Results 26,061-26,080 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Transport (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Responsibility for Ministerial transport rests with the Department of Justice and Equality. Since 2011 each Minister now uses their own personal car and can avail of two civilian drivers. As Taoiseach, I am provided with Garda transport and drivers for security reasons. No Minister of State assigned to my Department is provided with Garda transport.

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We all agree that this is a very difficult issue which needs to be handled with the utmost sensitivity. We are opening another dark chapter of our history. These are events which took place 50 and 70 years ago when Ireland was a very different place. It seems like a foreign country to the one it is today. Nevertheless, we must acknowledge these matters and deal with them as best we can....

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My apologies for not answering that earlier. The primary purpose of the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2016 is to provide an adopted person with a statutory right to apply for his or her birth certificate and information about his or her adoption order. A further aim of the Bill is to give adopted persons, birth parents and relatives a statutory right to an information and tracing...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We use the terms "incorrect or illegal registrations" rather than "illegal adoptions" because technically these were not adoptions at all, but perhaps that is splitting hairs and not the most relevant point at this stage. Deputy McDonald is correct that this is not something new. We have known that this practice existed in the past. We suspect that it was quite commonplace. Journalists,...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is right. Language is very important. It is very important that we do not minimise this in any way in the language we use. It is also important that we be sensitive. In the coming weeks and months people are going to find out information about themselves and the people who they believe are their birth parents and it will be very difficult for everyone. Even the parents who...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On the audit of records, I answered that question, as did the Minister, Deputy Katharine Zappone. I have also answered the question about the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill. On giving an assurance about the passage of the Bill through the House, I can offer no such assurance as we do not have a majority in the Dáil or the Seanad. We are seeing other legislation being held up...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps the best way to progress the further passage of the Bill is for the Minister, Deputy Zappone, to meet with spokespeople in the coming days to see if we can resolve some of the issues. There are a number of quite complex technical issues and the Minister would be very willing to brief spokespeople on them. Tusla already operates an adoption information and tracing service and does it...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have said in response to others, the Deputy is absolutely right in his second point. As Fergus Finlay said this morning, this does not come as a surprise because people have been aware of illegal registrations and illegal adoptions in Ireland for a very long time, perhaps longer than 20 years. The number of people who participated in it, often the receiving parents, must add up to tens...

Leaders' Questions (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The new National Maternity Hospital will be paid for by the State and will be owned by the State. It will be paid for by the people and it will belong to the people. That is not the case for the current National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street so there will be a significant change for the better in that regard. I do not know about the issue of indemnity but we have all the records. It...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I understand there is a dispute about the facts here. CervicalCheck believed that the information had been passed on to the patients because it had been passed on to their treating clinicians. We know now that in most cases the information was not passed on, but it was in some, whereas the State Claims Agency asserts that it was informed that the information had been passed on to all...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, you do.

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Flanagan, was in touch with me this morning. He cannot be here as he is attending a conference but he mentioned to me that the Deputy might raise this matter and asked me to pass on two messages. Essentially, he is very supportive of the Bill. The Government believes it is a very good Bill and it is keen to work with the Deputy to have it enacted. The Minister has...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I extend my sympathies to the family of Shane O'Farrell who have suffered such a terrible loss arising from the road traffic incident in 2011. We all know that his tragic loss of life could have been prevented and he would still be with us today had some avoidable errors and events not happened. We are also aware, sadly, that no investigation can bring Shane back. A Garda...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Often these investigations take time, and public inquiries and commissions of investigation also take many years.

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Often they do not produce-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----the results or the outcome that people may want. We know this experience also. I understand that the investigation is now complete and the report has been received by the O'Farrell family, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Garda Commissioner. GSOC intends to publish its report in the coming days. It is appropriate to allow this to happen so that people can read it...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to determine whether there were breaches of the Garda-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----disciplinary code.

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that Sláintecare is Government policy but it does require an implementation plan. It lacked such a plan and the Minister and the Government have been working on this for quite some time. I also assure Deputy Harty that the greatest vested interests in healthcare are not the HSE or the Department of Health. We can talk about this another time if the Deputy wishes. ...

Questions on Promised Legislation (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Project Ireland 2040 sets aside €10 billion for investment in healthcare, building, equipment and ICT. These are just ten examples of implementation that are happening.