Results 34,461-34,480 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the publication of the report ‘Monitoring Decent Work in Ireland’ from the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission and the Economic and Social Research Institute. Research in this area is highly valuable for informing policy development. I take positives from this report such as employment rates growing for many of these groups over the period 2014 to 2019 as an...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The total expenditure incurred by staff of my Department and its offices under the heading of travel and subsistence from 1 January 2020 to date (end May 2021) was €747,036. Travel and Subsistence expenditure has been significantly curtailed since March 2020 due to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on travel. Despite restrictions, essential travel has still been required,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Reviews (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Details of value for money and policy reviews conducted by my Department during the period in question are set out in the table below. Details of Value for Money/Policy Review External ContractYes/No Cost of External Contract Review of SME and Entrepreneurship policies Yes The total budget was €300,000 of which...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has approved measures, based on public health advice, allowing for a planned reopening of the economy and society. Any amendments to restrictions as the roll out of the vaccination programme progresses over the coming months will be based on public health advice.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Workplace Relations Commission (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) is an independent, statutory body under the aegis of my Department, established on 1st October 2015 under the Workplace Relations Act 2015. The WRC’s primary functions include the inspection of employment law compliance, the provision of information on employment law, mediation, adjudication, conciliation, facilitation, and advisory services. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Websites (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is committed to meeting the requirement to have a statement on the compliance of websites and mobile applications under its remit in accordance with directive 2016/2102 (EU). My Department has begun the process of migrating website content to .gov.ie. In tandem a review of all websites is ongoing and, where practicable, each website will be migrated to the .gov.ie platform....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Websites (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is committed to making all websites under its remit accessible in accordance with S.I. 258/2020 and to achieving AA standard under WCAG 2.1 guidelines. My Department has begun the process of migrating website content to .gov.ie. In tandem, a review of all websites is ongoing and, where practicable, each website will be migrated to the .gov.ie platform. Where it is not possible...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Budgets (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Revised Estimate for my Department for 2021 as published in December 2020 are available at the below link. This Estimate incorporates the transfer of certain innovation functions from my Department to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science as well as the transfer in of certain functions from the Department of Children, Equality, Disability,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Budgets (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The final allocation for my Department’s Vote for 2020 were confirmed in a Further Revised Estimate (FRE) which was approved by the Dáil in November 2020. The breakdown of the allocation is available at the below link.. The FRE reflected the unprecedented increase in my Department's allocation in order to actively respond to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on our enterprise...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Rights of People with Disabilities (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As a member of the Comprehensive Employment Strategy for People with Disabilities Implementation Group, my Department has committed to highlight the supports that are available to facilitate the employment of people with disabilities in the open labour market, or to retain in the workforce employees who acquire a disability. The Department of Social Protection (DSP) offers a number of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Staff (15 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department assigns officers to higher duties allowances in line with Circular 38/2007: Allowances for the performance of the duties of a higher grade, which sets out the conditions under which an allowance for the performance of the duties of a higher grade may be granted. Currently there are no employees within my Department or within the staff of the agencies under the aegis of my...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (16 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Given the impact the necessary COVID-19 restrictions has had, it is likely that businesses in the travel sector, such as travel agents, will take longer to recover than those engaged in other sectors of the economy. It has been an incredibly difficult time for such businesses. The Government’s comprehensive package to help the wide range of businesses during the pandemic, including...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Policies (16 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not examined the costs of introducing a universal basic income. As the Deputy is aware, the Programme for Government includes a commitment to ‘Request the Low Pay Commission to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government’. Earlier this...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much for his question. I start by joining him in welcoming the agreement that was reached last night to appoint a new Executive and a new First Minister, Paul Givan, and facilitate the reappointment of Michelle O’Neill as deputy First Minister. Mr. Givan and Ms O'Neill are now co-equals and joint heads of the Administration in Northern Ireland. Despite the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I think the Deputy is trying to misrepresent what I said, and that is exactly what he did the last time we discussed the issue of housing in the Chamber. Unfortunately, he was partially successful in that regard. That is a poor reflection on him but also on others who accept his spin too often when it comes to the issue of housing. To answer the Deputy's question, the Government has...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do have confidence in the hospital board and the Department of Health to manage this project. To answer the Deputy's question, it is my firm view that when this project is complete, few people will think it was a bad investment. Those who have seen the facilities we now have in Blanchardstown and the first phase of that development, namely, the urgent care centre, will see what an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Regarding the claims made by the contractor, the contractor submitted more than 800 claims for additional money for this project. The board is disputing and defending those claims. It has been extremely successful in discussions and arbitrations in ensuring most of the claims made by the contractor have been rejected and, in some cases, reduced very significantly. Indeed, there are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Jun 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate we need to invest more in our water network. We are currently preparing the national development plan, NDP, review, which will set out the level of public investment in all forms of infrastructure between now and 2030. It is the update, or refresh, of Project Ireland 2040. We expect to complete that in the next few months. As part of that, we are giving consideration to...