Results 30,501-30,520 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reform (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Did they sit at the Cabinet table?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reform (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I really do not think that is the case. This is the first time we have had a Minister of State at the Cabinet table whose sole responsibility is disability.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reform (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As he works across a few Departments, he is able to co-ordinate the work of the Departments of Health, Employment Affairs and Social Protection and so on.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: EU Meetings (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Israel and Palestine was not discussed at the most recent European Council meeting on 17-18 October. International matters are generally discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council. The wider Middle East was last discussed at an informal Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Helsinki on 29-30 August 2019.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Legal Cases Data (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There were no financial settlements reached by my Department or any statutory body under my remit in the past five years.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Information and Communications Technology (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 74 to 76, inclusive, together. There is one computer in the Department of the Taoiseach that uses the Microsoft Windows 7 Operating System. This computer is used for an internal system and is scheduled to be replaced in November 2019 with the supplier of that system. The provision of modern, appropriately secured and appropriately supported computer operating...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There are currently 221.5 whole time equivalent staff working in my Department. All staff are paid above the current national minimum wage rate of €9.80 per hour.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts Data (5 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Under Department of Finance Circular 40/02, my Department makes annual returns to the Comptroller and Auditor General in respect of contracts above a €25,000 threshold which are awarded without a competitive process. Contracts awarded without a competitive process are not necessarily non-compliant with procurement guidelines. Details of contracts/purchases of more than €25,000...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am very much aware that our emergency departments are very overcrowded today. Indeed, they have been for quite some time. However, there has been a reduction in overcrowding today versus yesterday and we expect that reduction to continue through to tomorrow and Friday. As regards the actions the Government is taking, we are adding more beds to the hospital system. Since 2014, as soon as...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not mean any disrespect to the Deputy either, but his self-righteousness knows no limits. Let us not forget-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will provide some facts. Let us not forget that he was once Minister for Health and Children-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and that he was famous for chiding Tallaght Hospital for not ordering enough trolleys-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: ----when patients were being treated in the car park of that hospital.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We do not even know how many people were on trolleys in those days because the then Government would not count them. The Deputy was also a member of the Government which took a policy decision - and not on the basis of financial considerations - to reduce the number of hospital beds significantly. He started that policy during the boom and continued on with it. We reversed the decision in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is a really difficult problem and it has been with us for decades. We know that there are also problems in many other countries as well. In that context, there is serious overcrowding in Northern Ireland. We are taking every possible action to deal with it. We are providing more beds, more staff and more funding for the fair deal scheme and home care, and we are investing in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will not be able to speak on the issues relating to Cork in detail because I do not have an up-to-date briefing on them. If the Deputy wants to pass more details about those posts on to me, I will certainly have the situation examined. If a post has been approved and if the budget is there to fund it, there is absolutely no reason it should not be filled. The long-standing practice of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is quite correct; the number of detox, stabilisation, and rehabilitation beds taken together is 793. That figure comprises 19 inpatient detox beds, 127 community-based residential detox beds, four adolescent residential detox beds, 625 residential rehabilitation beds and 18 adolescent residential beds. We now put more than €100 million a year into addiction services. That...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I offer my condolences and my heart goes out to the parents of Ana Kriegel. I saw them speaking yesterday and I cannot imagine what they are going through and will go through for the rest of their lives because of what happened to their beautiful daughter. There is an epidemic of gender-based violence in Ireland and across the world,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Spending by the Government is increasing by roughly 4% per year. It is only in the last year or two that we have gone from deficit to surplus and we are talking in as much in revenue as we spend. Government spending is increasing by about 4% a year. As the Deputy pointed out, we increased the budget in this area by 10%, which is a recognition of the priority we place on this issue. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am at a little bit of a loss once again. As is often the case, the Deputy perhaps knows the detail and facts around tax law better than I do. I may have to come back to her with a more substantive response at another date. As she stated, capital acquisitions tax involves two elements. One is inheritance tax and the other is gift tax. In the two most recent budgets, we have reduced...