Results 26,021-26,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Operations (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Rosslare currently has no development plan in place. We contacted the owner, Irish Rail, specifically to ask if there were any plans to upgrade that port, and unfortunately there are none. We may need to work on that. The fact that it is owned and controlled by Irish Rail is a difficulty because Irish Rail tends to see it as a port that generates revenue for that company, rather than a...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have established an implementation group on Seanad reform, having consulted with other party leaders, to consider the Manning report and develop specific proposals to legislate for Seanad Reform. The implementation group comprises Members of the Oireachtas with the assistance of outside experts, as appropriate. The group held its first meeting on 9 May 2018 and is due to report back in...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In regard to the size of the committee, I note that it has a maximum membership of 26 but it only has 22 people nominated to it. It does seem like a lot, and it is a lot, but it is actually not much greater than the number of people sitting around the Cabinet table. It may not be as huge as it seems to people, but it is a large number. The reason for that is twofold. First, every group...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps for next year's budget, we could just give the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission its budget, and give it delegated sanction-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to decide whether to have fewer people at a higher grade or more people at a lower grade as it sees fit. Yes, I will certainly do that. I will convene the party leaders over the next couple of weeks to discuss all those reform issues.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 6, inclusive, together. My Department, as outlined in the strategy statement, provides support services for the Taoiseach and the Government, including the independent Members of Government, through the Government secretariat, the parliamentary liaison unit, the programme for Government office and the Cabinet committee structure to ensure that...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The current practice is that all Ministers get advance copies of memos. They are put on eCabinet or provided in writing in advance. The exception is if a memo is secret and on occasion there are secret memos or a memo that is commercially sensitive, for example, an IDA grant or contract that is brought to the table or brought underarm as people describe it. That is done on a case-by-case...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In the meantime, the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, is taking on the role of de-facto Whip of the Independent Alliance and he is now representing the Independent Alliance on the Business Committee. Previously that function had been carried out by Deputy Canney. There is no written or formal agreement with Deputy Canney but he is continuing to support the Government and we assist him as...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: He is. He has a relationship with the Ministers, Deputies Naughten and Zappone-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----as part of that arrangement.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think anybody could describe the members of that group as having been roped into the Government. They almost all vote against us. They are Independents and they take different views on things.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important there would always be lines of communication between the Government and different groups in the Parliament. As the Deputy knows, there is a very strong line of communication between the Government and Fianna Fáil.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, has a role in my Department. I have delegated almost all functions relating to defence to him. The role of the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, within the Department relates to data protection.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I last met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the 4 January 2018 and reported extensively on this meeting in the Dáil on the 31 January 2018. I have not met with him formally since then, although we both attended the Informal EU Summit and High Level Conference on the Sahel in Brussels in February, the March European Council and the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia last week.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 80 together. My Department has no contracts with the company in question. The National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) is the only body under the remit of my Department, and it has no contracts with the company in question either.

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The people have indeed spoken in what was a great act of democracy. A very clear majority, more than two thirds of Irish people, voted to amend our Constitution, to remove the eighth amendment and to put a new clause into our Constitution;13 new words that enable us to legislate for abortion in Ireland so that it is legal, safe and, it is to be hoped, rare. It was a resounding result and...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There were two scenarios - the referendum being carried or it not being carried. If it had not been carried, obviously there would be no legislation at all. Now that it has been carried, legislation can be introduced. A lot of work was put into the general scheme that was published in March. The planning at the time will make it much easier for the Department of Health and the Attorney...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The people's decision was loud and clear. We in this Government and this House have heard what they had to say; we want a modern Constitution for a modern people, a Constitution that says we trust women and respect their decisions and choices when it comes to their own healthcare. It is now our responsibility as a Government and Parliament to give effect to the will of the people. The...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is something we will need to talk about on a cross-party basis. We need to be honest and clear about this. It would be the same people working on that legislation. It would be the same Parliament and the same Oireachtas time that would be used up. It would be the same health committee that would have to sit in session and the legislation would have to go to the Seanad as well. The...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, will meet party spokespeople tomorrow to discuss this. He only got the result of the referendum on Saturday and approval from Cabinet this morning. He is acting quickly in this regard and will meet the spokespeople tomorrow to discuss a way forward. The Deputy's analysis is correct. There will be a lacuna, a gap period, between the point at which...