Results 5,841-5,860 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I join the Deputy in commending Dr. Austin O’Carroll. I have worked and spend a bit of time with him through various charities and organisations in which he has been involved. I would listen to what he says in this regard. The Minister is considering the report and will respond in a reasoned way. The most recent monthly homelessness report shows that the number of single adults...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Regarding the claims made by the contractor, the contractor submitted more than 800 claims for additional money for this project. The board is disputing and defending those claims. It has been extremely successful in discussions and arbitrations in ensuring most of the claims made by the contractor have been rejected and, in some cases, reduced very significantly. Indeed, there are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate we need to invest more in our water network. We are currently preparing the national development plan, NDP, review, which will set out the level of public investment in all forms of infrastructure between now and 2030. It is the update, or refresh, of Project Ireland 2040. We expect to complete that in the next few months. As part of that, we are giving consideration to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure if that was a question but I heard the points the Deputy made. They were very fair points and very well made. On the particular issues relating to Kerry, if the Deputy sends me more details about them, I will be happy to take them up with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and provide him with a more detailed reply.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I think the Deputy is trying to misrepresent what I said, and that is exactly what he did the last time we discussed the issue of housing in the Chamber. Unfortunately, he was partially successful in that regard. That is a poor reflection on him but also on others who accept his spin too often when it comes to the issue of housing. To answer the Deputy's question, the Government has...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do have confidence in the hospital board and the Department of Health to manage this project. To answer the Deputy's question, it is my firm view that when this project is complete, few people will think it was a bad investment. Those who have seen the facilities we now have in Blanchardstown and the first phase of that development, namely, the urgent care centre, will see what an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much for his question. I start by joining him in welcoming the agreement that was reached last night to appoint a new Executive and a new First Minister, Paul Givan, and facilitate the reappointment of Michelle O’Neill as deputy First Minister. Mr. Givan and Ms O'Neill are now co-equals and joint heads of the Administration in Northern Ireland. Despite the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I was very disappointed to hear that Teva Pharmaceuticals plans to close its Sudocrem manufacturing plant in Baldoyle. This comes not long after the announcement by Viatris that it is to close one of its Baldoyle operations. Our primary concern is for the workers and families affected by this news. While I understand that both plants will remain operational until the end of 2022, it is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Support Services (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I recommend the Deputy directs this question to the Department of Health and the Department of Social Protection, which have more direct responsibility for the issues raised. As the Deputy may be aware, the Economic Recovery Plan states that the forthcoming Pathways to Work Strategy will increase the capacity of the Public Employment Service, assigning 150 Employment Case Officers (job...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department spent €27,122 on social media advertising between the beginning of January 2021 and 12th June 2021. This includes expenditure on a number of awareness raising campaigns including Brexit, the National Minimum Wage and Covid 19 related communications. With regard to the spend by the state agencies under the remit of my Department, these are operational matters for those...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has spent €17,454 on social media content production since the beginning of January 2021 and 12th June 2021. This includes expenditure on a number of awareness raising campaigns including Brexit, the National Minimum Wage and Covid 19 related communications.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not incurred any public relations consultancy costs since January 2021. With regard to the spend by the state agencies under the remit of my Department, these are operational matters for those agencies and I do not have any direct function in these matters. However, I have asked the state agencies under the remit of my Department to provide the requested information to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Climate Action Plan (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The information sought by the Deputy is below: The cost of completing the action as part of current work programmes The consultancy or service costs associated with undertaking research and analysis to complete the action Action number Description Cost 52 Develop a clear understanding of the enterprise sector CO2 emissions and develop a...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: During the last year, my Department has progressed a range of policy initiatives across its broad remit including a range of Programme for Government commitments. Details of activity during 2020 can be found in my Department’s Annual Report 2020, published at www.enterprise.gov.ie. Key policy achievements since 27 June 2020 include the following: We published a €7 billion Jobs...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Equality Issues (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Social Protection has lead responsibility for labour market activation, and supporting underrepresented groups into employment. While my Department does not have responsibility for operating any employment programmes or funding any support services targeted specifically at minority or disadvantaged communities, we deal with the broader area of job creation and work to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Given the impact the necessary COVID-19 restrictions has had, it is likely that businesses in the travel sector, such as travel agents, will take longer to recover than those engaged in other sectors of the economy. It has been an incredibly difficult time for such businesses. The Government’s comprehensive package to help the wide range of businesses during the pandemic, including...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (16 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not examined the costs of introducing a universal basic income. As the Deputy is aware, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to ‘Request the Low Pay Commission to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government’. Earlier this...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the publication of the report ‘Monitoring Decent Work in Ireland’ from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Economic and Social Research Institute. Research in this area is highly valuable for informing policy development. I take positives from this report such as employment rates growing for many of these groups over the period 2014 to 2019 as an...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The total expenditure incurred by staff of my Department and its offices under the heading of travel and subsistence from 1 January 2020 to date (end May 2021) was €747,036. Travel and Subsistence expenditure has been significantly curtailed since March 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel. Despite restrictions, essential travel has still been required,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reviews (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Details of value for money and policy reviews conducted by my Department during the period in question are set out in the table below. Details of Value for Money/Policy Review External ContractYes/No Cost of External Contract Review of SME and Entrepreneurship policies Yes The total budget was €300,000 of which...