.
But last night mystery surrounded the whereabouts of the files relating to the inquiry — and Mr Howlin admitted he did not remember the probe or its findings.
The Department of Health said it was searching department archives in a bid to locate the documents. “Until all the files are retrieved, the department cannot say if the results of the inquiry exist,” a spokesman said..
New documents reveal Mr Howlin’s private secretary told victims the minister was “satisfied” there was no risk to the children subjected to the trials in the 1960s and 1970s. This was based on an inquiry supposedly carried out by the Department of Health.

Files Go Missing In Child Vaccine Inquiry (Irish Independent, August 2010)

How did Brendan Howlin know there was no risk to the children subjected to drug trials?

He didn’t.

“it was not the practice to follow up vaccinated children for other than very short periods and the participants in these trials were not followed up in the longer term.”

High Court Justice Aindrias Ó Caoimh in his judgement  [Hillery Vs Minister for Education 2004] quoting directly from the  report of the Chief Medical Offcer put before Dail in 2000 .

Hmm.

Are you thinking what we’re thinking?

Children In Hospitals Were Used For Scientific Experiments (Newstalk)

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Labour party leader and Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore (top with government press secretary Cathy Madden) and Brendan Howlin (above) this morning before a cabinet meeting in government buildings, Merrion Street, Dublin.

“The Public Expenditure Minister says all State agencies will be asked to contribute property for use as emergency housing, where appropriate. Brendan Howlin was speaking on the way into this morning’s Cabinet meeting, where the Housing Minister’s plan to get rid of long-term homelessness by 2016 will dominate the agenda.”

All State agencies will help provide emergency accommodation – Minister (Newstalk)

However

Minister for Public Expenditure Brendan Howlin has indicated that the Government will not increase rent allowance levels to address the housing problem.

Howlin indicates rent allowance levels will not be increased (RTE)

(Laura Hutton/Photocall Ireland)

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[Minister Brendan Howlin on his way into a cabinet meeting at government buiildings this morning]

Brendan Howlin has joined calls for Martin Callinan to be spared any further scrutiny for the Pubic Accounts Committee to stop its current line of investigation into the penalty points controversy.

Brendan Howlin: “I sought last year or the year before that in fact, for the people to give further powers to the Oireachtas so that we could have inquiries, so that people could be called and give evidence and so those committees could come to conclusions, now the people didn’t accept my recommendations in that and I think part of the fears that arose during that debate was that people would politicise the process and I think that we have to prove to the people we can conduct inquiries as an Oireachtas in a fair and impartial way, that we don’t parse and analyse or give our personal opinions on evidence on a daily basis…”

Unidentified reporter: “Does that give you any concern about a banking inquiry dealing with these members and showing a capacity to maybe overstep the mark on occasion?”

Howlin: “Well we’ve set out in clear legislation now that there… what must be in place before we can have a full inquiry of the type that now will be embarked upon to see what happened leading up to our economic collapse and I think there’ll have to be a very clear understanding that that’s a process not an event that people can march out daily and give their opinions on, it has to be a thorough, impartial, fair analysis of fact and everybody has to be given fair weight and due time to present their case before conclusions are arrived at or opinions are voiced by individual members.”

Howlin ‘concerned’ over conduct of PAC (RTE)

Earlier: Lock Step

90326592HowlinPress

Anyone?

Pic: Merrion Street

UPDATE:

upddate

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

90319957On Wednesday Labour Minister Brendan Howlin suddenly withdrew changes to the Freedom of Information Bill that would have substantially increased the cost of obtaining information from public bodies.

Dublin solicitor and FOI activist Simon McGarr attended the Select Sub-Committee on Public Expenditure and Reform committee meeting on the same day, where Mr Howlin attempted to explain his FOI strategy.

On his blog, Mr McGarr writes:

Maybe it was the lateness of the hour or maybe it was just the effect of a couple of days of unexpected trouble but minister Brendan Howlin on Wednesday told us why he wants to charge €15 in respect of FOI requests.

The Minister was on his second day in Committee. The session had started with him announcing that he wanted to withdraw his controversial amendment to Section 12, multiplying Ireland’s FOI Fees.

He wasn’t abandoning his plans, he had just lost confidence overnight in his amendment’s wording. He confirmed his plan to bring back the fee hike later.

Despite this temporary retreat, he still faced questions. [Independent TD] Stephen Donnelly asked him how much money the Government expected it was going to cost to collect those fees – and whether the Government had estimated how much money they would raise.

Like the Hatter flanked by the Dormouse and the March Hare, the minister sat between his civil servants, who murmured words in his ear.

The Minister explained that his department couldn’t actually manage to make any estimate.

Donnelly pointed out that, without estimates, the Minister had no idea if the fees he was intending to levy would actually contribute anything to the state.

The Minister couldn’t deny it, having already said his department – which is involved in preparing the national budget – couldn’t give any estimate

In fact, it is quite possible that the fees might cost us extra. That we would actually spend money to collect less money.

It was then that the Minister told us that what mattered wasn’t whether the fee made money. It was that he didn’t want people getting something without paying for it. “In the current climate. ”

The State couldn’t have a situation where people could just get access to their information for nothing- as if it was a right!

Citizens had to make a contribution. Not a contribution to the costs, because who knows if the admin will eat it all.

Asked again about those fees, the Minister was worn out. Rubbing his eyes, perhaps wishing that-like [Lewis] Carroll’s Dormouse- he could just curl up and doze, he tried to make it clear to the rest of us:

He mostly needed to charge a fee to pay for the expense of charging a fee.

As an observer to the committee, this was a revelation.

I don’t know what the European Court of Justice would think of this.

I don’t know what the European Court of Human Rights would think of this.

I don’t know what the United Nations would think of this.

But I know what I thought of it.

I thought it was a polished, softly spoken outburst of irrationality.

I thought it was mad.

Lewis Carroll’s Freedom of Information Bill 2013 (Simon McGarr, McGarr Solicitors)

Previously: FOI It’s Worth

(Sam Boal/Photocall Ireland)

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The flustered minister’s finger-clicking, walk of no shame from yesterday gets its Gibb Brothers on.

Pleasantly Travolting.

Alan O’Sullivan writes:

Made a little video that made me laugh, prob about 40 others have done the same. but here it is anyway

Earlier: Meanwhile On Merrion Street

Meanwhile, some Brennie Hill?

The Yakety Sax version.

Thanks Punt Nua

He [Brendan Howlin] has always insisted that it is not legally possible to target this group for further cuts but declined to even call on them to give up some of their lucrative pensions voluntarily.
It came after the Irish Independent revealed that former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has been taking his full €150,000-a-year pension since he left the Dail, after reversing his decision to give part of it back.
But Mr Howlin avoided putting pressure on the former ministers when asked if he would call on them personally to give up some or all of their pension to the State.

Howlin Won’t Call On Former TDs To Hand Back Part Of Pension (Michael Brennan, irish Independent)

Previously: Return Of The Cheeky Little Divil

(Mark Stedman/Photocall Ireland)