Results 31,901-31,920 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: COVID-19 is a notifiable disease under the Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulations 2020. Any infectious disease pandemic is first and foremost a matter of public health for which a legal basis for reporting already exists under public health legislation. Notifiable infectious diseases are statutorily reportable under the above Regulations to the Chief Medical Officer of the Department of...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Energy Regulation (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware that the UK energy regulator, OFGEM, has recently published proposals to standardise and strengthen supports for customers who struggle to pay energy bills and customers who pay for energy on a pre-payment basis. Protections for Irish energy customers who pay for energy on a pre-payment basis are the responsibility of the Commission for Regulation of Utilities which comes under the...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Offices (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Accommodation for my Department and its Offices is provided by the Office of Public Works (OPW) in buildings which are either State owned or leased by the OPW on our behalf. Typically, the Department and its Offices are in shared accommodation, either with other Government Departments, public bodies or the private sector. The Department and its Offices are located in 11 locations across...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and IDA Ireland have a number of proactive measures in place to encourage investment and job creation in the regions, including the North-West. The IDA is authorised by my Department to provide a range of financial supports in the form of employment, capital, research and development, environmental and training grants. In 2019, the Agency paid over €6.8m in grants to...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Advisers (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: On the commencement of every Dáil, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform issues guidelines setting out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices. The appointment of Special Advisers is subject to section 11 of the Public Service Management Act 1997. The Guidelines for the 33rd Dáil, which incorporate the principles of section 11 of the PMSA Act, were...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: In the context of the continuing advice from NPHET that pubs that do not serve food should remain closed, the Government nevertheless accepts that there are ongoing costs that pubs face over and above those of other businesses.In that regard the Government introduced a range of measures to support pubs, bars and nightclubs that were announced on 28th August which amounts to a further...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Ministerial Advisers (8 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: While appointments are subject to formal Government approval, the appointment of individual Special Advisers is a matter for each Government Minister subject to the terms set out in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform guidelines which set out the arrangements for the staffing of Ministerial Offices. The appointment of Special Advisers is subject to section 11 of the Public Service...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Construction Contracts (9 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I am determined, together with the IDA, to attract further investment to Louth and the Border counties, as we seek to recover from the economic impact of COVID-19. As part of its Regional Property Programme (RPP) the IDA successfully constructed an Advanced Office Building (AOB) at Finnabair Business Park in Dundalk last...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: IDA Ireland (9 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I have been informed by IDA Ireland that there are currently no plans to open a new office in Melbourne, Australia. The Agency does, however, operate an office in Sydney as part of it global footprint of 19 offices which includes a number of locations in the Asia-Pacific region. The IDA continues to review its presence overseas on an ongoing basis, in line with the strong emphasis it places...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (9 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I assume the Deputy is referring to Exchequer funding. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) receives Exchequer funding and Levy funding. The Exchequer grant for the CCPC in 2020 was €13,836,000. If this allocation was increased by 12% for 2021, as indicated by the Deputy, the allocation which the CCPC would receive in 2021 would increase by €1,660,320...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Trade Fairs (9 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I recognise the adverse impact that the COVID-19 pandemic is having on businesses right across the country, particularly those in the trade fairs and exhibitions industry. I know that employers, employees and the self-employed in this sector want to get back to work as quickly as possible and I support them in that ambition. Unfortunately, in recent weeks there have been multiple...

Written Answers — Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: Departmental Expenditure (9 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Revised Estimates published by the Department of Public Expenditure Reform in December last year provided my Department with a capital expenditure allocation of €632 million. The Revised Estimate also permitted the Department to carry over some €42.15million in unspent capital monies from 2019 thus giving a total of €674.15million to fund our Core Capital Programmes...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for asking this important question and I will do my best to clarify the situation. The HSE commenced a programme of serial testing in meat and food production plants on 21 August. Since then, 13,000 tests have been carried out and 34 cases were detected. The testing of staff at meat and food processing plants has not been cancelled, it has been rescheduled for next week....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I hope the Deputy will respond to the questions I have asked later in the day. We will be happy to make time for that, or for a debate on the matter. Testing demand nearly trebled on Monday compared to last week, with a requirement for over 13,000 tests in the community and 3,000 hospital tests, a total of 16,000 in one day. Capacity is approximately 15,000 per day. While demand has...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The Cabinet sub-committee on Covid will meet this afternoon and it will be an opportunity for us to receive an update from the Minister for Health and our public health team and consider a draft of our new plan to live with Covid over the course of the next six to nine months. In many ways, the first chapter of dealing with this pandemic was about locking down the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The winter plan is being developed by the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, and the HSE. I agree with the Deputy's comments that this needs to be done within the next few weeks and not when winter is already upon us. That is the plan and intention of the Government. We do not know what winter will be like. We cannot know for sure to what extent Covid will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know that a large number of Deputies, particularly in rural constituencies, are getting many representations about school transport, as we always do at this time of year, but they are of a very different nature this year because of the pandemic. It is absolutely the case that there have been positive Covid-19 cases among schoolchildren...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to come back to the Deputy in respect of her specific question on Dublin Bus as I do not have that information to hand. Among the actions that the Department of Education and Skills is taking is the provision of grant support to parents to help them with the cost of private transport arrangements where they want it. So far just under 1,000 parents or guardians have contacted...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I believe the former staff of Debenhams have been treated very badly by their employer in the way these redundancies came about, and they have our sympathies. Like many people, I have been impressed by, and respect, the campaign they have waged for nearly 160 days. They have shown extraordinary resilience and real strength but it is also the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Sep 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I have engaged with the workers too. I have met them. I have engaged with Mandate, the trade union, and ICTU. I have spoken directly to Debenhams UK and I have sought advice from the Attorney General. The facts that I have are different from the facts the Deputy has. The basic fundamental facts differ as follows. Clerys was a very different situation. There was a very substantial and...