Results 29,821-29,840 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is a real concern, which should be recognised in this House, that as is so often the case, well-intentioned legislation can be counter-productive. The result might be the shutting down of mortgage lending in the State, making it harder for young people to get a mortgage for the first time.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It would cause mortgage interest rates to rise for others.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is a real risk in such legislation.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is well-intentioned legislation that actually hurts many people, making it harder for them to get a loan in the first place. It increases interest rates for those who already have a loan. Once again, when the truth is spoken in this House, they cannot take it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is an important issue. I will see the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine tomorrow morning and will ask him to contact Deputy Murphy O'Mahony with a reply.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I read the report too and I share the Deputy's concerns about it. The standards have been in place for some time and they are designed to raise the quality, dignity and standards that exist in public and private nursing homes, moving away from a model of older people spending the last year of their life in a ward towards providing something much better such as their own room or a room for...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I mentioned to Deputy Brady's party leader earlier, we already have the second highest minimum wage in the world. We are waiting for the Low Pay Commission to report on whether it should be increased for next year. Work is the best way out of poverty. We have an in-work poverty rate in Ireland of about 2%. It is one of the lowest in the European Union. The figure of 109,000 to which...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----earning less than 60% of the median income. It does not mean they are in poverty.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I genuinely apologise if the Deputy has not received replies to those queries.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is quite a glut of them. We will use the recess to try to catch up on matters that are in arrears. There may well be a bit of a glut in Deputy Adams's office too because I see that in at least one of the five cases raised, the health (transport support) Bill, a reply from the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, issued on 25 June. Perhaps it arrived in the Deputy's office but...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy should read his correspondence.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I also welcome the fact we were in a position to ratify the Istanbul Convention on 1 July. There is an epidemic of violence against women in this State and around the world, and it needs to end. Our ratification of the convention is part of the effort to tackle it. On the update on the specific legislation the Deputy raises, I will have to ask the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid it is a question for the Minister for Health but I will mention to him that the Deputy raised it. I appreciate that there are very long waiting lists for gynaecological procedures in many parts of the country but I should acknowledge much of the progress that has been made. Just in the past two years, the number of people waiting more than 12 weeks for a cataract procedure, hip...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am advised the Bills are on the priority list. As the Deputy knows, there is a lot of legislation on that list so I will ask the Minister for Justice and Equality to correspond with the Deputy with a more detailed reply.

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I never had the privilege of meeting Mark Killilea, but I am delighted to learn that we shared a love of Tina Turner. I am happy to advise the House that she and I are not currently in correspondence.

Death of Former Member: Expressions of Sympathy (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Or ever, by the way, just in case the Deputies wanted to ask. I am grateful to have this opportunity to pay tribute to a member of the Fianna Fáil family who gave a lifetime of service to our country. These tributes, which we pay on occasion in the Dáil, are very important occasions. They serve a higher purpose than simply honouring those who have served in this House and...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. Cabinet Committee E last met on 22 November 2018. A date for the next meeting is being scheduled for later this month. In addition to the meetings of the full Cabinet and of Cabinet committees, I often meet Ministers on an individual basis to focus on particular issues. In this regard, I meet regularly the Minister, Deputy...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. On the possibility of the need for a supplementary estimate for the health service, I have not seen the precise comments of the Ministers, Deputies Harris and Donohoe, so I am not au faitwith exactly what the difference is. It will not surprise anyone in this House that it is often the case that a supplementary estimate is required for health. That...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In percentage terms, it was not dissimilar to the kind of overruns we have now. The record for the biggest health supplementary ever was under a Fianna Fáil led Government. About €1 billion had to be provided in a supplementary because of illegal nursing home charges, of which the Deputy will also be aware. On the recruitment of doctors, all the questions asked by Deputy...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (3 Jul 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As always, I am happy to continue.