Results 26,281-26,300 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, it would be much easier to find replies. I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 8, inclusive, together. On Monday, 28 May, I met the Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Lee Nak-yeon, in Government Buildings. This was the first visit by a South Korean Prime Minister to Ireland since 1990, and an opportunity to discuss strengthening bilateral relations between our two...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The meeting with the Prime Minister of South Korea was a good meeting. We now have an EU-Korea Free Trade Agreement in place which has been very successful and has helped us to increase trade between the two countries. The Republic of Korea is now the ninth largest trading country in the world and offers considerable opportunities for Ireland, particularly in the context of the free trade...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No. Those ESRI projections do not relate to social housing. They relate to total house builds.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is mistaken about the content of both the capital plan and the ESRI report, unfortunately.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: If the Deputy put down a question on it that would help. I do not think cannabis was the question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 14, inclusive, and 99 together. On Monday, 11 June I launched Global Ireland,the Government's strategy to double the scope and impact of Ireland's global footprint by 2025. This represents the most ambitious renewal and expansion of Ireland’s international presence ever undertaken. Investing in our international presence in this way will enable...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It does not appear in the document, as published, but Global Ireland 2025 is costed. I gave the figure at the launch event. The plan is costed at €300 million. That is not in one year. That is €300 million increasing incrementally every year until it reaches €300 million in 2027. The expenditure will not necessarily be exactly one eighth of the total every year, if...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is a target to double our exports to the eurozone. There is a target to double the number of international students studying in Ireland. There is a specific target around tourism to treble the revenue coming from the new markets in the Gulf and Asia. I do not think Deputies need to be concerned about implementation. This is something that I am going to drive. My Department and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have said before, I favour the politics of engagement rather than the politics of boycott or the politics of no platform. It is better to engage with people one disagrees with than to refuse to speak to them. If we are to get any outcome at all or any positive result, it is best done through engagement. We all have to talk to people all the time with whom we do not necessarily agree-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----or with whom we radically disagree on occasion. Deputy Boyd Barrett asked about the decriminalisation of cannabis. Canada has voted to do that and it plans to do it by next September. I am aware that a number of US states have legalised cannabis, all the way down the west coast in places such as Oregon, Washington state and Colorado. The predictions from those who opposed the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Global Footprint Initiative (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is being worked on by the Minister for Health. The Cannabis for Medicinal Use Regulation Bill 2016 was rejected at the Joint Committee on Health which decided the proposed legislation was not fit for purpose and should not go forward. Amendments have been promised, but the last time I checked with the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, the amendments that had been promised from the...

Apology for Persons Convicted of Consensual Same-Sex Sexual Acts: Motion (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I move:That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that the laws repealed in the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act 1993 that criminalised consensual sexual activity between men:— were improperly discriminatory, contrary to human dignity and an infringement of personal privacy and autonomy; — caused multiple harms to those directly and indirectly affected, namely men who engaged...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Freedom of Information Requests (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Up to the end of May this year my Department received 254 freedom of information requests. Of these, 152 requests were granted or part granted, 15 requests were refused and no records were held in relation to 28 requests. 10 requests were withdrawn or handled outside FOI and one request was transferred to another Department. 48 requests were ongoing at the end May and will be decided upon...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The review of the Operation of the Strategic Communications Unit was accepted by Government on 27th March last and published on the same date. This is now being implemented. In accordance with the report, a managed reversion to a more traditional GIS model is underway. Actions taken so far include staff reductions and a cut to the budget by €2.5 million. Further measures outlined...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have previously indicated to the House on 23 May 2018, Cabinet Committee D last met on 1February 2018. The date of the next meeting of the Committee is being finalised. Cabinet Committee D covers infrastructure investment and delivery, housing, and climate action and provides political oversight in relation to Project Ireland 2040. Significant work is underway across each of these...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 87 to 94, inclusive, together. I visited Northern Ireland on Thursday and Friday 7th and 8th of June. I had a number of different engagements during my visit, which was part of my and the Government's continuing commitment to remain engaged with all parts of society in Northern Ireland, notwithstanding the absence of functioning political institutions there....

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Partnership Government sets out the agreement between the Party Groups and Deputies who are participating in/or supporting the Government. 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...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are no contracts with the Strategic Communications Unit. The Strategic Communications Unit is not a contracting authority. The Department has a number of contracts for communications related services. These will continue to be availed on in the future by GIS.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has employed the services of the company in question on four occasions during the period January 2016 to date, as detailed in the table: Year Company Amount 2016 Citizens' Assembly - Call for submissions on the Eighth Amendment. €4,746.81 Advertisement regarding process for nomination of a person by the Government to the Office of Chief Justice. €3,118.53...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Websites (19 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department updates the websites www.taoiseach.ie and www.merrionstreet.ie with all relevant Government statements, speeches by Ministers, and other Government publications. The process for updating the websites is managed by staff in the Government Information Service and is based on Divisions within the Department providing material for publication and then agreeing the formatting and...