Results 35,041-35,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Lowry for raising the issue the lack of insulin pumps and the recruitment of three additional dieticians, which was sanctioned nine months ago in UHL. I am advised that the University Limerick Hospitals Group recognises the need for additional resources within its adult diabetic service. This issue is a focus for the University Limerick Hospitals Group and it is committed to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot begin to understand the frustration patients must feel if they are not able to get access to modern treatment such as this, and the anger they must feel when they see people receiving this treatment in other regions and it is not available in their own. I do understand this. What I can say from the Government's point of view is that funding has been allocated to University Hospital...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am pretty sure that is not what I said but it may be a representation or an interpretation of something I did say. I spoke to the Minister for Finance this morning. He will be in a position to present to Cabinet this afternoon. One of the things we have sought is the ability to continue to charge the 12.5% rate to small and medium-sized companies with a turnover of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My preference is that the site would be used for jobs-rich investment. That would be an advanced building solution or if somebody wants to establish a factory or a business centre there. That would be the preference given that the previous IDA Ireland site, with which the Deputy is familiar, already accommodates data centres. That would be my preference but I will very much be guided by...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That is a budgetary decision and I am not in a position today to comment on what is or is not in the budget. Certainly the Minister for Finance will consider any proposal made in the context of the budget and the Finance Bill that will follow thereafter.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge the fact that many students are struggling financially, whether due to the cost of rent, utilities, food, fees or other items for which they have to pay. The main way we assist students is through the student grant system. More than 75,000 students receive a grant. The grant levels are under review in the budget. In recognition that some students are facing real and serious...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is working on proposals for the Government on an enhanced scheme to assist people whose homes have been blighted by mica. As part of this he is considering whether a national scheme might be preferable to a county-based scheme for exactly the reasons the Deputy has enunciated. In these circumstances it would be a national scheme operated by the Housing Agency...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. As the House will be aware, businesses are reporting labour shortages across the economy at the moment in retail, hospitality, logistics, agriculture and food. This is a real problem. A number of different things are driving that, ranging from the impact of the pandemic to how it is much harder for people to travel into the country, or at least it was until a few weeks...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and that Bill is on the priority list for publication this session. There were some delays; it involves the transposing of an EU directive and involves the making of some changes both to ComReg and the remit of the Competition Act but it is on the priority list for publication this session and I expect it will be published then.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Can I ask the Deputy to repeat that question, please, as I did not hear him?

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We have had some briefings from EirGrid and from the Commission for Regulation of Utilities in Ireland, CRU, in recent weeks and they have developed a plan to ensure that we will have enough electricity not just this winter but for the next four or five winters and that we can cater for increased demand for electricity from industry and households over that period. It...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and must confess to not being a technical expert in this area. EirGrid has acknowledged that the past number of auctions were not successful. There will be new auctions in the new year and we have asked it and impress upon it the need to reconsider their approach to these auctions because if these are operated in the same way, they may end up with the same result. That is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and I believe I answered this question already in part to Deputy Cullinane earlier today. We are increasing our bed capacity so that with more beds there will be fewer people on trolleys. We have added more than 800 beds, which are the equivalent of two medium-sized hospitals, since the beginning of the pandemic. That is why we have seen a reduction of the number of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much. The budget for mental health in Ireland is well over €1 billion a year now and has gone up by over 25% in the past couple of years. I was not aware that some of it had gone unspent but as we are not yet at the end of the year, there is still a way to go before December 31.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly ask the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health to get back to the Deputy with a full reply.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: 1 o’clock That is a very good idea. I know the location. Many other reservoirs throughout the country are used as amenities as well as being water sources. I will make a point of taking the matter up with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. I will let him know it was raised in the Dáil.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I share the Deputy's concerns about the very long waiting lists for some of those assessments and therapies. I will ask the Ministers for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and Health to provide a detailed answer on the action being taken to improve the situation.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I have to confess I am not sure or certain if that is what happened. There may be different accounts as to what happened with the auctions. It is certainly the case that the auctions were unsuccessful. We cannot afford that to happen again in the new year. We need to ensure that those auctions are successful. That may require a change of approach from EirGrid.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot answer questions on behalf of Institute of Technology Sligo. The institute would have to answer those questions for itself. I am sorry to hear students are still learning mainly online there because the norm throughout the country now is that most activities are happening on campus again. It is very disappointing if it is the case that students of Institute of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (7 Oct 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That is a matter for the Minister for Health to determine from his budget. It is something that can arise in the next couple of weeks, once the Estimates are approved by the House. As the Deputy will know, section 39 staff are not public servants, so they are not tied to public sector pay scales, but it is possible for the Government to give section 39 organisations additional funding,...