Results 34,861-34,880 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We do not know the route and we do not know the stations. It has not gone to tender.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: This is going to take years to get started let alone complete.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: When we have used citizens' assemblies to their best effect, we have done exactly what the Deputy proposes, which is to take the report, ask a time-limited special committee to examine it, refine it and then put proposals to the Government to which it can respond. That is how we intend to approach the report of this Citizen's Assembly. I have spoken about it with some of my people today and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am sorry to hear of those experiences. I cannot give a comprehensive answer at the moment. I am not fully up to date or briefed on the matter, but I will let the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, know that it was raised here and ask him to reply to the Deputy directly.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The dental treatment services scheme, DTSS, was cut back significantly during the financial crisis and has not been restored. While we have agreed a restoration schedule for funding for general practice, we have not done so for dental practice. We will need to do that. It is a matter for the budget and the HSE service plan. I understand and share the Deputy’s sentiments. In the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We have a programme of improvements for the National Ambulance Service, including new vehicles and bases. I am not sure where Carlow fits into that but I will certainly inform the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, that the issue was raised in the House. Hopefully, we will be able to make some progress on it in the not-too-distant future.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Chairman. I apologise for not getting the opening statement the committee earlier. I did not have a chance to clear it until last night. As an aside, I mentioned that on previous occasions statements given by Ministers to committees have appeared in the media before they were given and obviously I encourage members, if they receive a statement in advance, to respect the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I know. It happened in others. I wish to clarify that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Chairman and committee members for the opportunity to discuss this important trade agreement for Ireland. As the committee will be aware, the Joint Committee on European Union Affairs debated CETA over several hearings and published its report last Wednesday. I hope we are moving closer to a time when we can take a vote of ratification. Ratifying CETA is Government policy and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to clarify this matter for the Deputy. As I said at the outset, the reason I did not get the statement to the committee was I did not have a chance to clear it until late last night.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I would like to have had it ratified. It was approved by Cabinet last December. There was to be a vote in the Dáil but we decided not to go ahead with it because people wanted more time for more scrutiny. There have been a number of committee hearings. As the Deputy said, the EU committee has produced its report. There is a legal challenge to the agreement but the High Court...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have not set a date for it. We were not going to push this to a vote while the High Court challenge was ongoing. We are very happy with the court's judgment, which was an unequivocal decision. Obviously, out of respect for this committee and others, we want to allow committees to have their hearings. I have not set a date, however. Like I said, I encourage all Members to allow...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Corporations sue governments all the time. If the Deputy went down to the Four Courts today and looked at the court list, she would see many examples of corporations suing Departments, the Government, Ireland and its agencies and vice versa. The Government sues companies regularly where we feel they have breached a contract or treated us unfairly. It is, therefore, a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have other international courts, for example, the International Court of Justice, the European Court of Justice, ECJ, and the European Court of First Instance. We have many examples of non-national courts and they do what people who are involved in arbitration and who are judges should do; they take account of the law, listen to the evidence from both sides and make a fair judgment. The...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There are two things. First, we accept the benefits of provisional ratification but provisional ratification cannot last forever and is open to challenge. It is, therefore, incorrect to say that we can just back the gains of this agreement and not ratify it. The second point is the message it sends out to the world. In Ireland, up until recent years, we have had a political consensus in...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: No, that is not correct. It is correct that other countries have not ratified it. Most EU countries have. As a country that is pro-enterprise and pro-trade, we like to be among the first to ratify. We are not; we are laggards in respect of ratification. We are not the last to ratify. That is correct. Most EU countries have; some have not. I would prefer us to be in the advanced group....

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I did not say we were the only country not to ratify it. I said we were laggards because most countries have ratified it. Even some of the countries the Deputy mentioned are ahead of us. CETA has been ratified in France by their National Assembly, its equivalent of the Dáil. That was done on 23 July 2019. It now has to go to their Senate. In the Netherlands, the lower house has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I believe they are. Canada, like Europe, is reasonably progressive. In both, we have seen over time an increase in incomes, living standards, workers' rights and environmental protections. I do not believe either the EU or Canada will be motivated to go backwards in that regard. The protections that are there are robust.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The potential is considerable. Post Brexit there is an opportunity for Ireland to become a hub for Canadian investment in the Union. We are English-speaking and have a similar business culture to Canada. There is a similar culture and ethos and many links between Canada and Ireland. There is an opportunity for us to say to Canada, as we say to the US, that this is a place where it should...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement: Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment (22 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have that figure somewhere. Somebody is looking it up so we will come back to the Deputy.