Results 24,821-24,840 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I refer to the decisions we had to make to pare back budgets and we know why those decisions were made.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It was because a different party and Government had driven the country over the cliff and bankrupted the State. As a result, major reductions had to be made in capital spending.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We now have an opportunity to put that right and re-initiate some of the projects. I was interested to hear Deputy Eamon Ryan tell us what should have been done ten years ago. I wonder who was in government ten years ago.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: All of those things could have been done. Deputy Eamon Ryan also indicated that I had said people were jealous. I did not say anyone was jealous. He also misquoted Mr. Edgar Morgenroth. It may be that he is once again hearing things and forgetting the fact that he was a member of the Government ten years ago. Deputy Brendan Howlin asked about legislation. The legislation to which he...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government tells me that the new national planning framework, NPF, can be placed on a statutory footing and that a motion on it was sent to the Oireachtas joint committee where it was not opposed and no vote was called on it. The committee made a submission which is being considered by the Minister. Much of it has been taken on board and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): National Development Plan (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On rail services, I am not in a position to make announcements today. Decisions will be made on Friday and then announced. Speaking as a former transport Minister and somebody who is interested in the issue, especially railways, heavy railways, in particular, are very expensive to build and once they are built, if they do not carry significant passenger numbers, they are very expensive to...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together. The Government published its latest progress report on A Programme for a Partnership Government on 19 December. The report sets out the most recent progress made across all of government in implementing the commitments in the programme and includes measures that were announced in budget 2018 as well. Some of the main areas of progress...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On Brexit, while I do not like to state the obvious, sometimes it may be necessary to do so. Brexit is not our policy. We opposed it at the time and we are still opposed to it. It is a decision of the British people and their Government and it is not under the control of this Government, any future Government or the House to tell the British Government and people what to do. However, we...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Sinn Féin just did if Deputy Martin wants to check the blacks.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In terms of the Copenhagen Economics report, it does not quite say what Deputy Martin Kenny indicated it says. It tells us that Brexit will be bad for Ireland and the economy. I do not believe we needed another report to tell us that but this report helps to quantify the issue. It does not say there will be a new recession or economic crisis or that anyone's pay will be cut. What it says...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am in the hands of Deputies.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The questions come so quickly, I do not have time to write all of them down but I take a note of as many as I can. To respond to some of the questions on housing, the Minister seated beside me, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has indicated that if there are particularly sensitive individual cases specifically involving pregnant women, there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No, nor did she tell me about any of the other speeches.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said, it is undoubtedly the case that the United Kingdom leaving the European Union involves divergence. It would not be leaving the European Union otherwise. We want to focus on ensuring we have as much convergence as possible, or maintaining alignment on economic issues and issues relating to trade.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The full alignment refers to Northern Ireland and it does not refer to the entire United Kingdom. I suspect that when Mr. Johnson was making his speech, he had the United Kingdom and perhaps only England in mind rather than Northern Ireland. Maintaining full alignment in the backstop in paragraphs 49 and 50 only refers to-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It only refers to Northern Ireland from our perspective. Even when it refers to both ways, it is between Northern Ireland and Britain; it is alignment between Northern Ireland and the European Union, of which Ireland is part, and alignment between Northern Ireland and Britain. It is a reference to Northern Ireland and not the entire United Kingdom. On the Luas cross city project, it is...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Gender Recognition (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The delivery of effective, quality customer service is a priority for my Department and forms an integral part of my Department's Strategy Statement, Corporate Governance Framework and the business plans of individual Divisions within the Department. While my Department is primarily engaged in policy development and does not have the same level of contact with citizens as other Departments,...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Data Protection (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is working to ensure it is well prepared for the implementation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May. A Data Protection Officer (DPO) has been appointed and Divisions throughout the Department are currently reviewing what personal data is received and how it is managed and stored by the Department. We are also seeking to identify any gaps in the...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Micheál Martin and the Fianna Fáil Party for raising this issue. I know there is considerable concern about it at the moment. It is important to put some facts on the table before we begin this discussion. First, Permanent TSB has not yet sold any of these loans. It has not yet put them on the market and it has not found a buyer. There is an assumption that the...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to acknowledge that there is a range of protections already in place for mortgage holders and borrowers. For example, even if a loan is sold on, the full contractual rights are retained and follow on to the new owner. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 was designed to protect borrowers whose loans are sold on to unregulated entities....