Results 28,441-28,460 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I met with the Prime Minister when she visited Dublin on 8 February and we briefed each other on our respective engagements in Belfast and Brussels that week. We discussed developments in Northern Ireland and our shared interest in seeing the devolved institutions restored as soon as possible. On Brexit, I re-stated the EU position that the backstop is an integral part of the Withdrawal...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Consultancy Contracts Data (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 67 and 68 together. My Department has not commissioned any reports nor incurred any expenditure on consultancy, from the companies in question during 2018.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the minutes to which the Deputy refers are either minutes from committees that met at official level or minutes of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, many of which were made available to the Committee of Public Accounts and other committees many weeks ago. The National Paediatric Hospital Development Board is an agency that was established by the Oireachtas,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that one of the reports from the meetings indicates that the increased costs were inevitable. That is yet to be determined. The PwC report currently under way may well answer that question. I think it is probable that what has happened here is that the cost of building this project, this massive hospital, this very complex development, was underestimated. This is not a case...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In fact, the vast majority of the money has not even been spent. Less than 20% of the project cost has been spent so far. This is a case of the real cost of the project being underestimated. We have seen examples of that in the past with other major structural projects, although not in the past decade. In respect of Mr. Paul Quinn, he was appointed by the Minister for Health to the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If he had moved to another role in another Department or another employment outside the public sector, he would have continued to be on the board and that is still the case.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, in line with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies and the board's own code of governance which is published on its website, have a duty to the board in the first instance, a responsibility to act collectively in decision-making and communication and an obligation to observe its confidentiality arrangements.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy can print out from its website page 51 of the code of conduct for board members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board. Point 15 is on confidentiality. Reports, documents and briefings-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: A Cheann Comhairle, it is a recurring feature that when Opposition Members put out a yarn and-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is a recurrent feature that the Opposition puts out a yarn, perpetuates it for days in the media and, when they are about to be found out, they shout us down, but I will come back on a supplementary.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is a yarn and it is Deputy Martin's spin. It is yet another conspiracy theory from the leader of Fianna Fáil. Roughly this time last year the Government published and approved Project Ireland 2040, which is a €116 billion, ten year capital development plan.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Does the Deputy think that if we knew this time last year that the project was going to cost €1.4 billion we would not have accounted for it?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is €1.4 billion out of €116 billion, and represents a little over 1% of the total cost of that project.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Of course, if we had known that this project was going to cost more we would have accounted for it, and accounted for it a year ago.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Members of the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board, in line with the code of practice for the governance of State bodies and the board's own code of governance, available on its website, has a duty to the board in the first instance, a responsibility to act collectively in decision making-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and communication, and an obligation to observe its confidentiality arrangements.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Mr. Quinn serves on the board in a personal capacity. Circular 12/2010, which deals with the protocol for civil servants nominations to the boards of non-commercial State bodies applies to civil servants serving on state boards, as comprehended from the code of practice for State bodies in section 3.4. The circular sets out the process by which a civil servant may bring the concerns to the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The process applies where a civil servant has concerns that a serious issue-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----is not being addressed to his or her satisfaction by the board or the board chairman. I understand that Mr. Quinn was and is satisfied that the cost issues-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----which developed over the summer and autumn of 2018, were being appropriately addressed by the board, and the chairman communicated both to the HSE and the Department of Health in a timely fashion, through the Government's arrangements, established by the Department of Health as the accountable Department for the project. Under circular 12/2010, Mr. Quinn would have had to advise the...