Results 27,241-27,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to record what this Oireachtas has done. In the past couple of months, we have passed and enacted new domestic violence legislation and gender-based violence legislation. That will enable us to sign the Istanbul Convention on domestic violence and gender-based violence. In terms of services for the Rape Crisis Network, as the Deputy will be aware, Tusla is the funder of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am very sorry to hear that lady's operation was cancelled. It must be particularly distressing if a patient is travelling a long distance or if he or she has been psyched up for a procedure or has to fast for a prolonged period. What the Deputy mentioned does happen. Operations are regularly cancelled, unfortunately, where overcrowding occurs in hospitals. That is done for good reasons....

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and also moving more procedures to quieter periods, such as weekends, when hospitals are less likely to be overcrowded.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Finance Bill proposes tax breaks for all workers - 1.5 million of them - as did the previous Finance Bill and the one before it.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: For the average household, that has resulted in a reduced universal social charge and reduced income tax of approximately €1,500 per year. That is the equivalent of a monthly rent or mortgage payment for most individuals in our society.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Mary Lou McDonald's proposal is to give a tax break only to renters. She proposes to do nothing for people struggling with mortgages or people who are living with their parents and struggling to raise money for a deposit. She proposes nothing for people who perhaps own a home already but who are struggling with other bills, such as bills for childcare. That is the difference. The...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We want to do it for everyone.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know the details about it but I will check what is the position. The HSE's budget for next year will increase by over €1 billion so I would like to understand why such a service is being removed. I will check into it.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will try to come back to the Deputy with a more detailed answer but I would point out to Members that this House rather foolishly passed a resolution that the Department of Finance and the Minister for Finance could not engage with the so-called vulture funds.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not believe it is in the programme for Government, but I understand where Deputy Shortall is coming from. Many members of the public, and I too, get extremely annoyed seeing people who have been involved in wrongdoing sailing off into the sunset with very generous pensions and very generous lump sums. The question is whether there is something we can do about it. We have to consider...

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: For everybody who pays into their pension, it then becomes an entitlement. It is not a gift, it is something into which people have paid. We have to consider pension rights and property rights and whether or not the public would want to give us the power to take away somebody's pension rights. The second issue that would need to be considered is due process. While there are people who...

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is proposed to bring a memo to Cabinet to establish this citizens' assembly before the end of the year and to allow it to do its work in 2019. I can confirm that the citizens will all be from Dublin city and county and not from the surrounding counties. It is not intended that the directly elected Dublin mayor will have jurisdiction over parts of Meath, Kildare or Wicklow. I am happy to...

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am not. I will have to ask the Minister for Finance to provide a reply to the Deputy. It is probably an adjudication under the EU VAT directive rather than a decision of Government. When it comes to food supplements, my advice is caveat emptor. Food supplements very rarely do anything for our health. They are mostly snake oil and just cost people money.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate what the Deputy said. I understand that target is not just for the Government. It is 2.5% of GDP from the entire economy. It is not solely down to Government to provide all the funding for science and research. Industry has to play its part as well. I do not know what the figures are for 2019 but I am confident there has been an increase in Government spending in that area....

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On that one, trust the science not the stuff on the label.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In the next session.

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister of State, Deputy Daly, who was present in the Chamber, has departed. The mental health budget next year will exceed €1 billion for the first time, including €55 million for development, so there is a big increase in funding in the area. It has been much acknowledged by people across the House. If it has been refused, I imagine it has been refused for a good...

An tOrd Gnó (Atógáil) - Order of Business (Resumed) (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know why that family room in Sligo University Hospital has been closed. I am sure the Deputy has asked the hospital manager why that is. I imagine that would be the right person to ask first rather than the Minister for Health.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together. On 4 October, I travelled to Brussels for a series of meetings with the staff of the EU institutions ahead of an important phase of negotiations on the EU-UK withdrawal agreement. I met the President of the European Council, Donald Tusk, the chief EU Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, and the chair of the European Parliament...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Many questions have been raised and I will do my best to answer as many of them as I can in the time permitted. The negotiations are happening in private. They are happening in a "tunnel" and in private for a very good reason. I have always said throughout these talks over the past year and a half that it was not helpful to give a running commentary on negotiations. It is certainly not in...