Results 26,201-26,220 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The important milestones are not those which appear on a calendar but rather what is achieved along the way. I am very proud to have been part of a Government in the past year that has successfully brought about a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment and which has at long last ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It has brought employment to record levels. It has balanced the books, improved living standards and reduced income inequality, poverty and deprivation.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As the hecklers rightly point out, there is always more to do and housing is one of those particular areas in which there is very much more to do. The Deputy mentioned a legal right to housing and it is currently being considered by the all-party finance committee. I very much have an open mind on this but as the Deputy rightly indicates, 81 countries not only have a statutory right to...

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is more than any year in the past ten. ESB connections are also up 30% and employment in the construction sector is up 14%.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This year we will add between 7,000 and 8,000 new social homes to our social housing stock, more than any year in the past ten.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We have a long way to go yet. We are catching up on a seven-year period during which almost no new homes were built, and we know why that was. I do not need to give people-----

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----a history lesson as to how it came about. We are finally starting to catch up and are starting to see that now in the figures. However, the Deputy is absolutely right that we have much more to do and it will take many more years to do it.

Leaders' Questions (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly give the Deputy's suggestion consideration. I know the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has met with Ms Farha. At the time, she had not had the chance to read Rebuilding Ireland, so perhaps, as part of that engagement, we could get her views on Rebuilding Ireland. She certainly said a whole-of-government approach is needed. If I recall correctly, when I...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Section 4 of the Civil Liability (Amendment) Act, which was just passed last November, is due to be commenced this month, in June. I will have to check with the Minister for Justice and Equality if it is still on schedule but I have not heard otherwise. It is necessary to do more than pass laws. Open disclosure requires guidelines for staff and training. This is why a commencement order...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Who? The doctors or the-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Who is CervicalCheck?

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: An institution cannot tell patients; it must be a person.

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government commits to improve our mental health services and increase capacity in this area. The mental health budget now stands at over €900 million, up €200 million since 2011. The current focus when it comes to child and adult mental health services is on two things. First is the recruitment of 114 assistant psychologists and 22 staff psychologists for...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to come back to the Deputy on that matter. We already have an industrial relations Act which provides for the recognition of unions in various circumstances. As I am not sure about the particular aspect of the convention to which the Deputy referred, I will reply to the Deputy by correspondence.

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important that we have those data as soon as possible because they are at the crux of several issues. The two key issues are those of open disclosure and why that did not happen properly and whether the laboratories were up to standard. We need answers to both of those questions and I am keen that we have them as soon as possible. It is one of the modules under the Scally inquiry....

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: However, it is important to bear in mind that there is a separate piece of work being done by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the British Society for Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology. They are looking at every individual smear test, each slide of the women affected, to try to determine where abnormalities were missed and whether they were abnormalities that should...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The answer to the Deputy's question is "No". As is often the case, the Deputy is out of date and misinformed. The number of gardaí has increased by 600. There are 600 more gardaí in the force since the start of 2017, since this Government came to office. We are on target to meet our objective of increasing the size of the Garda force to its highest ever, 21,000, including...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have the figures for Laois-Offaly to hand but I do appreciate that there are people in those counties-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and many others who are waiting far too long to access therapies. We have a recruitment programme under way for additional occupational therapists, physiotherapists and speech and language therapists but we know from the bitter experience of recent years that more staff and more resources often does not make much of a difference. We need systems change as well. Part of the systems...

Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am having that matter examined at the moment. I appreciate that the Deputy raised it with me a few weeks ago and I share his concerns about it. There has been an increase in resources for home care this year. I am not clear yet whether additional demand has exceeded the additional supply or whether it is a problem of recruitment. I understand that, in some areas, it has been difficult...