Results 27,801-27,820 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I refer the Deputy to the answer I gave earlier today on this very topic, except I will add one thing. If one examines the statistics, and I have not done so, although I will take a look at them, what one has to compare with is the counterfactual - that is, with those who were not referred to JobPath or Intreo - to see if there is a difference as to whether they were able to hold onto...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is our policy that PEACE and INTERREG funding should continue and the draft proposals from the European Commission provide for PEACE II to form part of the multi-annual financial framework, MFF, for next year. Obviously, I cannot make commitments on behalf of the EU or the UK Government but I can say it is this Government's policy and our determination to work with our European and...

Treatment of Cancer (Advertisements) Bill 2018: First Stage (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I express my strong support for the Private Member's Bill proposed by Deputy Kate O'Connell. We have seen enormous improvements in cancer care in Ireland over the past few decades with the result that more people with cancer now survive than die. We will continue to see improvements in that regard as screening and prevention improve and as we make improvements to our cancer care centres....

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Tomorrow and Friday, I will attend a meeting of the European Council in Brussels and a meeting of the euro summit. On Thursday afternoon, we will focus on the multi-annual financial framework and follow that work with a discussion on external relations in the evening. On Friday, the meeting will begin with a discussion of citizen consultation on the future of Europe followed by an exchange...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I intend to attend scheduled meetings, formal and informal, of the European Council in the coming six months, which currently include, 13 and 14 December, 21 and 22 March and on 20 and 21 June 2019, along with the scheduled informal taking place in Sibiu, Romania on the 9 May. EU regional engagements may also arise and I will give full consideration to attendance at these in due course. I...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Parliamentary Questions Data (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department answered 1,656 oral and 1,442 written Parliamentary Questions from December 2015 to November 2018. All questions were answered directly. One member of staff has the role of Parliamentary Question coordinator amongst other duties, and staff from across my Department are involved in processing replies to Parliamentary Questions in addition to their routine duties. Answers to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I think we all agree that the country's new children's hospital is a project that we all support. We all want to see it built, if not on time and maybe even not ahead of schedule-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and open to the children of Ireland to receive the best quality paediatric healthcare in the world, which is what I believe they deserve. This project is the biggest single investment in healthcare in our history and it allows three rather old hospitals at Crumlin, Temple Street and Tallaght to be replaced by a new state-of-the-art hospital. It will be a hospital with all the best...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The satellite centre at Connolly Hospital is almost finished. I visited it yesterday. It will be open to patients next summer. Tallaght is very well advanced. The enabling works, the site works and the phase A works are now close to completion at the St. James's site. It has a dedicated board, a paediatric hospital development board, which was set up with the express purpose of making...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The board is responsible for the project and accountable to the Minister. Of course, the Minister and the Government are accountable to the Oireachtas. As I stated earlier, the board is happy to receive a delegation from or meet the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and the Committee of Public Accounts to give further information on the reason for the cost escalation. I repeat that this...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It may turn out to be one of the most expensive children's hospitals in the world but it will also be one of the best. Its first elements, such as the satellite centre in Blanchardstown, will open to patients next year, while the centre in Tallaght will open the year after and the main campus will open in 2022. Work is very much under way. This project is real. The hospitals will be under...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The cost of €1.433 billion is-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----the gross or agreed maximum price, which contains assumptions on tender price indexes and the cost of inflation which may cause the cost to increase. I will not pretend otherwise.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Yes.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It may be the upper limit but it is based on certain contingencies.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is possible.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We all need to be careful in this House not to say too much about individual cases without knowing the facts. If the Deputy read the newspapers today and followed the coverage of the story, he would realise the facts behind this individual case seem to be about much more than an elderly farm family being evicted from their farm. The case involves many years of debts and arrears, VAT fraud,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the Deputy's question, as matters stand, under the Private Security Services Act 2004, anybody who engages in private security work is obliged to comply with the law and behave in a lawful manner. While doormen, those who fit alarms and provide security at events are required to be regulated by the Private Security Authority, those executing eviction orders are not. It is perhaps...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I agree with the Deputy that we need proper regulation in this area, as the Minister for Justice and Equality acknowledged yesterday. He has established an interdepartmental group to examine the issue, with a view to it reporting to him in January, which is only in a few weeks' time. As I said, I agree that we need regulation in this area. I also agree that nobody ever wants to see people...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy did not condemn-----