Results 24,501-24,520 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Who owns the land?

Order of Business (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy should telephone or write to it. I can make inquiries for him, but I do not have information on Shannon Properties.

Order of Business (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am not properly informed on the matter. For my own education, I will ask for a note on it from the Minister for Health and ensure it is passed on to the Deputies.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. On 21 December last I travelled to Lebanon to visit members of the Defence Forces serving with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL. The purpose of my visit was to demonstrate Government support for the UNIFIL mission and the Defence Forces serving overseas and also for me to gain a better understanding of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I wish to restate what a privilege it was to visit our troops in Lebanon. Next year will be the 40th anniversary of Irish participation in Lebanon, with a small gap. A total of 32,000 Irish people have served in Lebanon, which is a huge number. Almost everyone knows somebody who has served in "the Leb" at some stage. What they have managed to do in south Lebanon is to allow people living...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 11, inclusive, together. Cabinet committee D has met twice, on 12 September 2017 and 23 November 2017. It is scheduled to meet again on 1 February 2018. As I previously indicated, Cabinet committee D was established to cover the areas of housing, climate action, infrastructure investment and delivery, the national planning framework and the ten-year...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy O'Reilly asked about Cabinet committee D. We did not discuss any proposed gagging clause for service providers. That matter did not go before the committee. Certainly, it is not something I would agree with. At the same time, though, I expect public money to be spent on services and not on other things. The Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, in line with...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is appropriate, in line with Government rules, to carry out an audit of how the money was spent to ensure the money is spent on providing services for people and not duplicating other activities. I have not had a chance to read the Oireachtas committee report yet but the Government will examine the report and provide a reasoned response. All of us, through our constituency work, will...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We have not yet set a date for the publication of the capital plan and no decision has been made on the public private partnerships, PPP, rule.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have an update on Carillion, except to note that the National Development Finance Agency and the Department of Education and Skills are working to resolve the matter as quickly as possible. I heard a radio report this morning on children and teachers who are very keen to get into their new school and we are keen to make that happen as soon as possible. On Home Building Finance...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This vehicle will not cost us anything. We will make a profit out of it because the developers will have to repay the full loans with interest, which is much different from grants. In the meantime, the developers will use the money to build houses and homes and increase the supply of all forms of housing at all different price levels, which is what we should be doing. LIHAF, the local...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It took me 75 minutes to travel into the city. It was not as bad last week.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure the problem has been caused by the Luas. As Deputy Burton stated, additional Luas carriages will come on stream in March. Much of the reason for the increase in traffic is that the economy has bounced back. It is recovering and expanding and there are more and more people working, which will require much more investment in public transport, particularly in the city of Dublin....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thought I was finished.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 21, inclusive, together. I travelled to Budapest on 4 January for a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán and onwards to Sofia on 5 January to meet Prime Minister Boyko Borisov. I was accompanied on both visits by the Minister of State with responsibility for European affairs, Deputy Helen McEntee. The meeting with Prime Minister...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee E last met on 23 November.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committees are used to ensure a whole-of-Government, coordinated approach on issues, as necessary. They often allow for more in-depth examination of issues in advance of consideration by the full Cabinet. Cabinet Committee C assists Government in its ongoing consideration of Brexit, as well as other EU issues. It is also of use in the context of my participation as a member of the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee F last met on 9 November 2017 and that meeting was attended by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade; Justice and Equality; Communications, Climate Action and Environment; Housing, Planning and Local Government; and the Minister of State for Defence. Also in attendance were key personnel from the Defence Forces and an Garda Síochána together with a number of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Public Private Partnerships Data (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is not engaged in any public private partnerships.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: World Economic Forum (30 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 115 to 122, inclusive, together. I attended the 2018 Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland from 24 to 26 January. I was accompanied by a small delegation from my Department, including my Chief of Staff, the Secretary General of the Department, the Government Press Secretary, my Private Secretary, and a Security Officer from An...