Results 35,241-35,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Vacant Properties (18 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: While IDA Ireland does not own any property in Tipperary Town, they actively market the IDA Business Park in Knockanrawley, Co. Tipperary, located approximately 1km South East of Tipperary Town Centre. The IDA in recent years sold two sites to non-IDA clients to facilitate their business expansion and support and create employment in the area. The remaining lands in the IDA Business Park,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Relations (23 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland’s comprehensive suite of employment rights legislation protects all persons legally employed in Ireland on an employer-employee basis and provides robust safeguards for employees. If workers have concerns or complaints regarding their employment rights, the mechanism for them to use is the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The WRC is the organisation which is mandated...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Meetings (23 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is policy that any meeting that I or the Ministers of State in my Department attend is also attended by Department officials and a note of the meeting is taken.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (23 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 and 181 together. The IDA Ireland Midlands Region is made up of Longford, Westmeath, Laois and Offaly. 2021 figures to date show that there are 44 IDA client companies this region, employing 6,308 people. The FDI performance has been consistent over the past five years, and the region has an impressive range of companies, with particular strengths in Life...

Written Answers — Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment: Industrial Relations (23 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland’s comprehensive suite of employment rights legislation protects all persons legally employed in Ireland on an employer-employee basis and provides robust safeguards for employees. If workers have concerns or complaints regarding their employment rights, the mechanism for them to use is the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The WRC is the organisation which is mandated...

Written Answers — Department of Finance: Industrial Relations (23 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Ireland’s comprehensive suite of employment rights legislation protects all persons legally employed in Ireland on an employer-employee basis and provides robust safeguards for employees. If workers have concerns or complaints regarding their employment rights, the mechanism for them to use is the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). The WRC is the organisation which is mandated...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There has been extremely high and sustained demand for Covid-19 testing at community test centres over the past number of weeks. This reflects both the high prevalence of the disease in our community at the moment but also the fact that there are many other respiratory illnesses and viruses circulating in the community. With so many people, hundreds of thousands of people every day,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The problem we are facing is that we have a pandemic that is not under control and is unpredictable. We have capacity to carry out approximately 30,000 PCR tests a day in our swabbing centres and even more than that in our laboratories, but there are limits to capacity in any system, in any country. When we have a situation where, on any given day, there could be hundreds of thousands of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That is why we have to prioritise and it is not the first time we have had to do so during the pandemic. From time to time, we have to prioritise testing those who need the test most. We are prioritising those with a GP referral and symptomatic close contacts of people who have Covid. From time to time, NPHET has had to change the testing criteria and that may be necessary again because...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have been increasing the number of hospital beds in Ireland since 2015.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have 900 more beds today than we had before the pandemic began. There are 600 people with Covid in hospital.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have 44% more doctors in Ireland than we had ten years ago.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There are 300 ICU beds now and we have funded for 340.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising these matters. First, I am somebody who believes in home ownership. This is a Government that believes in home ownership. I am not sure that is really true for many of the people opposite or on the left of politics in Ireland. Some 70% of people in this country own their own home and we want that to be a reality for people in their 20s and 30s. A huge part...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am glad to see today that the Central Bank has announced it will allow lenders to take part in a shared equity scheme, which I think will be of benefit too.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I think it is entirely reasonable for the Deputy to criticise the Government and my party. I do not think it is reasonable for the Deputy to say that her party should not be criticised or be subject to any analysis or criticism at all. That is very one-sided. I ask her to reconsider that comment. We have 70% home ownership in Ireland. We have one of the highest rates of home ownership in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That did not happen because of the Social Democrats. It happened because of policies pursued for generations in Ireland. That is not the reality for a lot of younger people in Ireland. Most of our housing policies are now orientated towards trying to increase home ownership in Ireland and make it possible for more people to buy homes. Shared equity is part of that. I have seen it work in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I acknowledge the simple fact that our public health service is too small for a population of 5 million people, which is also an ageing population. That is not the only reason but one of the reasons too many people have to wait too long for the health care they need. I fully acknowledge that. The Deputy asked me if I have the stomach to reverse the cuts to our health...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I believe in universal healthcare in Ireland. As I outlined to the Deputy, it is something I have tried to make a reality in the past couple of years. We continue to work on that. There is a misunderstanding sometimes about how different health service models work around the world. About 10% of people in the United Kingdom have private health insurance. In lots of European countries,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----with private health insurance. That is the case.