Results 28,161-28,180 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----for the children's research centre. That includes VAT, so part of that is circulated.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The figure I have seen used, €1.73 billion, includes costs which are separate to the capital costs of building the hospital. I refer, for example, the cost of integrating the three hospitals into one. That is current expenditure. It also includes the electronic health record that we would have been doing in any event - for example, in maternity hospitals - even if we were not...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Those are just the facts.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Process (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not sent any legislation, including heads of bills, to EU institutions before their publication for the period outlined by the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am, of course, as is the Government, very aware that a strike by nurses and midwives belonging to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is taking place today across the country. I profoundly regret and am sorry for the disruption and inconvenience that has been caused to patients. Appointments and operations are often cancelled...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot help the Deputy with his senses. I outlined in my previous answer where I believe the parameters are for a solution to the dispute. I explained that very clearly. In relation to tax, I have always said that any tax cuts have to be affordable. I would not borrow money to fund tax cuts and have not done so in the past two years.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: What we propose is that if the economy continues to grow-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: What I propose if the economy continues to grow the way it has been growing in recent years, because there are more people working, people are earning more, the amount income tax we have taken has gone up by approximately €1.2 billion a year, if we can afford it, is to give about half of that back to 900,000 taxpayers.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The vast majority of nurses and midwives would benefit from that as well-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----but it would not just be one group who would benefit; nearly 900,000 taxpayers would.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am not entirely sure there were any questions there or solutions, just commentary. We have a mechanism by which industrial relations disputes are resolved - and all industrial relations disputes are resolved - namely, the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. They are State bodies and that is the mechanism through which we will engage and, I have no doubt, in due course...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think the Deputy is a moron.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure the Deputy that I am not a moron either, but if she keeps asking me the same question, I will keep giving her the same answer. We have a mechanism under which we resolve industrial relations disputes, namely, the WRC and the Labour Court, which are State bodies and we are happy and willing to engage through that process.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This dispute can be resolved but, as I explained previously, it can only be resolved in a way that is affordable for taxpayers and in a way that is fair to all other public servants with whom we also have a pay deal, and in a way that is fair and beneficial to patients. If those are the parameters, there is a very strong basis for engagement. It is important to set out again what the pay...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On the other side, the unions agreed there would be no strikes and there would be no cost increasing claims.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. When we talk about road traffic legislation we should never forget why we have those laws. It is because of road safety. Thousands if not tens of thousands of Irish people in urban and rural Ireland have lost their lives on the road or become disabled for life as a result of road traffic collisions. Many of us have been affected by deaths on the road in our own...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In some cases, the uptake and the demand for these services has been very poor. We need to look at other solutions and we are doing that, particularly around rural taxis and hackney licences. We are trying to liberalise that system and make them more available, particularly at night-time and on weekends. There are more Garda checks because there are more gardaí. We now have 14,000...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: People who abide by the laws passed by this Oireachtas have nothing at all to fear from the Garda. People who take alcohol or drugs and then drive are a threat to themselves and others. People who drink several drinks, get a few hours' sleep and then drive in the morning are impaired. They do cause accidents, they do kill people and they do cause injuries. That is a law that should be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am really not sure who is misrepresenting the facts here. I heard the Deputy state that there is no cost-increasing claim.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Pay parity is, by definition, a cost-increasing claim by and it is one that is not accepted by other unions. They have indicated that in writing to their members and also to Government. It has never been the case that all of those who have four-year degrees are paid the same. Many people in various professions - accounting, teaching, etc. - have such degrees. It has never been the case...