Results 28,861-28,880 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee A covers issues relating to the Economy, Jobs including Future Jobs Ireland, the Labour Market, Competitiveness, Productivity, Trade, and the Action Plan on Rural Development, the Digital Economy and Pensions. These issues are also regularly discussed at full Government meetings. The Cabinet Committee last met on the 12th November. In recent months Cabinet Committee A...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Committee last met on 8 February 2018. The meeting was attended by Ministers and Senior Officials from the Departments of Finance; Public Expenditure and Reform; Foreign Affairs and Trade; Justice and Equality; Health; Communications, Climate Action and Environment; Transport, Tourism and Sport; Housing, Planning and Local Government; and Defence. Arrangements are being made for the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I welcomed Lithuanian Prime Minister Saulius Skvernelis to Dublin on 4 March. I joined him in a visit to Hartstown Community School, which I understand has the largest percentage of students from Lithuania in the country. We then had a bilateral meeting over lunch at which we discussed the excellent bilateral relations between Ireland and Lithuania; areas for further cooperation between us;...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Citizens Assembly (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Year Costs Incurred 2016 € 274,321 2017 €1,535,133 2018 €533,607 2019 €12,496 Members were reimbursed for expenses incurred in attending meetings, including travel costs and a contribution towards childcare. Payment was not made for attendance or any missed days of work either to members or their employees. Expenditure incurred in 2019 relates to a small...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel Data (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The strength of the Permanent Defence Force (PDF) is calculated in terms of whole-time equivalents. This data is collated on a monthly basis and strengths are expressed in end of month figures. Defence Force Regulation CS4 provides for an establishment of 1,233 Officers, 3,661 Non-Commissioned Officers and 4,606 Privates. The table below shows the strengths (Whole Time Equivalent) breakdown...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Before I answer the Deputy's question, I beg the indulgence of the House to take this opportunity to extend my condolences to the family of Laura Brennan, whose service of remembrance is taking place in Ennis today. As Deputies will know, she died from cervical cancer but worked closely with the health service to become a powerful advocate for HPV vaccination and, because of her, we were...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Recruitment is going well. The biggest classes ever are coming through and being attested. For the first time, we have people moving from the non-commissioned ranks to become officers. There are promotional opportunities that were not available in the past. There is a particular focus on recruiting more women into the Defence Forces and we are seeing some good results in that regard....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I have not had an opportunity to hear about or read it in full, I would prefer not to comment on it until I have done so. I cannot argue with the fact that approximately 10,000 people live in emergency accommodation in Ireland. While there will always be a certain number who will need emergency accommodation for different reasons, 10,000 is far too high which I do not deny for one...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald is making political charges and trying to enter into an ideological debate, but the charge does not stand. If it was the case that the Government believed only the market could produce solutions, we would not have funded the construction and purchase of 9,000 new social houses last year.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We would not have brought forward rent controls and a vacant site levy. All of these things are interventionist, including the building of thousands of units of social housing every year-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----expanding the social housing stock, introducing rent caps and a derelict site levy. They all accept that the market does not provide all of the solutions. We would not do these things if we thought the market could provide all of the solutions. We do not agree with the rent tax credit which Sinn Féin proposes. We wanted to reduce income taxes for all workers, which is what we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----it is not workable and it is also unconstitutional. It is not workable because the advice from the Attorney General is that it cannot apply retrospectively so it will not apply to any existing tenancies.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is no good to anyone who is already renting, therefore it is absolutely useless to anyone who is renting but it might discourage landlords from letting their houses in the future so it may even be counterproductive.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Second, it is unconstitutional in that it could or probably would result in infringements on property rights.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Property rights do not belong to properties; they belong to people.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If we remove from somebody the right to sell a house they own-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The facts drive them crazy, always.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is classic Sinn Féin, populist solutions that help nobody.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Like a lot of people in this House I was inspired by the climate protests that students engaged in, not just here in Ireland but all over the world, and I was encouraged to see that there is political support behind us in Government and in this House to do the right things when it comes to climate change because we all know everybody wants climate action taken but when it comes to voting for...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and will only support things that are popular or ineffectual and we will come back to that a little bit later-----