Results 30,081-30,100 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: To respond to Deputy Kelly's other questions, the Government accepts the de Buitléir report. It is Government policy to remove private practice from public hospitals but, having read the report, everyone will understand the difficulties and costs associated with its delivery. It will cost €600 million a year, or €6 billion over ten years, three times the cost of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Finally, Limerick has a new emergency department and the new Leben wing, both delivered by this Government and open and operating, and a new ward block under construction which will be opened and will operate certainly in the next six months. I will have to come back to the Deputy on the 96-bed block, but so much investment has gone into that hospital to date I know he will want to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I think the Deputy may be conflating evictions with notices to quit. Of course, they are not the same thing-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and it is wrong to conflate the two. Eviction rates in Ireland are probably among the lowest in the western world. Leaving that aside, a crucial part of the Government's housing policy has been to enhance and strengthen the rights of tenants. We did so by introducing rent controls. Hundreds of thousands of people renting across the country who might have faced very high rent...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Regarding the rent caps, rent increases are set at a maximum of 4%. That has given hundreds of thousands of people already renting a house or an apartment a degree of certainty about their rent. However, it has a knock-on effect, in some cases a negative one, on people who need to move or people who are renting for the first time. That is the downside to rent controls. However, it gives...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy proposes preventing homeowners, property owners and landlords from selling the apartments or houses they own. We think that is too onerous. If a person owns an apartment or a house and it has been rented out for a period, he or she may need to sell it. He or she may need to pay off debts or emigrate.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have extended the period of notice that has to be given to tenants. They have much more time than they had before to find alternative properties.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That will be in the patient safety Bill, which is on what used to be called the A list, and will be published this session.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Brady for raising this important matter, which I know is of concern to many people. No legislation on it is promised. However, we will have to assess the findings of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes when it produces its report. That will not be until the first quarter of next year. We will take the matter from there.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I spoke to Deputy Howlin about this matter yesterday. The Bill is on Committee Stage. We are keen to work with the Labour Party to get it enacted during this session. The Department is still working on amendments to it. I asked the Minister for Justice and Equality to prioritise their drafting with a view to having the legislation enacted by the end of the year.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is a matter for the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, so I will ask him to correspond with the Deputies in a bit more detail. I checked up on it and I was advised that it would not apply to anyone who currently receives that payment but would only apply to new entrants. A difficulty arose in that some people were getting the grant and others were...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which I know is of great interest to him, as it is to the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, and I was very affected by what the families had to say in the meeting. It had been intended that the Attorney General would be in a position to make a decision before the summer recess but that was not possible. The last time I checked with him, he...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I agree with the Deputy that this should not happen. These are people who are paying their taxes and PRSI and should be entitled to jobseekers benefit within a week or two, and to have it backdated. If the Deputy wants to pass some of the information around this case on to me, I will make sure the Minister, Deputy Regina Doherty, looks into it and advises him directly.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate that this is an important issue and one that is close to the Deputy's heart, but the best way to raise it would be as a Topical Issue matter to the Minister of State with responsibility for disability services.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, the resourcing and organisation of the Garda are a matter for the Garda Commissioner. When he was appointed the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and I gave him a commitment that we would support him in making the changes to the organisation of the Garda force he felt were necessary. We fully support him in the work he is doing. The plan he...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. As they will be aware, there has been a phenomenal increase in resources for mental health in recent years. The budget is now almost €1 billion, if not more. I do not know the circumstances of the particular Jigsaw service the Deputies mentioned. I am at a disadvantage as none of the four health Ministers managed to make it...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. All Government policies are both urban-proofed and rural-proofed because Ireland is both urban and rural. It is wrong to try to set different parts of the country against each other. What has the Government done? It has established a Department of Rural and Community Development, with a dedicated Minister for rural affairs, backed with a fund of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that, as of September, 29 new medicines have been approved for reimbursement by the HSE. I do not have information to hand on the medicine that the Deputy raised but I will say to the Minister that it was raised today in the Chamber. I will ask him to reply to the Deputy in writing.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. I attended the meeting of the European Council in Brussels from Sunday, 30 June, until Tuesday, 2 July. President Tusk convened this extraordinary meeting of the European Council to secure agreement on high-level EU appointments. Our objective, which I believe was achieved, was to propose candidates who reflect the diversity of the EU,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Regarding President-elect von der Leyen, she was nominated unanimously by the European Council, albeit with one abstention by her own country of Germany. She has now secured the majority support of the European Parliament, and only did so with very strong support from the EPP, to which my party is affiliated, the Group of the Progressive Alliance of...