Results 34,241-34,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and he will acknowledge that in the past, the Government has accepted legislation from him on the insurance issue and we will be willing to do so again and to work with him on this and give his proposal full consideration. As I did not hear what the insurers said at the committee, I do not want to comment directly on what I did not hear them say but if they said that they...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The people have every reason to be hopeful about the summer ahead. The number of people in hospital is below 100, the number in ICU is below 50 and cases are stable at approximately 400 or 500 a day, as I predicted they would be several months ago, without falling much below that given the level of reopening. We are ahead of ourselves in terms of where we thought we would be regarding...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is worth pointing out that the vaccine programme is run by the HSE rather than NIAC or NPHET, although obviously NIAC and NPHET have a role. They are much the same people, a lot of the time, writing letters to each other but that is another day's work. The Deputy asked that NIAC should explain its advice as to why we should continue to have a 12-week interval between the two doses of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I have not seen the report and I was not notified that Deputy Collins was going to raise it. Therefore, it is difficult for me to comment on it but I will take a look at it in the coming days. I wonder whether it is a comparison of all the local authorities in Ireland because it is the case that quite a number of Dublin local authorities do not receive much in Government grants....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly look at the report, but it is very strange for any Deputy in this House to call for an independent inquiry, to state what the outcome should be and then to state what the punishment should be. That is nonsense, Deputy Collins. That is not what an independent inquiry does. An independent inquiry looks at something independently, it does not have a predetermined outcome and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The pandemic has taken a toll on many people’s mental health for many different reasons, including isolation, loss of work, loss of income and bereavement. Thankfully, we have not seen any increase in suicide rates during the pandemic period. We worried at the start that this might happen. However, there have been increases in things like calls about domestic violence and referrals...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has my assurance that I will make inquiries about this today. It is only May. I do not understand how the budget could be gone. The national budget for the HSE this year is €22 billion. We are going to struggle to finance it in years ahead but it has never been bigger. The budget for mental health is €1.1 billion and has never been greater. It includes plenty of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There are 334,000 people on the PUP this week. They need that money. In the vast majority of cases, this is because they are unable to go back to their jobs because of the pandemic. In the past week, 25,800 people came off the PUP because they were able to go back to work. That is really encouraging and I want to see that trend continue in the weeks and months ahead. It is my firm view...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am worried about this matter too. Based on what I have been told and my own assessment, the cyberattack has had a greater impact on cancer treatment and care than the pandemic did. Cancer care was largely maintained throughout the pandemic but the cyberattack has really disrupted it. Cancer services, radiology, diagnostic services and radio-oncology are being prioritised for restoration....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government's position, based on the advice of the Attorney General, is that legislation of that nature is not permitted because trade is an EU competence. I know there are alternative views but it is certainly the view of the Government's legal adviser - it was also the view of his predecessor - that legislation of that nature would not stand because trade is an EU competence, not a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is remarkable that people have so little to say about those territories.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge, as does the Government, that the taxi industry has been severely damaged by the pandemic. Taxi drivers have incurred enormous economic losses, much more so than the average person. It would be remiss of us not to acknowledge that the Government has done a lot to help already. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, announced a €15 million package last year....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government very much regrets the job losses that have occurred in airlines and aviation in general. They are principally a consequence of the pandemic and the travel restrictions that we have had to put in place. Many in this House thought our travel restrictions did not go far enough. I know Deputy Grealish was not one of them, but it is strange to hear some of those people now...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I totally appreciate that this was very disappointing news for people who work in the live music sector. I can guarantee that Fáilte Ireland, our national tourism body, with which I worked closely for years, is a big supporter of Irish music and Irish arts.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: If the Deputy does not know the reason for this, which he should know, it is one of public health.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: If there is live music-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----people will speak louder and they will shout and that will-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think the Deputy wants to hear the answer so we will move on.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure if the former Minister, Shane Ross, has the timeline exactly right but he does have the substance right. I did ask him to extend the term of the then chair at that time, at least until he found a new one. I do not think that was bad advice because leaving a chair empty is never a good thing for a board and that is the point Deputy McNamara is making. The Minister for...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 May 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. It is the responsibility of the Residential Tenancies Board to make sure properties are registered. There seem to be a lot of unregistered properties, from my own sense of things, particularly in our city centres, including Dublin and Cork, and that is a real problem in terms of taxes unpaid and tenants being unprotected. I know the board has...