Results 29,341-29,360 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy really needs to calm down. The Government has been very transparent on this matter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin is once again weaving one of his many conspiracy theories.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald and myself may disagree on many aspects of housing policy, but I think everyone in this House agrees on one thing. At the core to the solution, though not the only solution, is additional supply and new homes and apartments for people who need them. Last year, 18,000 new homes were built in Ireland, up from 15,000 the year before and 9,000 the year before that. We are not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: What the Deputy is doing is what she so often does, which is fallacy, engaging in misrepresentation and being totally disingenuous. When the Minister made his comments he was referring to the concept of co-living and the guidelines, which were not opposed by Sinn Féin. What the Deputy is trying to do now is dishonest and disingenuous, by taking those comments and applying them to a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: They have no answers for anyone with a housing need.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I will have to check up on that and come back to the Deputy with an answer about vulnerability assessments and EU law. I am not fully briefed on this but I will check it out and get back to the Deputy with a reply in the next couple of days, as best I can. Government acknowledges that there are many people who have been living in direct provision for far too long. A lot of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have met Mr. Justice McMahon on many occasions and I have had the privilege of attending some of the citizenship ceremonies with him. He did a very good piece of work in setting out what the standards should be for direct provision accommodation. We are implementing those standards but they are not fully implemented yet and we acknowledge that. The Department of Justice and Equality, the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. On the legislation to establish the tribunal as recommended by Mr. Justice Meenan, I have asked the Attorney General and the Minister for Health to prioritise that legislation over all other health legislation. The heads have been published and we anticipate that we will have that Bill in the House before the summer recess and, with the co-operation of this House and the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot comment on the individual case, but if what the Deputy says is correct - I have no reason to believe it is not - I am obviously sorry to hear that this patient has been asked to wait for so long. Sometimes, it is possible to get a more urgent appointment, particularly if that request comes in from her GP or from another doctor. We have discussed this issue many times...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The number of people waiting more than three months for an operation or a procedure is down by 10,000 this year compared to last year.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The truth always hurts, a Cheann Comhairle, which is why one always get shouted down-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----but they are going to have to hear the truth. Just comparing the middle of summer 2017, when we started implementing Sláintecare, to now, the number of people waiting more than three months for a cataract surgery is down from 8,000 to 3,500.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The number of people waiting for GI scopes has gone from 28,000 down to 14,000-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The number of people waiting for a hip or knee replacement-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----is down from 3,500 to 1,600, while the numbers waiting for tonsils to be removed and for an angiogram are down from 2,500 to 700, and from nearly 2,000 to 800, respectively. In all those cases, the number of people waiting for more than 12 weeks is down by half.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I actually neglected to join Deputy Micheál Martin in expressing my condolences to the family of Micheál Lynch, who has passed away. He is a former Member of this House and very much a respected one. The issues around the deficit that Rehab was facing were resolved yesterday following engagement with the HSE, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----for which the taxpayer may have no responsibility. That would have to be thought through and we would have to calculate what the potential cost and liability would be, but I take the Deputy's point and I think it is something that we need to consider.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot say. The meeting will happen. I will listen to what they have to say and respond accordingly.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In my time as Minister for Health, I had the opportunity to visit Portiuncula Hospital, which performs very well and sees relatively low numbers of patients on trolleys. The facilities at the hospital are very out of date, however. I would be very keen to see the new block under construction as soon as possible. I cannot give the Deputy a date on it. I am sure the Minister for Health, who...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. Cabinet committee D works to ensure a co-ordinated approach in the areas of infrastructure investment and delivery, housing and climate action. The Cabinet committee last met on 31 January 2019 and the next meeting has been scheduled for 27 May 2019. There is significant work under way across each of the areas covered by the...