Results 23,921-23,940 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----the Commissioner's legal strategy. She did not know about it until after the fact, which was after opening statements, when it was already under way.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is trying to move the goalposts.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: After the fact is after it had already started and was under way, from the opening statements. We should point out the former Commissioner disputes some of this. That is also part of the tribunal. She has a story to tell, which I am sure she will tell in due course. What seems to be suggested here in the House today, certainly by Deputy McDonald and just now by Deputy Ryan, is that the...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check the record. I honestly do not recall specifically mentioning the cross-examination. If it is the case that I specifically referred to the cross-examination and said the Tánaiste did not know until after the cross-examination, then I am happy to correct the record in that regard, if that is what I said.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: If that is what I said, I am happy to correct the record in that regard.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information I was given by the Department of Justice and Equality was that neither the Department nor the Tánaiste were aware until after the fact. That briefing did not specify what "after the fact" meant. We now understand----

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We now understand "after the fact" to have meant after the opening statements, after the commission had already started its work and was under way.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the Deputy's concern about the duration of mine and the Government's honeymoon. I do not think there has been a honeymoon at all but I appreciate the Deputy's interest and concern in that regard. Homelessness is something the Government feels very deeply about and it is a matter we have prioritised. Since 2012 or so, the funding put into services for people who are homeless...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I know how difficult it is for people to find new accommodation in the current environment. If substantial refurbishment is not genuinely required or urgent, those eviction notices should be withdrawn. The people living in that development should be given adequate time to find new accommodation if they can do so and they certainly should not be evicted before Christmas.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is not a loophole, it is the law. Sometimes houses, apartments and duplex buildings need refurbishment. Sometimes they are not safe as there are fire safety issues. Sometimes roofs need to be repaired. There are occasions on which houses and apartment buildings require substantial refurbishment. I do not know if it is the case in this instance and whether the substantial refurbishment...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I saw the programme last night and it was a very interesting piece of high quality investigative journalism, examining statistics and following individual consultants in the course of their work. I would like to say I was surprised by the outcome but there has been anecdotal evidence for a long time in the health service of a minority - perhaps not a majority - of consultants not fulfilling...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The audit was not done before I became Minister for Social Protection. Perhaps it was done subsequently. I will check up on that. It is certainly something that I raised regularly in meetings with the Irish Hospital Consultants Association and the IMO. They would always deny it and say that it was a very rare practice. I do not think it can be denied any more. The Deputy will know that...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Whether they were working or not could not be proven.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There was some controversy at least. I do not think it would be a huge imposition on our hospital consultants to clock in so that we at least know they are on the premises and are not in private hospitals when they should not be. We are doing exactly what was recommended in the Sláintecare report. We have established a group under Donal de Buitléir to examine how we can...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have already answered that question in my response to Deputy Michael Healy-Rae. The cataract waiting list has fallen from 10,300 to 867 and those waiting more than a year and a half have fallen from 1,694 to 421, which is a 75% fall in people waiting for ridiculously long periods of time. Our implementation model around eye care is starting to make a difference. Part of this is more...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I offer my condolences to the family and friends of the cyclist the Deputy mentioned. We are all affected by road safety and by deaths on the road and most of us, or our families, would know somebody who lost their life on the road. There are more and more people cycling, to work and recreationally, and that is very encouraging. The bike to work scheme, which the Deputy was involved in...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is out for public consultation. Letterkenny, which is twinned with Derry, is indeed north of the Galway-Dublin line, as the Leas-Cheann Comhairle will know. We want to avoid a repeat of the pointless, disastrous, unnecessary and useless national spatial strategy we had with Fianna Fáil in office. It started off quite well, with a number of growth centres and cities, but turned out...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: This will probably be a matter for the HSE national service plan for 2018 but the Deputy might put a Topical Issue question to the Minister for Health of the Minister of State with responsibility for disability who might be able to give a more detailed answer.

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge that there is a deficit in the availability of respite care for those who need it. From our constituency clinics, we all appreciate the extent to which a day or two a week or a week or two a year can be a lifeline for families and carers who need a break themselves. It is something I am conscious of and it will be discussed at the Cabinet...

Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The fair deal scheme needs as much as it has. I do not know if it would be possible to transfer funds from the fair deal scheme to home help. What is being considered, it may be at consultation stage or it may have completed that, is to set up a scheme similar to fair deal for home help and home care packages. The fair deal scheme works very well. People who need a nursing home and are...