Results 24,101-24,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: First, I did not mention the HAP scheme. That is a separate issue. None of the homes to which I referred would be in that space. To answer the Deputy's question, we will give full consideration to the proposal she is making in respect of the lands at Damastown. We will, of course, need to see the proposal, test it and see if the business plan stacks up, particularly the Deputy's claim...
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: Perhaps they want our airforce.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: In the interests of debate this is an important topic to discuss and I recommend that the Business Committee reconvene and agree adequate time for a debate. I am sure that can be agreed.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: It is not the norm that these things would go to a specific committee. I believe there should be adequate time to debate it in the Chamber.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I do not think so.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I would not support it if it cost €3 billion.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I would like to lead the House in paying tribute to the former Chief Justice, Thomas Finlay, who died at the weekend and was buried today. Over the course of 50 years he made an extraordinary contribution to the law in Ireland in a life devoted to public service. We should also remember that Mr. Justice Finlay served in the Dáil with great distinction in the 1950s. He was an eloquent...
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I cannot confirm at this stage whether it is covered by the Estimates but the Minister for Finance, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Simon Harris, are working through the issue. As is often the case, things are perhaps not as straightforward as they may appear. They discovered that some section 39 organisations reduced pay in line with the FEMPI legislation but...
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will be pleased to know that we are making good progress in this area. We agreed at Cabinet this morning to publish the heads of the Bill on deprivation of liberty. This was one of the next big steps to be taken to allow us to ratify the convention. Cabinet did not get all of its business done this morning so we will reconvene this afternoon. I anticipate that, as a...
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The matter is not yet settled but the Minister of State will be able to make a statement on the matter in the coming days.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I do not have any plans to change legislation in that regard but I share the Deputy's view. I dislike the practice of developers on a large scale buying out their commitment to providing social and affordable housing. I can understand why it might be done in an apartment building of five units or so but in general it is not a good practice.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: It might be a €1 million apartment. It would be better to get three houses than one €1 million apartment. Would it not?
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport is in Brussels attending an EU Council meeting but I will ensure that the message is passed on to him.
- Order of Business (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I have had time to reflect on it. I heard the arguments the Deputy made and saw the letter she sent to me. The Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and I have reflected on and discussed this and we agree that the Deputy is correct. Therefore, we are going to commission an independent senior counsel to carry out the review into why the emails were not sent to the tribunal....
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. Following the streamlining of the Cabinet committee structures earlier this year, Cabinet committee D was established to cover the areas of housing, climate action, infrastructure investment and delivery, including transport, the national planning framework and the ten-year capital plan. The committee last met on 23 November...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: On housing and homelessness which are not the same problem, although they are very much interlinked, we do have a plan and it is working, but it will take time and there will be setbacks. It is very similar to the unemployment crisis we faced five or six years ago, or the mortgage arrears crisis that we faced in recent years. If one puts in place the right policies, sticks by them and...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic and Social Council (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together. The National Economic and Social Council has played an important role over many decades in developing shared understanding between Government and other stakeholders on economic and social policy and, more recently, on sustainable development. Over the coming years, Ireland faces into a period of significant change at home and abroad that...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic and Social Council (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I will start towards the end of the questions on climate change and the NESC. One of the three themes that the council will pursue in its workplan through 2018 is climate change, especially the governance of low-carbon transition. I was asked about the actions the Government is taking. I agree we need to do far more than we are doing at present. The capital plan will contain many actions...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic and Social Council (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: I will ensure it is called something else. Windscale and Sellafield were different names for the same plant, albeit with many more safeguards. The Minister will also publicise other actions, particularly regarding price supports for solar power and other forms of renewable energy. On the National Economic and Social Development Office Bill, work is under way to prepare heads of the Bill...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic and Social Council (5 Dec 2017)
Leo Varadkar: Home Building Finance Ireland, HBFI, has not yet started but when it starts it will certainly not be a subsidy as Deputy Boyd Barrett described it. It is a loan and developers who receive development finance from HBFI will have to repay their loans with interest. Rather than being a subsidy, it will generate a return for taxpayers through cash repayments on the loans and a social return in...