Results 24,701-24,720 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): World Economic Forum (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Apologies.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Strategic Communications Unit (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 17, inclusive, together. As part of the modernisation of Government communications there is greater use of social media. Four campaigns undertaken by the strategic communications unit in 2017 had an informational video component which was promoted on social media including YouTube, Facebook and Twitter at a total cost of €21,895. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Strategic Communications Unit (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have explained to Deputies before, in response to their concerns I have removed myself from any direct involvement in the work of the strategic communications unit, and that goes for funding, staffing, the placing of advertisements or tenders and so on. It is very much under the control of the Secretary General of my Department and the director of the unit. With regard to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Strategic Communications Unit (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I did check with my Secretary General yesterday. The provision of research and insight services was tendered and the award was given to Behaviours & Attitudes. As this work is still ongoing, the final results are not yet available. They will, however, be published in late spring as we previously committed to.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Measures (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has responsibility for the National Economic and Social Council (NESC). The NESC’s statutory basis is as a body under the framework of the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006. That framework is no longer necessary and Government has agreed that it should be dissolved and the NESC itself placed on a statutory footing. Work is under way to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Brexit Data (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department's International, EU and Northern Ireland Division is headed by a Second Secretary General who also acts as the Irish Sherpa for EU business, including Brexit issues. The total staffing resources of the Division, which are kept under ongoing review, currently amount to a whole-time equivalent of 23.3 staff across the full range of policy areas. This Division covers work on...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts Data (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has no contracts with the company in question.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Appointments to State Boards Data (7 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The specific information sought in relation to membership of other State boards or previous boards is not held in my Department. I appoint members to the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) under the National Economic and Social Development Office Act 2006 and the NESC (Alteration of Composition) Order 2010 - SI 603/ 2010. I also appoint members to the National Statistics Board under...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to look at that report again. It was published some time ago.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I would have to see the recommendations and remind myself of them and then respond to the Deputy. In terms of the substantive issue, everyone in this House, and certainly the Government, is very aware of the impact that rising rents are having on many people. In some cases they risk driving people into homelessness. In many cases people are required to pay a huge portion of their post-tax...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy acknowledged, the report was published five or six months ago. I am aware of and familiar with it, but, obviously, if I am to answer questions on specific recommendations made in a report published five or six months ago, I would like to actually read over it once again and see exactly-----

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has chosen to refer to a report published last September. I recall and I am familiar with it, but, obviously, if I am to be asked detailed questions about the recommendations made, I would like to have a opportunity to at least cast my eyes over the report again before speaking about it. In terms of substance and actions, I have already mentioned some of them. First, we have...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I assume most of those questions were rhetorical and therefore do not require an answer. I imagine there are plenty of landlords in Sinn Féin; there are certainly plenty of people in Sinn Féin who own multiple properties, as we all know. So I think that is a pretty cheap shot.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The purpose of the rent-pressure zones was to protect people in existing tenancies from big increases in their rent that may cause them to lose their homes. The majority of people who now rent in Ireland are covered by the rent-pressure zones and are seeing rent increases of 4% or less. There are, of course, exceptions to that, for example, in the case of substantial refurbishment and other...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The rent pressure zones are relatively new. We will need a series of data over more than a year and a bit to assure ourselves whether they are working. Let us not forget why they exist. The rent pressure zones are there to ensure we limit rent increases for those who are renting already - more than half of the people who are renting are now covered by them - and are not seeing rent...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----subletting on to other people who then pay much higher rates. Alternatively very rigid rent controls could result in builders being unwilling to build, and landlords being unwilling to rent out their properties and instead selling them on. Well-meaning measures can sometimes be very contradictory.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We need to ensure that any changes that we make are evidence-based.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think anyone in this House doubts the scale of the challenge we face with regard to housing and homelessness. I certainly acknowledge the scale of the challenge that we face. We see some limited progress. The number of people sleeping rough in the past couple of weeks has gone down as a consequence of the additional bedrooms put in by the Minister, Deputy Murphy, before Christmas....

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Rebuilding Ireland was never supposed to be a plan that would work in six months, nine months or one year. It is a multiannual plan to be funded in a five to six-year timeframe. The nature of a five or ten-year plan is such that it will not work after five or six months or one year. The Deputy asked why does the Government not just get building. That is exactly what we are doing. The...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is not quite correct to say model 2 hospitals are being starved of funding. I may be wrong about this but I believe every hospital, be it a model 3 or model 2 hospital, saw its budget increase last year and the year before. Therefore, the Deputy's statement is probably incorrect. I would imagine that the Minister, Deputy Harris, can provide the numbers to back me up. I have never...