Results 32,321-32,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: The document that I was given by the then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, was some time around 4 or 5 April. This was the document that I read and put in the recycling bin. Then when I got the second copy I-----
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: No, because I wanted to read it again.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Yes. I did. I requested my adviser to get it for me. I think that was on 10 April.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I know he was looking for it.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I do not know the exact date but it was all obviously in that week, which was the week after it had been launched, announced and approved by the Cabinet.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I did not tell anyone, or at least I have no recollection of telling anyone, but in doing so, as I said earlier, I was following on from a Government commitment that we would keep the NAGP informed and involved in all of this.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Actually, no I am not.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I am sure I could have found that out, but I was not aware of it.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: That is a good question and I cannot answer it for sure. The NAGP, in its statement the other day, said that it had monthly meetings with the HSE and the Department of Health. The Department of Health says otherwise - that there were not meetings in 2018 or 2019, so we will have to get to the bottom of that obviously, but none of the meetings would have involved me. Again, the commitment...
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: The Department of Health and the HSE were involved in this too. The NAGP in its statement say there were monthly meetings on the chronic disease package. The Department of Health says that there was a prolonged period where there were no meetings. I am not sure what the HSE is saying. What I can say is that there was a public commitment given by the Minister for Health and by me that the...
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: In fairness the Minister for Justice is the Minister for Justice and she would have had no involvement in this. It would not be fair to expect her to know everything about it or to be aware of all the details. That is not a fair proposition that the Deputy is putting forward. My defence is not about how many meetings were held between the NAGP, the HSE and the Department of Health. My...
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Any agreement, even when it is done and passed by Cabinet, can be amended. We all know that. Agreements can be made and one can come back, amend them subsequently and they can be subject to change. I have put the records out there for the information of the House tonight. Engagement was concluded - it says that in the Government memo - on 3 April. The details were publicly announced...
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I gave it on a confidential basis to Maitiú Ó Tuathail, as president of the NAGP. He shared it with some people in the NAGP but certainly did not publish it or decide to circulate it. It was a document that I had and gave to somebody in confidence. I explained why I did earlier, that I wanted to see if we could get the NAGP on side and make sure it did not oppose this agreement...
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Please, let me finish.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I trained as a GP. I had lots of friends who are GPs and I still do. I did not give the document to my friends who are GPs. I only gave it to one person because he was president of the NAGP, not because he was my friend.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: No.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I did not contact any other Ministers about it. The query did not come to me about it at all, actually. An email, however, was sent to our office asking if I had ever given the document to another doctor or an associate. We did not reply to the query.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Not that I am aware of.
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: Again, the Deputy is asking me about contacts between the then Minister, Deputy Harris, and Maitiú Ó Tuathail-----
- General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)
Leo Varadkar: I would not be surprised. It would be entirely normal for the president of the NAGP to ask the Minister.