Results 26,101-26,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Requests (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together. To the end of April this year my Department received 206 freedom of information, FOI, requests. Of these, 121 were granted or part granted, 12 were refused and no records were held in relation to 25 requests. Six requests were withdrawn or handled outside FOI, one request was transferred to another public sector body and 41...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Requests (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No single person in the Department of the Taoiseach makes all decisions on freedom of information requests that are received. When such requests are received, they are assigned to the relevant section of the Department. Staff deal with requests in addition to their normal duties. The functions of general examination and primary decision-making have been delegated to assistant principal...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Requests (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know who knew. I did not know. I honestly do not know who knew. I guarantee the Deputy that I was much too busy with the referendum.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Requests (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Possibly, but not to my knowledge. We were all pretty busy with the referendum, as the Deputy can imagine.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to answer Questions Nos. 10 to 13, inclusive, together. There are no understandings of the nature suggested by the questions with any particular Independent Deputies. A Programme for a Partnership Government sets out the agreement between the party groups and the Deputies who are participating in or supporting the Government.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have informed the House before, there are no written or formal agreements with Independents. There is a commitment in the confidence and supply agreement with Fianna Fáil to publish any written agreement. As there are no written agreements, there is, therefore, none to be published. I noted Deputy Micheál Martin's remark about precedents which I do not think are quite...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy referred to something as being unprecedented. The precedent was a very strange one - a private written agreement between a Fianna Fáil-led Government and Independent Deputies which was not published or released under FOI legislation on the basis that it was an agreement with Fianna Fáil, not the Government. I assure the Ceann Comhairle that I would not engage in that...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That does not constitute a deal.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Often for one reason or another, it is not possible to assist, but if it is, we certainly try to do so. In many ways, that courtesy is often extended to Independent Members who do not support the Government. If we can provide them with assistance, we do. Even members of Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin come to the Government to raise particular issues. On the confidence and supply-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I understand Deputy Michael Lowry also supported a Fianna Fáil-led Government in the past.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Agreements with Members (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The confidence and supply agreement states it will be up for review at the end of 2018. We are in the middle of 2018, not quite at the end of it, but that date is approaching and not very far away. There has not been any discussion on renewing it, although I have expressed my opinion that, as is the case with any agreement, it should not just drop dead one day. If it to be extended, it...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 19 to 21, inclusive, together. I travelled to Sofia, Bulgaria, where I participated in an Informal EU Summit on the evening of 16 May, and the EU-Western Balkans Summit on 17 May. The Informal Summit on 16 May was chaired by President Tusk and focused on innovation and the digital economy and possible future EU actions to promote investment in...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 25, 29 and 30 together. I met with Prime Minister May on the margins of the EU-Western Balkans summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 May. We discussed current developments in relation to Brexit and the ongoing efforts to assist the parties in Northern Ireland to re-establish the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. Prime Minister May told me that she expects...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (30 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are currently 209.5 whole time equivalent staff working in my Department. This compares to a figure of 203.5 whole time equivalent staff on 31 December 2017.

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. As he is aware, a court case on this matter is under way and even today there are negotiations on the possibility of settling the case to the satisfaction of consultants and the Government which, of course, is tasked with protecting taxpayers' money and money that should be going towards providing a better health service for patients. This case is active and negotiations...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and had no particular issue with it as it was being done to gather evidence to support the HSE's counterclaim relating to consultants not compliant with their contract.

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Philip Lee wrote unexpectedly to the Office of the Chief State Solicitor on 6 April seeking confirmation that this approach was appropriate. Both the Departments of Health and Public Expenditure and Reform confirmed it was appropriate and that it should continue. There was, however, no Cabinet decision on the matter. A letter to that effect issued from the Department of Health on 19 April...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: "RTÉ Investigates" did the country a service by using private investigators to follow some of these consultants who were in breach of their contract. A consultant or anybody working in the public service receives taxpayers' money-----

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: They receive public money that they are supposed to use in the interests of patients, students in schools and the people they are supposed to look after. Any person in breach of a contract such as a consultant moonlighting in a private hospital when he or she is supposed to be working in a public hospital is damaging the interests of patients who are not seen and is also taking money from...

Leaders' Questions (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have no reason to have any concern that patient data were compromised in any way.