Results 32,301-32,320 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The HSE is adding about 70 staff to its contact tracing teams each week. The tracing staff are very busy and are under a lot of pressure. They had to deal with a real surge in cases in the last couple of days. That recruitment is happening. We anticipate having hundreds of staff on a permanent basis contact tracing within the next couple of weeks. Off the top of my...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Nash. I think he is spot on. I met with representatives of the retail industry yesterday alongside the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English. We outlined the rules and received the industry's assurance that it would abide not only by the letter but by the spirit of the rules If a supermarket or other store is allowed to open that is because it sells essential products...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As far as I know the leaving certificate resits will go ahead. Schools are going to stay open, so I imagine the exams will go ahead as planned. If there is any change we will certainly alert the House. The appeals process was a useful exercise for the 18 students that got an upgrade, though not for the vast majority of students who appealed. There was a very different leaving certificate...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will have to ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to respond to him.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Donohoe, is working with the Attorney General on a solution to this issue. It arises from a court decision that essentially states there is a dissonance between what is stated in the legislation and what the regulations do. I expect that, at the very least, it will require an amendment to the legislation or the regulations. The Minister is currently working on that.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and the Labour Court, which are agencies of my Department, are always available to intervene in such matters. I am not familiar with the details of the dispute, but if there is a willingness on either side to go to the WRC or the Labour Court, those agencies under my remit stand ready to assist.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The budget provides for a significant increase in spending on education and staffing levels next year, including a reduction in the staff-pupil ratio by one in primary schools, in addition to the €5 million fund mentioned by the Deputy. I will have to ask the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Foley, to revert to the Deputy with details in that regard. I think I know the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: There has never been more funding for school transport either, but obviously we are in a complicated scenario given the requirement to reduce numbers and have social distancing and so forth on buses. I will ask the Minister for Education and Skills to revert to the Deputies on their specific comments.

Latent Defects Redress Bill 2020: First Stage (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Residential Tenancies (Extension of Eviction Ban) Bill 2020: First Stage (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Restart Grant Plus provides direct grant aid to businesses with up to 250 employees to help them with the costs associated with reopening and reemploying workers following COVID-19 closures.  As the Deputy will be aware, on 6thOctober 2020 all parts of the country moved to Level Three of the Government’s Framework for Restrictive Measures. In recognition of the...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The National Framework for Living with Covid-19 plan sets out how businesses should operate at each level of the Restrictive Measures Framework.  The current advice under level 5 is that only essential workers should attend the workplace and individuals should restrict travel to 5 kms apart for reasons of essential work, education and other essential purposes. What is deemed to be...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (22 Oct 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am keenly aware that businesses are making a massive sacrifice to protect their communities and I am committed to ensuring that the Government will offer as much assistance and support as possible. My Department has worked to ensure that appropriate supports are in place for businesses that require finance as they develop their response to their exposure to impacts arising from COVID-19....

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome this opportunity to give an account to the Dáil of my actions in April 2019 in relation to the contract negotiated between the Government and general practitioners, GPs, represented by the Irish Medical Organisation, IMO. I welcome the opportunity to set the record straight, to refute some of the allegations against me and to apologise for my errors of judgment. I want to...

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I got the document from the Department of Health. It was a hard copy. I did copy it. I kept a copy for myself, which I no longer have, and I posted one to him. He did request it.

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I received copies of this twice. I would have got briefings from time to time about the negotiations. I was not at the talks at any point but I was briefed on them. I got one copy from the Minister for Health, which my records tell me I read and put in the recycling bin. I requested a second copy through my adviser. I have an adviser, Clare Mungovan, who covered health issues for me when...

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have the exact date, but it was all in that time period, obviously.

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Again, I do not have the exact time period on that, but the document I had was from after 4 April, because that is when it was agreed. He would have requested it sometime between 4 April and the date which I gave Deputy Doherty as to when I sent it to him, which was between 11 April and 15 April or 16 April. I think it was 15 April or 16 April but I do not know exactly on which date.

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I did, yes.

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have a text message on that.