Results 23,161-23,180 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I travelled to Canada between 19-23 August. My visit commenced in Montréal with an official welcoming ceremony and a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister. During our meeting we discussed the provisional implementation of CETA which commenced on September 21. We discussed the latest developments on Brexit and Ireland's priorities in the negotiations. Prime Minister Trudeau...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I travelled to Canada between 19-23 August. My visit commenced in Montréal with an official welcoming ceremony and a bilateral meeting with the Prime Minister. During our meeting we discussed the provisional implementation of CETA which commenced on September 21. We discussed the latest developments on Brexit and Ireland's priorities in the negotiations. Prime Minister Trudeau...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Advisers Data (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There are nine Special Advisers employed in my Department. They are as follows: - the Chief of Staff; - the Spokesman and Communications Adviser to the Taoiseach; - the Head of Policy and Programme Implementation; - four Special Advisers to the Taoiseach; and - two Special Advisers to the Government Chief Whip. The Special Advisers working in my Department provide briefings and advice...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has established the following six Cabinet Committees, which I will chair - Cabinet Committee A (Economy) Cabinet Committee B (Social Policy and Public Services) Cabinet Committee C (European Union including Brexit) Cabinet Committee D (Infrastructure) Cabinet Committee E (Health), and Cabinet Committee F (National Security). They will meet as appropriate according to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Responsibilities (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: On 14 June 2017 the Government appointed Deputy Joe McHugh as Government Chief Whip and Minister of State at my Department and at the Department of Culture, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht with special responsibility for Gaeilge, Gaeltacht and the Islands, and Deputy Paul Kehoe as Minister of State at my Department and at the Department of Defence with special responsibility for Defence. On...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Commissions of Investigation (27 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As required by its terms of reference, the Commission provided me with an interim report on 12 September i.e. within three months of the date of its establishment on 13 June. The report was published on my Department’s website on 21 September, following consultation with the Attorney General and the Sole Member of the Commission.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Before I answer, I join with Deputy Martin in offering my condolences and those of the Government to the victims and families of those killed and wounded in the recent attack in Las Vegas. In the face of such horror and tragedy, the Irish Government and people stand in solidarity with our friends and families in the United States. I leith a leithéid d'uafáis agus de thragóid,...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure from where that instruction that the Deputy referred to came. It certainly did not come from the Oireachtas.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The FEMPI legislation - the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interests Acts - is a direction from the Oireachtas to reduce pay and, because the legislation is now being unwound, the new FEMPI Acts require by law that public bodies increase pay and restore pay, and that is exactly what is happening. However, the Deputy rightly stated there are differences in pay. There are...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We are now in the middle of an Estimates process. I am aware of this issue. The Deputy can be assured that section 39 bodies operating in my constituency and elsewhere, such as hospices, have been in contact with us. We are aware of this issue. It is something that will be discussed, and hopefully resolved, as part of the Estimates process. The Deputy should bear in mind, because they...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: That is the law, under the Health Act.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Ar dtús, fáilte ar ais a Ghearóid-----

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: An-mhaith. Like Deputy Adams, everyone in this House and everyone in Ireland who watched the news on Sunday was horrified at the scenes we saw broadcast from Barcelona and Girona and to see that level of violence happening in what is a European country that has been a democracy since the 1970s. As I said on Monday, violence is never the solution to political disagreements. Violence by...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely agree that dialogue is required and that neither violence nor unilateralism is required. Contacts will be made at official level and, when the opportunity is appropriate, I will certainly discuss the matter with the Prime Minister, Mr. Rajoy. I have not yet had the chance to meet him on a one-to-one basis, but we have attended summits together, although he was not at the summit...

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have heard the allegation on a number of occasions that the Government is putting style ahead of substance. I have even seen in the speaking points of one of the Opposition parties that this is something its spokespeople are instructed to say when giving interviews. Congratulations to the Deputy on having some success in getting commentators and others to repeat his speaking points.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: If Deputy Brendan Howlin wants to see the substance, I will give him some examples.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In the past few months this is the substance the Government has brought about.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Today the unemployment rate fell to 6.1%. A total of 50,000 jobs have been created this year so far. The universal social charge is down, while the minimum wage is up. Pensions are also up, as are payments to people with disabilities, carers, lone parents and the unemployed. We have hired 900 additional special needs assistants and brought in bursaries to help lone parents to access education.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We have brought in medical cards for children with disabilities by right; started construction work on the national children's hospital; paid off IMF loans early; and concluded a public sector pay agreement with public servants to restore the pay of 90% of public servants within the next few years.

Leaders' Questions (3 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We presented Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid in London the other day.