Results 26,321-26,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In the meantime, it should not cause the DAA to defer its plans to begin construction on the new north runway, work on which which should begin immediately.

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I may quote the Deputy on that in the future. I may even include it in my leaflets, particularly those for consumption around the country. The announcement of 1,000 jobs by Amazon in Dublin is extraordinarily welcome. It is a real vote of confidence in the Irish economy. Realistically, jobs like those provided by major tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Google and so on will only...

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----400 by WuXi Biologics in Dundalk, and 600 by Edward Lifesciences in Limerick.

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have an example to give the Deputy in Roscommon, but-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----we are working on it.

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I know the Deputy will want to welcome the fact that unemployment in County Roscommon has fallen from 4,347 to 2,377. That must be welcomed.

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check that for the Deputy. I do not believe that is a legislative issue. If I recall correctly, we passed legislation, either during my time or that of the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, requiring people to bring their licences to court so that they could be taken off them. This is a problem around enforcement. What is required is...

Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure I agree with the Deputy's analysis. When these matters were solely controlled by local authorities and councils, there was no recycling and everything was dumped in landfills. I know all about it because the biggest dump was in my constituency. The Deputy's ideological analysis does not stand up to reason. The penalties under the Waste Management Act are substantial. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. I visited Northern Ireland on Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 June. I had a number of different engagements during my recent visit to Northern Ireland. This was part of my own and the Government's continuing commitment to stay engaged with all parts of society in Northern Ireland, notwithstanding the absence of functioning...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I share with Deputy Micheál Martin a deep concern that the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive are still not functioning. In order for them to function the two largest parties, namely, the DUP and Sinn Féin, will need to build trust and they will need to compromise. I know there were compromises but ultimately trust needs to be built. I have been involved...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: While I understand the terrible personal experience and the trauma that former Senator Cahill was put through, and I understand where the Stack family is coming from, Féile an Phobail is really not a Sinn Féin event, it is a community event in west Belfast. There are many Sinn Féin supporters involved in it. This is a part of Northern Ireland where Sinn Féin wins five...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is why we should not engage in something like that unless we knew that there would be a critical mass of people who feel themselves to be British, who are unionist or Protestant, who would be willing to participate in that, and I do not believe at the moment that is the case.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have given my view on that. I did in the North and in an op-ed. My view on this is very simple. Any right or freedom that an Irish citizen has in Ireland, any right or freedom that a British citizen has in Britain, should be enjoyed by Irish and British citizens in Northern Ireland and that applies to things like marriage equality and abortion rights. I have said that to Prime Minister...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I did not understand the Deputy's question.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No, I am not.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet committee E covers issues relating to the health service including health system reforms. The next meeting of this Cabinet committee has not yet been scheduled but last week I met the Ministers for Health and Finance, Deputies Harris and Donohoe, to discuss the Sláintecare implementation report. In addition to meetings of the full Cabinet and Cabinet committees, I meet with...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I would like to respond to Deputy Burton's remark about west Belfast. The phrase to which she referred was not a campaign slogan. It was a tweet.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It was a criticism of Sinn Féin's record in government and its poor delivery for communities that vote for it in large numbers. I am happy to clarify that it was not meant to be a criticism of west Belfast as a place or as a community. If I was doing it again, I would do it differently.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am apologising to anyone who was offended by it and believed it was a reference to the people and community of west Belfast, when it was actually a reference to Sinn Féin's poor performance in government in Northern Ireland and its failure to deliver for people in west Belfast.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Section 39 organisations are very varied. They range in size from small organisations that receive just €10,000 in State funding to major employers that receive most of their income from the HSE or the Department of Health. The staff of section 39 organisations are not employed by the State and do not receive public sector pensions. The various section 39 organisations approached...