Results 26,241-26,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I hope Deputy Micheál Martin will be talking to his councillors about it. I certainly will be talking to mine about it.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Elected members need to hold the executive to account. That is what elected members do.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Elected members in this Chamber hold me to account-----
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----and I would expect elected members on local authorities to hold their executive to account as well, not least in Donegal.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: On compliance, while our compliance rate has improved beyond measure in recent years, our system is far from perfect and it would seem that a certain minority continues to feel that flouting the law is worth the risk. Enforcement is beginning to pay dividends and several important environmental and criminal outcomes in the past year represent a roadmap to put potential illegitimate waste...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Waste management is an executive function of local authorities but it is the role of elected members to hold the executive to account. Those of us in politics who have served as councillors or Deputies should be well aware that it is the role of elected members to hold the executive to account. It is also the role of elected members to set the budget for waste management and enforcement and...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----and indeed any party of any responsibility whatever for holding the executive to account or making decisions on budgetary allocations. We have local government in this country and it should not always pass the buck to others.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: On the issue of an inquiry, while I would give consideration to an inquiry, as the Deputy rightly pointed out, he calls for an inquiry every week in this House. We cannot always set up inquiries.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I will, however, give consideration to an inquiry in discussion with the Minister, Deputy Naughten. I am informed by the Department that all of the cases raised in the programme last night are either under investigation or have been closed already.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: With regard to facilitating the two Ministers to come before the House, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will take questions this week. It is a matter for the Business Committee to decide whether it can make time available for other Ministers.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The report does not deal with matters before the disclosures tribunal. It was, however, prompted by issues being dealt with by the tribunal. The Government accepts the report that was approved by the Cabinet today. Tusla accepts the report which will be implemented in full and its representatives will be before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs this week to...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The report catalogues failures and enormous shortcomings in Tusla and in child protection. The Deputy is right that these are often problems that we have known about for some time. It is a major job and effort to do the transformation that has occurred in recent years. We cannot make these improvements soon enough, but I will give the Deputy an idea of where we have come from in only...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the two very grave matters of road safety and drug related deaths. We are aware that the number of deaths on the roads and related to illegal drug use runs into hundreds each year. One death is one too many, with people being struck down long before they should be, often in their 20s, 30s, 40s or 50s. The number of road deaths has fallen considerably in the...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that this is something that Government is very aware of and something that Government is very concerned about. The Deputy is right to say that the political will to bring about a reduction in road deaths made a big difference. Although the phenomenality around road traffic deaths and deaths related to drug use is very different, it required some similar things. It...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I look forward to seeing the outcome of the Oireachtas committee's work. I hope that will be done on an all-party basis and not on a partisan basis. We are much more likely to see it produce a valuable outcome if it adopts an all-party, consensual approach rather than an adversarial or prosecutorial one. I hope it will start in that vein. Tomorrow, the Minister, Deputy Naughten and I,...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----to power our electricity system. The phasing out of peat subsidies is under way. Peat is a very dirty fuel and burning that contributes considerably to climate change. We are also going to see real, substantial investment in transport now that we can afford to do it, with things like the electrification of more of the commuter rail network around Dublin, Kildare, Meath, Wicklow and...
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: First, I hope the Deputy will examine the plan and the proposals that are being launched tomorrow, before concluding that they are not enough.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Generally, that is the approach people take to these things. They examine the facts and look at the plans and then a decision is made as to whether they agree with them.
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: In relation to some of the legislation that is currently before-----
- Leaders' Questions (19 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Thank you, a Cheann Comhairle. In relation to some of the legislation that is currently before Oireachtas committees, I am told that the Oireachtas Committee on Communication, Climate Action and Environment will be discussing the energy security issue in light of the Solidarity-PBP Bill to ban offshore oil and gas exploration.