Results 30,021-30,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Brexit omnibus Act covers all the legislative requirements that we needed to deal with no deal. However, subsequent to that being enacted we made a commitment to do all that we could to extend the European health insurance card, EHIC, to all residents in Northern Ireland and also Erasmus+. We found a means of doing that but it is not perfect; it is a bit clumsy. The Minister for Health...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We already have a carbon tax. We have had one for ten or 12 years at this stage.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Any increase is obviously a matter for the budget, which will be announced on 8 October. We have committed to ensuring that some of the proceeds of a carbon tax would be ring-fenced to protect those most at risk of fuel poverty, for example, through the fuel allowance.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Creed, will be in the Chamber for more than three hours this evening to discuss this matter. I know the Deputy will be here to make his case and ask the Minister more questions. Six farm organisations, representing the vast majority of farmers in Ireland, negotiated this deal and endorsed it.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that, on the night, a seventh organisation, the Independent Farmers of Ireland, agreed to support and advocate for the deal, but some hours later issued a statement saying it could neither support nor oppose it. That is its position at the moment. As I said earlier, it is not lawful or possible to engage in price-fixing in the Irish economy. That is impossible so it will...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: What can happen is that the now recognised producer organisations can negotiate with the factories for proper contracts and proper prices, just as producers and business people do in all other sectors of the economy.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this important issue. I am not aware of any proposed legislation relating to this matter but I may be mistaken and I will confer with the Minister, Deputy Zappone, later in the day and provide Deputy Farrell with a full response.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is a matter for the Revenue Commissioners, not the Government. However, I would be very happy if the latter just left matters as they stand.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. I understand that the report will be published today, as well as the Department's response to it. I respect the Data Protection Commissioner and I have confidence in her. However, as is often the case with decisions made by commissioners and regulators, there is a right of appeal. This is a democracy and anybody in a democracy can appeal a decision if he or she...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy met on Wednesday, 4 September. It had been scheduled to have a meeting on Monday, 1 July, but that had to be postponed because of an extended European Council meeting. The next meeting is not yet scheduled but will most likely happen next month. The Cabinet committee on the economy is...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies very much for their questions. I will speak first on the most recent report of IFAC. It is essential that Government take on board the advice of IFAC. The Opposition should also do so. Among the recommendations and findings the council put to us is a concern about the surge in corporation profit tax. We were only taking in approximately €3 billion a few years...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----by IFAC so that we can get an opinion from it on those plans.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is done in Britain, for example, so I do not see why it could not be done here.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Burton made a very good point about the non-indexation of income tax. Every year an extra €600 million comes in as a consequence of not indexing rates and bands. A tax package of €600 million a year would be entirely reasonable and far from reckless if this was a normal budget. This is not a normal budget, however, it is being developed on the basis of planning for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ------there is not a cigarette paper between myself and the Minister for Finance when it comes to our economic policy, nor is there a cigarette paper between myself and Deputy Coveney when it comes to Brexit. In demonstrating that €600 million a year arises from non-indexation, Deputy Burton demonstrated exactly why a tax package of approximately €600 million is entirely...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cyber Security Policy (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Cybersecurity is not a new concept, nor are the threats associated with it. However, digital technology now encompasses so many aspects of our day-to-day lives that anything which could disrupt our use of these technologies must be taken more seriously than may have been necessary a few years ago. This is reflected in the sixth national risk assessment, which was published earlier this year,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cyber Security Policy (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I informed the House on several occasions in the past hour or two, the report will be published today. The report is being published on the direction of the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, notwithstanding the concerns of some of the officials in her Department. It is being published alongside a response from the Department. I think that is a good thing because people only heard one...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cyber Security Policy (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have always been of the view that the public services card is a good idea. It is a success. It is very popular. We know from surveys of people who have one - I have one - that over 80% of people like it, particularly those who now use it as a free travel pass, elderly people in particular. It is designed to make public services more accessible, for greater efficiency and for removing...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cyber Security Policy (17 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is a certain narrative at the moment that this is some sort of Fine Gael, Big Brother-style police state conspiracy. It is not, because Fine Gael has only had control of that Department for approximately three years. The public services card was an all-party effort and debates in the past show that all parties were very much in favour of it. The concept of the public services card...