Results 29,021-29,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We agree that supply is the solution. We have a rising population, increasing by about 1.5% a year - very few countries in the western world have a population increasing as fast as ours - and we also have an emerging phenomenon of smaller household sizes, so we need a great deal of extra housing every year just to stand still. We agree that supply is the solution to the underlying problem,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Treating the entire country the same when it comes to rents is a mistake and it might do more harm than good. The other concern we had with a rent cap, as in zero increases, is that it in itself might affect supply. We know that to deal with this problem-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----we need more properties available to rent. We need people to rent out properties they own.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: A major concern was that by having a cap it might reduce supply, thereby not allowing us to solve the underlying problem, which we acknowledge is supply.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am delighted that Cork is getting so much attention on Leaders' Questions today. We have great ambitions for the beautiful second city. As the Deputy knows, our ambition is that the population of Cork will increase by 50% between now and 2040 and that Cork will grow at double the rate of Dublin between now and then.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: To make that possible, we need investment in infrastructure, including investment in transport, and we need to look at Cork in the round, not just the city area but the whole city region stretching into west Cork, as well as east and north Cork, of course. In terms the Deputy's specific suggestion, I will take it up with TII and the National Transport Authority, NTA. We have had mixed...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In 1886, we had railways all over the country. We did not have so many roads and we had no dual carriageways, no motorways and very few people owned cars, so it was a very different world back then. It was the development of the roads and the expansion in car ownership that caused the railways to close in the first place because they became non-viable. When it comes to Cork, as the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to look into the issue. The email is from over a year ago and I do not know why it has not been released. Usually such documentation is released under freedom of information legislation within months, rather than years-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----unless there is a particular reason it has not been released. I cannot commit to the email's publication as there may well be a reason it has not been released. It was sent after the announcement and was not to the Minister. The content may have been shared with the Deputy, perhaps through a reply to a parliamentary question.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We are giving the matter some consideration, but we will only bid if we think we have a realistic prospect of attaining it. As the Deputy said, we did bid to have the EBA relocated here but, unfortunately, we lost out-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----in a tied vote. We already have Eurofound based in Ireland. It is an agency that deals with the matter of a work-life balance and labour rights, but we are also conscious that Cyprus, Slovakia and Latvia have already put in a bid. We also have to bear in mind the politics of the matter.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I answered questions on this earlier-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----on Leaders' Questions, so I do not want to repeat the answers I gave earlier. I was on my phone to check out the HSE app, which indicates that overcrowding has been easing throughout the day, as it does, and that the number of patients on trolleys now is down to around 350.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: However, that is still far too many. With regard to Clonmel, as the Deputy acknowledged, a 40-bed ward block is now under construction.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I went to see it when I visited Clonmel a few weeks ago. When it is completed it will be staffed but we know from bitter experience throughout the country that merely providing additional beds and additional staff does not solve the problem. We need extra beds. We need to make sure that beds are used efficiently, that the length of stay is reduced and that patients are not waiting days for...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: None of the four members of the ministerial team in the Department of Health is present, but I understand an additional €10 million has been allocated-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----to provide an additional respite care centre in each community healthcare area. However, I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, to give the Deputy a more detailed reply.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In Ireland the minimum wage is set by the Government on the advice of the Low Pay Commission. It takes into account many factors, ranging from the cost of living to risks to employment, particularly in Border areas, should the minimum wage be increased too rapidly. We take the advice of the Low Pay Commission and the minimum wage has been increased by approximately 25% in the last couple of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. A large number of Defence Forces personnel live in County Kildare. The Government is working on the issue. We have asked the Public Service Pay Commission to examine the allowances paid to Defence Forces personnel, specifically to see if there are targeted measures we could apply to the Defence Forces that would improve pay and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 Apr 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and as I may be out of date on this issue, I will ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, to provide him with a more detailed reply. My recollection from my time in that Department is that there is a procurement process that goes out to tender. Different people tender and only one person can win the tender and the contract. I will check into it to ensure that the Deputy gets a...