Results 29,381-29,400 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Even in a very wealthy country, and this is a wealthy country, there is only a certain amount of money. When we approach full employment, there is only a certain number of people who can possibly be recruited into the public workforce or the private workforce. Notwithstanding that, the Garda budget is at an all-time high of €1.7 billion and extra recruitment is happening every year....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The report of the national review panel was published yesterday. I have not had a chance to read it yet but I have it and I will certainly read it before the end of the week. These terrible, tragic and appalling events which befell these young women are almost unspeakable and hard for us to even think about or speak about as human beings. They are events, though, that occurred in 2007 and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am advised that the reviewers concluded that it was unlikely that the abuse could have been uncovered prior to the disclosures. Once the abuse was disclosed in 2007, there was sufficient evidence for the long-term foster children to have been removed from the family. This did not happen. It should have happened and the report calls out some poor decision-making in that regard. No abuse...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The fair deal, or nursing home support, scheme is a very good scheme that has worked well and stood the test of time. I want to recognise the former Minister for Health, Mary Harney, and the Government of which she was a member, for bringing that through. It gives fair access to nursing home support to people when they need it. We are working very hard at the moment to ensure that we keep...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----when it comes to the way it is being assessed. That legislation is overdue but we expect the heads to be at Cabinet in June, and we will see that through. The Deputy also asked about the difference in cost between public and private nursing homes. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, is doing an analysis of that at the moment. It is important to bear in mind that we are not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I accept this is long promised and long overdue. We will get it done and see it through. The Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly, assured me the heads will be before Cabinet in the month of June. It is nearly June now. After that it usually takes a few months for legislation to be drafted. The Bill will then be published. After that it is in the Deputy's hands, because he is a member of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not control how long it takes to get through this House and the Seanad-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----but we will certainly play our part.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am sorry, I do not have those numbers in front of me. I will inform the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for disability issues that the Deputy raised them and I will ask them to send him a written reply. The programme for Government commitment, as I recall, refers not just to diagnostics and therapies but also to much-needed operations and procedures. I...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The number of those waiting to have their tonsils removed is down from 2,500 to 727. The number of those waiting for an angiogram is down from 1,940 to 803. Comparing July 2017 with today, there has been a reduction of approximately 50% in people waiting more than 12 weeks.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is an industrial relations matter. The Deputy knows how industrial relations work in the State. There is no direct Government involvement.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is managed through management, the WRC and the Labour Court. My understanding is that this is largely an inter-union dispute and that one union is going on strike while the other three are not. I am confident that the HSE will put in place the necessary contingency plans.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The answer is the same as that which I gave to Deputy Coppinger.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Approximately 18,000 new homes were built last year and we anticipate that 22,000 new homes will be built this year. Of the 18,000 built last year, some 3,000 or 4,000 were one-off homes, mostly, but not entirely, in rural areas. This means that people are obtaining planning permission and that those in rural areas are still able to build houses, as should be the case. There is a planning...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I had the opportunity to attend many shows last summer. I was at the Iverk show in Piltown and also at the show in Virginia. I hope to have the opportunity to make it to some shows this summer. The budget of the Department of Rural and Community Development increased significantly this year. I think it was one of the biggest percentage...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The House made the right decision in 2013 to ensure decisions on which medicines are licensed or reimbursed are not political decisions. I do not believe they should be political decisions. We decided as a House on a cross-party basis in 2013 to allow independent pharmacologists, doctors and economists to make these decisions. A decision is made by the HSE's national drugs committee on the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Chonaic mé an litir.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. On 16 April last, I had a meeting at Government Buildings with a delegation from the US House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. On the following evening, I was honoured to host the delegation at a dinner in Dublin Castle, which was attended by guests representing diverse aspects of the US-Ireland bilateral relationship,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On CETA, the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement, I will have to check the position with my colleagues. There is no reason we cannot or should not have a debate. It is just that a debate has not yet happened. I will come back to the Deputy on that. It is appropriate that we should have a debate and I am not entirely sure why we have...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (29 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is correct. They have to be ratified. There is one particular issue around disputes that has yet to be resolved but I will check the position and revert to the Deputy. I look forward to discussing trade policy with President Trump when he visits Ireland next week. I am a big believer in free trade and free enterprise. Free trade makes us better off in the round and has been very...