Results 23,981-24,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is of deep regret to me that he did not actually see that email, that document for another week, when I saw it. Perhaps if he had seen it, we might have been in a different situation today but he acted absolutely appropriately in saying the email should be sent on to the tribunal, which is exactly where these documents are supposed to end up.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Not for the first time the Deputy's question is a little confused. He started by saying how pleased he was the people would not have to tolerate a general election before Christmas and finished by saying we needed to have one as soon as possible; therefore, it is a little hard to reply to questions of that nature.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I did not request that I not take Leaders' Questions today. If anybody made that request, it certainly did not come from me. I am here two days a week to answer questions for the best part of three hours. I am happy to do so and will continue to do so.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I will continue to do so for as long as I hold this office. It was never and will never be my intention to plunge the country into an unnecessary general election. I did everything I could over the weekend and in the past few days to ensure that would not be the case because we have a lot of work to do as a Government, not least with phase one and phase two of the Brexit talks coming up....

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: First, I did not discover it at the weekend. I spoke with Deputy Michéal Martin by telephone on Wednesday and Thursday, and we met on Friday, before the weekend, in our efforts-----

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----to avert an unnecessary general election. It is the Deputy and his fellow travellers who are continuing to demand an election. We in the two large parties in the House managed to avoid that. Again, the Deputy is accusing me of not coming to the House to answer questions. What am I doing now other than standing here and answering questions put to me by the Deputy? The Minister for...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As in the normal course of events, either he will take questions after that or he will take questions as Minister for Justice and Equality, as he does on a routine basis.

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Of course, there will also be questions on promised legislation later and tomorrow as well. To answer the Deputy's other question, I ordered the trawl of documents because I had to come to the House twice to correct the record as I had not received full information from the Department of Justice and Equality. I ordered the trawl that allowed these documents to be found and I put them in the...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I received an interim report on Saturday. I wanted to see what was in the interim report and I wanted to talk to the former Tánaiste about the content of those emails. More than that, I wanted to end the drip, drip of information, emails and email threads emerging day after day. That is the reason I waited until I had the full report on Monday. When I had it, we put it in the public...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am as dissatisfied about all of this as is the Deputy. He may not believe that but I really am. This is not the way I want to see Parliament or Government operate and these are not the kind of issues on which I want to focus. In particular, I want to focus on the important negotiations regarding Brexit. An important summit is coming up in only two weeks' time and I have been unable to...

Leaders' Questions (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I would certainly be happy to sit down with the Deputy between now and Christmas and talk to him about housing. I acknowledge it is an area in which the Deputy has much more experience than I do so I would be happy to take him up on that particular offer. I have no doubt the Deputy can come to the House with all sorts of terrifying allegations about malpractice and misconduct among...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: This is something we examined over the weekend. Term [h] of the terms of reference for the Charleton tribunal includes media and broadcasting personnel, members of the Government, TUSLA, the Health Service Executive and any other State entity. Obviously, the Department of Justice and Equality is a State entity. We are satisfied from our work over the weekend that the Department of Justice...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Charles Flanagan, has indicated to me that he is keen to make a statement today. He will be happy to do so at 4 p.m., 4.30 p.m., 5 p.m. or later.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, he will.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is my intention that the review will be carried out under my auspices and that of my Department. I will ask my Secretary General who is the Secretary General to the Government to carry out the inquiry. I do not think it will require legislation. Similar investigations have been carried out in the past by the Secretary General to the Government. I intend to proceed in that manner and to...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is intended to bring the legislation before the House before the end of the session. Obviously, there is other priority legislation, including the Finance Bill 2017, the Appropriation Bill-----

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Technically, it could be amended, although it has never actually happened. History shows, however, that for some reason, even though it is never amended and is always just voted through, the number of speakers is often very high. I imagine that is because people like to talk about their own constituencies and use the legislation as an opportunity to do so. The matter has to be discussed by...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: People who have any fear that there will not be a referendum on this important matter should not fear. In my first speech in this Chamber as Taoiseach I committed to holding a referendum on the eighth amendment. I was the first Taoiseach to do so. When I spoke at the FemFest on Saturday morning, I assured the young women present that the referendum would be held.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I intend to stay in office until it is.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the suggestion is made in a report being published today by a joint committee. It is not a Government proposal and I have not yet read the report. Like all joint committee reports, the Government will consider it and respond to it in due course.