Results 28,401-28,420 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is done through virement, just as occurred many times when Deputy Howlin was Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in amounts of €50 million, €100 million and €20 million, and money was regularly moved from one year to the next. I remember him doing it and I thank him for doing it. It was very helpful on the sports campus project.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Money was moved from capital to current expenditure and from one Department to another. It is done throughout the course of the year and that is exactly what we have done on this occasion. As I said yesterday, this is not an issue of taxpayers' money being wasted. This money has not even been spent yet. The issue is a serious underestimate in the cost of building the project and we accept...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have got this right, by and large. The children's hospital is an exception but we will get it right too.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The overall allocation for capital spending has not changed. It is still €7.3 billion. We only made the decision this week to reallocate some spending from Departments to others. Many of those departmental Estimates have yet to go through the House. They will go through the House and will be accurate at the time but they may yet change again. Out of a budget of €60 billion...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As far as the Government is concerned, we will seek election to the UN Security Council for the 2021 to 2022 term. We have the support of almost all the Oireachtas in this regard. As a country, we have served on the Security Council in the past. I believe we have made a valuable contribution to the UN and the Security Council and we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure the Deputy meant the way that came across. We are not paying for any votes. That is not at all what is happening. I have a thick skin but I hope that our hard-working diplomats in the UN and around the world do not take that the way the Deputy said it. Perhaps it is not the way she meant it. In terms of philosophy, I do not see a conflict between being involved in...

Death of Former Members: Expressions of Sympathy (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Inniu, déanaimid comhbhrón agus tugaimid ómós do bheirt Bhall den Teach seo a d'fhreastal anseo le honóir agus le gradam. Bhí fuath go smior agus go buan ag Brendan McGahon agus Seymour Crawford don bhforéigean agus bhí siad tiomanta go gcuirfí an síocháin i réim san oileán seo. Mar Bhaill de Tionól Parlaiminteach na...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The funding was allocated in the budget and the HSE service plan in order to do it this year, although I appreciate that simply allocating the funding is not the same as making it happen. I am advised that the preparatory work for the switch is under way. Laboratory capacity planning is a key part of this and its finalisation is dependent on the conclusion of contractual arrangements with...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I did so in good faith. Having learned from that experience, I am not going to give a date unless I have an assurance from CervicalCheck that the date can be delivered. What I can say is that the funding is provided and is in the service plan and in the budget, and the policy decision to do it is made.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No legislation is promised on this matter. The appointment of that board is not in the programme for Government and all the questions are for the Minister. I suggest that if the Deputy wants to ask questions of the Minister, he will have an opportunity to do so later today.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That legislation is enacted. As CE supervisors are not public servants, however, they are not covered by the legislation. It is, therefore, up to the employer in each case to decide whether it should be applied. I see no reason the employer should not, but it is up to the employer to make the decision.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If I recall correctly, there were entire political parties in this House against whom adverse findings were made by SIPOC for not presenting their accounts on time. We are not just talking about accounts. There are no plans for additional legislation in this area.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is not a Government decision; it is a Revenue determination. A distinction is made between products that are designated and proven as oral medicines, to which a zero VAT rate applies, and foodstuffs where a higher rate applies.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is a Revenue determination and it is under review.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is a scheme.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I may ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to come back with more details, but there is a scheme whereby someone can get a loan to renovate a house and then rent it out to the local authority for social housing. I forget the name of it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On the other point, it is open to local authorities to purchase homes for social housing. In some parts of the country it is considerably less expensive for the local authority to buy a home than to build it. In general, however, I agree with the Deputy. We would prefer to see local authorities building houses from scratch or buying them from developers than bidding for second-hand homes,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I explained this in the Dáil yesterday and the Minister for Finance outlined exactly which projects are to be deferred. None of the projects raised by the Deputies is to be deferred. Those savings will happen through reprofiling within very large existing budgets.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I obviously cannot comment on the individual circumstances of the particular business the Deputy has mentioned. As a Government we have acknowledged the very high cost of insurance, particularly public liability insurance, for businesses and how it impacts on them. It is a private market, of course, and insurance policy premiums have to match the risk. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No, I did not say it would be abandoned. I am very committed to the A5 project. I was involved in it when I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport many years ago and I am very keen to see it start as soon as possible, connecting not just Derry and Donegal but also the Border counties, including the Deputy's county. The reason it is deferred is that the authorities in Northern...