Results 27,101-27,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As is always the case with major capital investment, there is a lag time in delivery. Even when new carriages are ordered, it can take two to three years for them to come.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I apologise if I misunderstood the Deputy's question but I think it refers to pension funds that involve companies. The State has no role in increasing occupational pensions paid by companies.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising that question. The Minster of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Michael D'Arcy, is doing a lot of work to bring down the cost of insurance for people and business. I understand that legislation is going through the House. I do not have an exact date but I will check it out and get back to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government Information Service (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. Following the review conducted by the Secretary General earlier in the year, it was agreed that the Department should go with a reformed Government Information Service, GIS, model, with a smaller budget, fewer staff and a more limited remit. Accordingly, the budget has been reduced by 50%. The staff numbers have been reduced by four. In...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government Information Service (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No studies or analyses have been commissioned that I am aware of but I will certainly give the Deputy's suggestion some consideration. It might be a useful exercise. Creative Ireland and the UN Security Council campaigns are not run out of my Department or funded by it. With regard to the UN Security Council campaign more broadly, it obviously has different aspects. There is traditional...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together. The leaking of some information from the Scally report before the women and families most affected could be briefed was wrong. The report concerned a very sensitive issue touching on the lives of women, some of whom are very ill, and of families, some of whom are grieving after a devastating bereavement. The leaking of this...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: At the outset it is important to state that the report document was not leaked. None of the recommendations appeared in the press, nor did any of the findings. What appeared in the press in advance was one aspect of the report, which was that it was Dr. Scally's opinion that a commission of inquiry was not warranted. None of the recommendations or findings was leaked, only the aspect...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has quite a history in the past couple of years of engaging in innuendo and making allegations against people that in some cases turn out to be false. If he has any evidence that any individual, politician, adviser, civil servant or anybody associated with Dr. Scally or his team put this information in the public domain by talking to journalists, I ask him to present that...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has broken the rules enough. He should withdraw-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I did not say it was a disgusting investigation. I said that to leak it was a disgusting thing to do.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Secretary to the Government is leading the investigation. 4 o’clock Deputy Martin has a really long history of making false allegations in this House against people-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and of pursuing innuendo and conspiracy theories.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin's constant charge against me relates to spin because he has no case against us when it comes to substance.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My charge against him is that he is obsessed with innuendo and conspiracy theories.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: You are.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Medical Inquiries (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin has all sorts of conspiracy theories about that too.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 9, inclusive, together. Cabinet sub-committee B last met on 22 October. The sub-committee covers the areas of social policy and public service reform, including education, children, social inclusion, Irish, arts and culture, and continued improvements and reform of the public service. The Cabinet committee system aims to ensure a co-ordinated...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I take some of the points made by Deputy Moynihan in his contribution. I am not sure that I fully understood the question. If the Deputy wants to come back with a supplementary question I would be happy to try to answer it again, once I understand the question. With regard to Deputy Boyd Barrett's comments, I acknowledge the shortcomings, challenges and failures that exist in our public...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On higher education specifically, the budget provides for an increase of between €50 million and €60 million next year. This is funded by an increase of 0.1% in employers' PRSI. That comes on top of a similar increase last year. We have also identified a super surplus of approximately €300 million in the national training fund. That money will also be available to our...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What actually matters is the outcomes and delivery for patients and students. If it was just about spending more money our problems would be very easy to solve. Of course it is about much more than that. Picking up on Deputy O'Reilly's question on the schools, of course what is paramount for us is the safety of students and staff. It is going to be necessary to inspect approximately 40...