Results 14,501-14,520 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: In this case, it was part of a major reform introduced by this Government to provide for matters such as pre-action protocols, the Mediation Act, periodic payment orders and-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: With regard to that particular aspect of the reforms brought in by this Government, and I should note that it was not done by previous Governments-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----the new body established to regulate our legal services, the Legal Services Regulatory Authority, is still in its infancy.
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It has to be established, a chief executive officer must be appointed and a premises needs to be found. In some cases-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----when it comes to commencing a law, guidelines have to be produced as well. When it comes to voluntary open disclosure provisions, for example, the guidelines-----
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----have to be developed beforehand.
- Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: As Deputy Micheál Martin said, new information and revelations continue to become available on this issue. That is exactly why we have established this inquiry, namely, to get to the bottom of this and establish the facts in order that we can put things right to restore confidence in cancer screening. Like other Members, members of the Government are often hearing information that is...
- Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 72 to 74, inclusive, together. A breakdown of expenditure by my Department in 2017 in the categories of training and development and incidental expenses and travel and subsistence is set out in the following tables. There was no expenditure incurred by my Department on consultancy services and value for money and policy reviews in 2017. It should be noted...
- Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Capital Expenditure Programme (9 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 75 to 77, inclusive, together. My Department has no capital allocation for the years 2018 to 2022.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: On the proposed customs union partnership, as the Deputies will know that proposal first appeared in documents produced by the British Government last June. The Prime Minister, Ms May, has continued to put forward that proposal in recent times. The view of the European Union is that it is not workable in its current form, but that it is perhaps something we could make workable. The...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together. I had a short meeting with Prime Minister May in the margins of the European Council on 23 March during which we discussed the latest developments in relation to Brexit, Northern Ireland and Russia. On Brexit, I welcomed her Government’s commitment to ensuring the backstop forms part of the withdrawal agreement, and...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I have not had an opportunity to take a look at it in detail yet but I understand that there is a survey out today which indicates that support for the European Union among Irish citizens remains very high. Something of the order of 90% of people support Irish membership of the European Union and see its benefits for citizens. That is very encouraging. One of the silver linings to Brexit...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I will deal with the citizen survey first. The plan is to consult with the Opposition parties on the questions. I imagine it will be much more straightforward than people expect. It will be questions about public satisfaction with different Government bodies, for example, and public knowledge and awareness of Government policies and the different programmes run by the Government, to see if...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together. I delivered an address on the future of Europe at the Catholic University of Leuven as part of its Wilfried Martens series of lectures. This is an annual event, with previous speakers including Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, and former German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schäuble. The event was live-streamed...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. Following on from the review of the operation of the strategic communications unit, or SCU, my Department will revert to a reformed Government information service, or GIS, model. The GIS will have a smaller budget, fewer staff and a more limited role than the SCU. There will be a managed reversion to the more traditional GIS...
- Order of Business (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: That is news to me, but I certainly will ask the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Naughten, to reply to the Deputy on that matter. I should say that is not the intention of the Government to close down post offices.
- Order of Business (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Where the postmaster or postmistress wants to retire-----
- Order of Business (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----a package will be put in place to allow him or her to retire on reasonably good terms. At that point, the contract for the post office will be offered to other people if they want to take it up, or potentially a nearby petrol station or shop, in order to retain-----
- Order of Business (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I know this issue has been a huge one. Certainly it has been a big one in my constituency office, and I am sure it has been so for others as well. I do not think the solution to this is legislation. The solution to this is getting through the backlog. The Passport Office lost a number of days because of the adverse weather, but I understand that it is catching up. Legislation or no...
- Order of Business (8 May 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I can certainly give that commitment. The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability issues, Deputy Finian McGrath, and I spoke about this last week. The Deputy will be aware that unfortunately, our public transport is not 100% accessible and that creates problems. However, over time, more and more of it is...