Results 32,061-32,080 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Microfinance Loan Fund Scheme (7 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Microenterprise Loan Fund, operated by Microfinance Ireland assists businesses with fewer than ten employees. It provides much-needed funding to help microenterprises meet payments for stock, working capital requirements and other overhead expenses through the provision of low-cost lending facilities. Microfinance Ireland provides vital support to microenterprises by filling the...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Social Partnership Meetings (7 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I have publicly stated my intention to establish a Statutory Sick Pay Scheme in full consultation with employers and unions. This will build on the various improvements that have been made to social protections for workers over the last five years, including paternity benefit, parental leave benefit and the extension of social insurance benefits to the self-employed and those in the gig...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (7 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Footfall is an indicator of trading and as we continue to adhere to public health guidelines in order to protect ourselves and each other, it has declined. Businesses and traders in Dublin city, and all across the country, are facing challenges at the present time and I understand this is a difficult time for many who are facing an uncertain future. Remote working is a flexible working...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (7 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Earlier this week we announced that as of 6th October at 12 midnight all parts of the country will move to Level Three of the Government’s Framework for Restrictive Measures for a period of three weeks. I understand that these restrictions will have a significant impact on businesses and employment around the country. In recognition of the impact of these restrictions on...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Regional Development (7 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has committed to ensuring that local development plans are developed to stimulate economic activity for those areas that were expecting economic development arising from new fossil-fuel infrastructure. As part of this, the Government will consider the potential of the Shannon Estuary in terms of regional economic development across transport and logistics, manufacturing,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Covid is nobody's fault. Nobody in the Government is engaging in any sort of blame game. That is the game of others. This is a virus. Nobody is to blame for it whether here or north of the Border. I will not speak for the Minister, Deputy Donnelly; I understand he is to issue a statement later in the day. I can, however, speak for the Government and for myself. I can give the facts....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: On the issue of ICU capacity, as I outlined earlier, we went from 225 beds at the start of the year to close to 300 beds now. The number of patients in ICU with Covid-19 is around 25. We have the ability to go to 360 beds with surge capacity, and there is also the option of using the private hospitals. That option was available to us in the spring and it can be available again. Those are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Let us look at other countries. Two good examples are the Netherlands and Spain. Both those countries have a much higher incidence of the coronavirus than Ireland and fewer hospital beds per head than Ireland and neither is at this stage considering going back into lockdown. That is the position. In relation to the Chief Medical Officer, I did not say a bad word about him.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: He is somebody I respect immensely and someone I worked with very closely on difficult issues, such as Portlaoise and CervicalCheck, when the Opposition was taking lumps out of him, by the way.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I spoke to the CMO on Tuesday night, which was the first time I had a chance to speak to him in ages. I did not want to bother him while he was off because his wife is sick. We had a good personal conversation. We cleared the air and neither of us has any issue with the other. We spent most of that conversation talking about how we are going to beat this virus, and that is what we should...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the Deputy's first question, the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, will make a statement today.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: His office has informed me that he will do that today. I cannot answer the Deputy's second question regarding whether public health departments have been contacted, but I am sure they have been. We all appreciate the amazing work the public health departments are doing in contact tracing. They have had the assistance of people who would never have known what contact tracing was until...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I think the Deputy's line of questioning is a distraction as well.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The way we will beat this virus is through collective action led by the Government and individual actions which people take in their everyday lives. We all appreciate that individual actions are required, with all of us following those public health guidelines, and Government action to ensure we put the infrastructure in place. Part of that infrastructure involves testing, and we are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Canney for raising this issue. I know it is close to his heart and I remember us speaking about it months ago when we were in government together. The Government really values the essential work done by school secretaries and caretakers. Often, the school secretary is the first person one meets on the way into a school and the caretaker is the last person to leave in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct that a pay rise has been offered, but this is not just about pay. It is about other issues as well and school secretaries and caretakers understandably want their employment terms and conditions to be regularised. They want to be public sector employees, like teachers and other secretaries in the public service, working in local authorities or Civil Service...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am very definitely Tánaiste. I will show the Deputy my payslip.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this important question. I know that the issue of local authority deficits is a matter of concern around the country. It is coming up from Deputies from all constituencies. I understand from Deputy Griffin that the financial gap for Kerry County Council is estimated at about €5 million or €6 million for 2020, potentially rising to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that the Government will certainly not tell people in rural Ireland that they cannot burn their own turf or timber in their own fire. That will not happen. That would be totally disproportionate and unnecessary, given the fact that air quality is very high in rural Ireland. It is a different issue in towns and cities where we have a problem with air quality and that is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (8 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy knows, section 39 workers are a diverse group. They are not public servants and they are not Government employees but the work that they do is extraordinarily valuable. Some are employees of companies, some are employees of NGOs and some are employees of charities. These companies, NGOs and charities receive grant funding from the Government to fund partially or fully their...