Results 33,341-33,360 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We may well end up in the same place. There are lots of things that we have done in the past year to fight this pandemic that I never thought we would do. The Government and I will always keep an open mind on these things. We may not be as far apart as people may think. When we have a discussion like this, in slogans, it misses the detail. This is the complexity of what we have to deal...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Nobody should say "permanent". No matter what strategy one has, there is the risk of having to reimpose lockdowns. Unfortunately, we have seen that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have seen that in Melbourne. People want to know that whatever we do is going to be sustainable.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. In terms of the overall picture on hospital capacity, everyone acknowledges that we are doing so much better now than has been the case for a very long time. January is usually a period when our hospitals have no spare beds and when we hear every morning about hundreds of people being forced to spend some of their hospital stay on trolleys. As of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: People have good reason to be afraid. This pandemic is real. There are 3,000 families across the country who have lost loved ones and are still grieving for them. Had it not been for the actions that people took individually and as a community, as well as the actions that Government took, we would be experiencing much higher levels of mortality and sickness than we have now. At least...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Harkin for raising this issue because I know it has been a topic of discussion among the general public and among healthcare professionals over recent weeks. The issue was previously raised by Deputy McNamara so I looked into it. As everyone in the House knows, many Irish people are deficient in vitamin D, not least because we do not have much exposure to the sun, a situation...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank the Deputy. As I am sure she will appreciate, notwithstanding my background as a doctor, I am here as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and do not wish to dispense medical advice as to which supplements people should or should not take. As the Deputy stated, there is evidence that vitamin D can be beneficial in the context of Covid-19 and there is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will know, we now require that anybody entering the State to have a negative PCR test. If people do not have such a test, they are subject to mandatory hotel quarantine. We are examining a change which would result in a requirement for two tests, five days apart. This is recommended by NPHET and we are giving it full consideration. We will make a decision in that regard...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----to republican funerals. I know the Deputy does not organise them but-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----the attendees are his party's people, members and supporters. The Deputy and Deputy McDonald have to tell people to stop these funerals. They are a bad idea.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is actively involved in this question and is showing leadership on it through involvement with the WHO and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. We are providing money and, down the line, we may even provide spare vaccines to developing countries to help them with their vaccine programmes. We know how infectious diseases work. Covid will always be present somewhere in the world. It...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will have to check that out for the Deputy. It may well need to be re-established, particularly for groups that may be at very high risk and I am thinking of the Roma community, in particular, which experienced Covid-19 very badly during the first wave, and there are other such groups. I will take this up with the chief medical officer, CMO, to see if it can be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I totally understand and appreciate that sixth years are under a great deal of pressure. These are the same students who lost a chunk of fifth year and are now also losing several weeks, perhaps even longer, of sixth year. It is very difficult for them. I know that they want an answer from Government as soon as possible on what is going to happen with the leaving...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I, unfortunately, do not have any information on that for her but I will raise it with the Minister and ask that he send a reply directly to her.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate that this is an important issue. I am not exactly sure what the question for me on this is. If the Deputy is concerned that there is an issue around competition and competition law, there is a procedure by which these matters can be raised with the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC, and there are also rules around cross media ownership....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I broadly agree that there is a greater role for antigen testing in Ireland into the future but we have to be guided by public health advice on this. NPHET, as the Deputy will aware, have not been particularly confident about the accuracy of antigen testing and it believes that in many instances it does not meet what the manufacturers say. NPHET has updated its guidance...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for this question. We have a couple of schemes. There is a retail scheme and also the trading online voucher scheme, which has been transferred to my Department. We have decided after careful consideration to change the scheme to a 50:50 model, with the business contributing half the cost and the Government contributing the other half. We believe we will get better bang...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware of the water problems at Enfield and Ballivor. The Minister of State, Deputy English, has also informed me of the problems in those areas. It is of course a decision for Irish Water as to whether it can go ahead with the necessary project, but I will certainly check out the situation for the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid that I do not know the answer to the Deputy's question, but the situation he has described certainly seems inconsistent, namely, that people already on the programme would not reimbursed while new entrants would be. All I can do is to make the Minister for Health aware that the Deputy has raised this issue. I will try to get a written answer provided to Deputy Collins.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Andrews for raising this important issue, which I know is of real concern to families in Dublin 4, 6 and 6W. I will let the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, know it has been raised and ask her to furnish Deputy Andrews with a written response.