Results 29,221-29,240 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The only physical asset that MBI will own is the fibre and fibre has to be renewed after 20 or 30 years. The advantage of the gap funding model is such that because MBI owns the fibre it is much more likely it will continue to invest in it and renew it. That is one of the reasons the gap funding model was chosen over the State ownership model. In our deliberations over the past few...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is the alternative. It is not a good one. We thought about it. We thought about all of the alternatives for months and months. This is the best option on the table. This is right for Ireland and right for rural Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I appeal to everyone in this House to take a bit of time, a few months, like we did, to see if the alternatives really stack up and not to rule out supporting this proposal just yet.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We can sign this contract and we can make this happen.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If we do not sign this contract, it may never happen.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: A commercial interest has shown an interest in doing this, namely, MBI-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----which is now the preferred bidder. ESB, working with Vodafone, made a bid but pulled out. They said they could not make a business case for it. This cannot be done without a massive subsidy. It is not realistic now-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----for the Government to give to a company that pulled out of the process a massive commercial subsidy and somehow pretend that is not state aid. That is not legitimate.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have the Attorney General's advice on this and there were consultations with the European Commission on this. It is not a position that we can hand to an undertaking, even a State-owned enterprise like ESB, a massive subsidy without a process and without a tender operation.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: An alternative option, for example, was setting up a new State entity.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The difficulties with that are the difficulties that arose when did that in the past with Irish Water. Enormous costs and difficulties and delays arise in the establishment of a new State company. We would be doing Irish Water all over again. There would be further delays. There would still have to be a procurement process in terms of getting access to Eir's infrastructure and in terms of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It would cost as much, if not more, and we would bear all the risk. In this case, MBI is-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----bearing the risk.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the fact Dáíl Éireann last week declared a climate action and biodiversity emergency in Ireland. I am also conscious of the fact that declaring an emergency for any other reason than a security reason does not give us any additional powers, tools or resources with which to deal with this problem. It is largely symbolic. It is a gesture, but symbols and gestures...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----through action, which is what is most important in this regard. We are taking measures in the areas of energy, transport, agriculture and heating. Taking energy as an example, we want to increase the amount of renewable energy we produce in Ireland from 30% to 70%. According to the European Commission our CO2levels went down by almost 7% last year; we were in the top three countries...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I respect the Deputy a lot and I am sure she would not wish to misrepresent me in any way. However, I will say again what I said but this time in a way that is clearer. I welcome last week’s declaration of a climate emergency by the Dáil. It is symbolic in the sense that it does not in itself do anything to reduce emissions and does not give us any tools, powers or resources to...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is no worse crime than one against a child and there is no worse form of crime or a crime that is more unspeakable than child abuse. On this particular issue Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill is examining about 20 cases and the wider issue as to whether the interpretation of the Louise O'Keeffe judgment is too narrow. I do not have a date yet for that but I have requested one. I...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We will review the judgment.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We do not have a day yet but we are keen to work with the Deputy and get this legislation passed. We should set the objective to have it enacted before the summer recess and if we can work together on it, we would be happy to see that done. On a separate vein, I was able to sign the money message for the Parental Leave (Amendment) Bill 2017 yesterday. I recognise the role of Deputies...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have already passed legislation on fracking, for example, and keeping the gas that may be underneath the land of Ireland in the ground. We take a separate and a different view when it comes to offshore natural gas because we appreciate that natural gas is a transition fuel. While we can go from 30% renewables to 70% renewables, and we will do that by 2030, we will still need natural gas...