Results 22,621-22,640 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: There is nothing being rushed through at the 11th hour and there is nothing here that should come as much of a surprise. This has been coming for more than a year when a decision was made to enter into an agreement voluntarily with the 67 waste collection providers to suspend charges for a period. What this is essentially about is the environment and the need to reduce waste and encourage...
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: First, and as I have mentioned, roughly 50% of households in the State already pay for their waste collection by systems such as this, so I do not think that people should be panicked and fearful. I am sure that if people are panicked and fearful, Sinn Féin will not try to exploit that panic and fear.
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: What Sinn Féin will do will be the responsible thing and give people proper information-----
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: -----and not try to exploit their-----
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: As I said, I am confident that Sinn Féin and no other politicians in the House will try to exploit panic or fear. They will of course do the right thing and give people accurate information, reassure them and explain to them why this system is being introduced nationwide. It already applies in roughly half the country. In terms of mitigation, the Minister for Communications,...
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: -----and assist them in doing what they need to do to reduce their bills, which are those obvious things to reduce the amount of waste that people produce, such as recycling as much as they can and reusing compost. In addition to that, there is going to be a requirement that all waste collectors introduce organic brown bins to all communities nationwide with a population of more than 500...
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. Gabhaim buíochas freisin leis an Teachta as an cheist. I thank her very much for acknowledging that the recent statistics from 2015 do show that consistent poverty is down and that income inequality is narrowing, albeit still much worse than where we were before the crisis. It is going in the right direction. I note that the Deputy acknowledged...
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I should add to the actions that I mentioned earlier the fact that children in receipt of the domiciliary care allowance are now automatically entitled to a medical card. Ten thousand children who did not receive a medical card previously now have it as an automatic right. I pay tribute to the work of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, in this regard....
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is quite right to say that people can get Lyme disease in Ireland. Indeed people can get tick bites in our national parks and contract Lyme disease as a result. There is now a Lyme disease awareness week. That started in 2013 and is led by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre, HPSC. That is designed to draw public and media attention to Lyme disease, how to prevent...
- Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that the Government is advised by the Chief Medical Officer on issues such as this because none of us are medical experts. As even those of us who have degrees in medicine are not experts in all of these fields, we rely on the advice of the Chief Medical Officer when it comes to issues such as this. We absolutely acknowledge Lyme disease. That is why there was a Lyme...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The fundamental difference, of course, between people who work for section 38 bodies and section 39 bodies is that people who work for section 38 bodies are public servants. They are employees of something that is recognised as a public body, whereas people who work for section 39 organisations are not employees of the State, but employees of NGOs, charities, religious orders and sometimes...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: Those NGOs, charities and companies are funded by a block grant and it is up to that body to pay its staff and provide the services out of the total grant it is given. We certainly will not stand over any body - a charity or an NGO - that has had its budget increased, cutting back on services. If that happens they will be called out over it.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, spoke about this on the radio this morning. I am not sure if the Deputy had a chance to listen to his comprehensive interview. He indicated that the report is now in the Office of the Attorney General because, obviously, the Attorney General has to review it and potentially redact it before it can be published. Therefore there is not date for publication...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I do not have any information on that individual case and I do not have access to individual patient information, nor should I really. If the Deputy wants to pass on details to me or the Minister, Deputy Harris, I will make the necessary inquiries.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: Motions are the opinions and view of the House, as voted by the House, but, obviously, are not legislation. There are 67 firms operating in this market, which is very competitive. The Deputies will be aware that some people in some parts of the country are having their bins collected at very low prices, paying an annual charge which may be below cost, which is not sustainable. In the...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: ---- exited that market.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: In response to Deputy Curran, the Government is taking a number of measures, as I mentioned earlier. One of the mitigation measures being put in place is a €75 grant to people who have a long-term illness that necessitates them producing additional waste, particularly incontinence pads etc. There will be a public information campaign in place. Officers have already been appointed...
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I am sorry but I do not have any information on that particular school but I will ask the Minister for Health to contact the Deputy directly.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The drafters are currently working on the new Irish language Act but we do not at present have a date for publication.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jun 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The commitment was to open six Garda stations in urban and rural areas as part of a pilot scheme to see whether the reopening of the stations has an impact on crime levels in those areas. However, the Government is not going to make a decision on which ones are opened and which are not.