Results 30,261-30,280 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Financial Resolutions 2019 - Financial Resolution No. 9: General (Resumed) (9 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Erik Pevernagie has observed that: "When politicians bury their head in the sand, ignorance rules the country." We are now 22 days away from the possibility of a no-deal Brexit, and everyone in the country knows the dangers and challenges we face. We are forewarned and our objective in budget 2020 is to make sure we are forearmed. It is an economic vision to provide security at a time...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Communications (9 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I spoke by phone with Prime Minister Johnson on Wednesday 2 October when we discussed the latest UK Government’s proposals for a new protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. I explained to the Prime Minister that the proposals do not fully meet the agreed objectives of the backstop. However, I indicated that I would study them in further detail, and would consult with the EU...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (9 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As published in my Department's Appropriation Account 2018, outturn in respect of subhead A1(iii), Training and Development and Incidental Expenses, for 2018 was €3.524 million. €3.306 million of this relates to incidental expenses which include Official and State Entertainment, Library and Information Services, and Administrative Expenses.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I want to say how filled with sadness I was when I read about the killing of Timothy Hourihane in Cork. On behalf of the entire House, I extend my sympathies to his friends, to his family and to all of those who worked with him down the years. An Garda Síochána is treating this death as a homicide and, therefore, a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is a homicide. A Garda investigation is under way. The only person responsible for this is the individual who killed that poor man. I strongly encourage anyone who has information to provide it to the Garda so that officers can carry out their work and bring the person who killed this poor man to justice. That is what should happen. We are building secure accommodation, with over...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We need to build it up. There are capacity constraints but it is being built up. This is the biggest social housing programme in many decades. This year and next, more social housing will be built than in any year since the start of the century.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this important issue, which is of huge significance to people living in Northern Ireland in particular. The Good Friday Agreement is eloquent on this matter in my view. It states that people in Northern Ireland have a right to be British, Irish or both, and accepted as such. That is the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. It is my view that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. For the part of the Irish Government, we will continue to uphold the Good Friday Agreement in letter and spirit. We will continue to respect the fact that people in Northern Ireland have the right to be British or Irish or both, and accepted as such. For that reason, we continue to respect and confer Irish citizenship on people in Northern Ireland. With that comes...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Insisting and demanding is how one gets nowhere. That is why her party got nowhere in the North.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I have read a little bit about this issue but I do not have a detailed briefing on it as yet but I will seek one in the coming days. As I understand it, Bessborough already is in private ownership. It is not in public ownership. The nationalisation of anyone's property, whether they be a private individual, a company or a religious order, without compensation is, of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. It is important to acknowledge the fact that, for many years, religious orders of many types provided healthcare, education and social services, long before the State was willing to enter those areas-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and, for a very long time, provided those services in education, health and social services at a discount to the State.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Even when I was in primary school in Blanchardstown, the church still continued to contribute a certain amount of money to the running of my primary school. We need to be balanced about this and not use this as an opportunity to bash religious orders gratuitously. Yes, they have done a lot of things wrong in the past, but we should acknowledge a lot of the good they did as well,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: With regard to the particular question, this, of course, has to be a matter of negotiation. We will do anything reasonable within our power to make sure the family services there, the jobs there and those who use those services are protected.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Lowry for raising this important issue. I know that the cost of insurance is a huge issue for citizens, businesses and voluntary organisations. We have made some progress in recent years in stabilising the cost of health insurance through lifetime community rating, keeping the cost of home insurance down and reducing the cost of car insurance, which is now down approximately...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We all share the objective here, which is to reduce the cost of insurance for citizens, businesses and voluntary organisations. We need all players to make a contribution to this objective. I ask the Judiciary to proceed without delay in establishing the judicial council, setting up a personal injuries commission and replacing the book of quantum with a schedule of awards that are more...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is absolutely the case that this country's infrastructure is not as good as it should be. We are a young country with an expanding population. We have only been wealthy for the past 20 or 30 years. We are well behind other European countries in terms of developing our public transport and railway systems. The metro systems in Paris and London were built over 100 years ago. We are only...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Luas expansion on the green line in Dublin is now well under way. The first of the extended carriages are arriving which will allow for a 30% increase in capacity on the green line. On the northern and western Maynooth lines, with which I am familiar, two projects are under way. The first is the ordering of hybrid carriages that will allow us to electrify the network. Unfortunately,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government-Church Dialogue (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. A plenary meeting with representatives from churches, faith communities and non-confessional organisations was held on Thursday, 4 July 2019 in Dublin Castle. The meeting was organised as part of the Church State Structured Dialogue Process, which was established in 2005 and forms part of the Government's commitment to carry...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government-Church Dialogue (15 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy Howlin referred to the Kennedy Summer School, which I had the privilege of attending and speaking at. I also paid tribute to its founder, Mr. Noel Whelan. The school is going from strength to strength and will show its worth in the years ahead, even more so than it has already. Deputy Howlin mentioned the views expressed by Archbishop...