Results 24,001-24,020 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I would have to check the law in that area, but I am fairly certain that transcripts of proceedings at a commission of investigation are privileged and cannot be released. They were released to GSOC following a court order and they were obviously released to the tribunal, but I am almost certain that it would not be lawful to release the transcripts of proceedngs at a commission of...

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have been the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation for only approximately an hour and am not yet on top of that issue. I will endeavour to ensure the Deputy gets an answer from the correct Department.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have no role in respect of the parliamentary questions rota.

Order of Business (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Rush is fairly rural. It would be worth the Deputy's while to pay a visit to north County Dublin. He would be surprised how rural certain parts of it are. Those six Garda stations are to be reopened on a pilot basis and thereafter their impact on Garda service and crime in the areas will be assessed. There are no proposals to open any Garda stations apart from those six until the pilot...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. While I have not had detailed discussions with Prime Minister May on the Enniskillen bombing, I have raised the Dublin and Monaghan bombings and other legacy cases with her. I have stressed to her the importance of making progress on legacy issues and the overall arrangements for dealing with the past. The Government is strongly...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It was a real humbling experience to attend in Enniskillen a few weeks ago. I had been there before but not to attend Remembrance Sunday. When one stands there on a very cold day and sees people gathering around the cenotaph to mourn the dead in two wars, one can only imagine in one's mind's eye what it must have been like when people suddenly experienced a bomb going off and all of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 11, inclusive, together. Staff of the strategic communications unit met with the Office of Emergency Planning to discuss the winter ready campaign and provided it with the Government of Ireland identity, which appeared on the cover of the winter ready booklet. The Government of Ireland identity replaced 17 logos of Departments and State agencies whose...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Initially, it was a personal initiative but I stepped back from it to avoid unnecessary controversy. As I explained last week, decisions relating to the budget and staffing have been left in the purview of the Secretary General of the Department. The unit will not be doing any party political work. I have given that assurance on a number of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The ten-year capital programme will be explained to people in a similar way. None of these things is a party message. It is entirely reasonable for the Government to tell people what the Government does on their behalf with their money, just as any other big organisation does.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In terms of the winter ready campaign-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The winter ready campaign is a good example of how it can bring things together and save money in the medium term. We went from a winter ready campaign which was very much the old way of the Government doing things with a booklet having 17 different logos on it and everyone having their logo and identity represented on it to a single identity. This really started in 2016 with the national...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----there is just one. People understand it better when they see a single identity which is telling them what the Government is doing on their behalf, particularly when it is something that brings together 17 different agencies and Departments. Surely there should just be one logo and identity rather than 17. Over time one can see, as was done in Holland and the United Kingdom, for...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----huge numbers of websites being collapsed into a smaller number. Savings obviously arise from that as well. The unit does not have a role in answering parliamentary questions. It does not have a role in dispensing political advice and obviously had no role whatsoever in the political controversy in the past few days. That is simply not its remit. I must disagree with one of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Strategic Communications Unit (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have a specific date for the referendum on the eighth amendment. I intend it to be held in May or June. That is a tight timeline to achieve but I want to achieve it. Establishing or meeting this timeline is, of course, not entirely within my control or that of the Government. We are waiting, first, for the all-party Oireachtas committee to produce its report. It has set a...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have not yet had the opportunity for a formal meeting with Polish Prime Minister Szydlo, though I did speak briefly with her in Gothenburg, as well as at the June and October European Councils, and September’s Digital Summit in Tallinn. Ongoing political engagement with our EU and international partners remains crucial, especially as negotiations on Brexit proceed, and I will...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee D covers housing, climate action, infrastructure investment and delivery, the National Planning Framework and the Ten Year Capital Plan. Among other issues, this Committee is providing political oversight of our efforts to tackle the housing and homelessness issue. The Committee last met on the 23rdof November 2017.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: State Bodies Data (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I appoint members to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and the National Statistics Board (NSB). I appoint members to the NESC in accordance with the provisions of the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 and the Alteration of Composition Order 2010. The legislation provides for nominations from five sectors - business and employer, ICTU, farming and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Brexit Expenditure (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and agencies under its remit has had no spend to date on social media campaigns on issues related to Brexit. However, the Strategic Communications Unit will be working with other Departments on a cross Government campaign on Brexit in the coming months.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Rugby World Cup 2023 (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: A key part of the modernisation of Government communications is the greater use of social media. Merrionstreet.ie has a presence on a number of social media platforms. The amount spent on advertising the video" Ireland at its best" for Ireland's Rugby World Cup bid was €9,500, sponsored posts appeared on Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. The posts were targeted at "all adults" to both a...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Appointments to State Boards Data (28 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I appoint members to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) and the National Statistics Board (NSB). I appoint the NESC in accordance with the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 and the NESC (Alteration of Composition) Order 2010 - SI 603/ 2010. I appoint members to the NSB in accordance with the Statistics Act 1993. In the case of the NESC the legislation...