Results 35,381-35,400 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The MEP in question is absolutely entitled to his own opinion and to write whatever letters he sees fit, but I can confirm that it is not Government policy - far from it. The Government is encouraging banks to lend money to young farmers. In fact, my Department runs schemes that help to guarantee those loans. It is Government policy that banks should lend to young farmers. We want to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There are no plans to defer the end-of-term exams. It is encouraging that the incidence of the virus among the 18 to 24 age group is now falling, albeit slightly. The 50% indoor capacity restriction does not apply to exam halls. One thing we have done is to introduce free antigen testing in third level colleges. That can be very beneficial for students who can take an antigen test before...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy mentioned, the Minister for Rural and Community Development announced this morning the first phase of funding for the development of the first town centre first plans. There will be €2.6 million in funding for 26 town in 26 counties. The Deputy will be pleased that Portlaw in County Waterford has been included in the first phase of this. I share the Deputy's thanks to,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The national broadband plan is behind schedule, but it will catch up. When the plan is complete in a few years' time, nobody will doubt that this was a good investment. This is the biggest investment in the history of rural Ireland, linking up half a million homes, farms and businesses-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----to high-speed broadband. It was opposed by the Deputy's party. I hope people remember that when the next election comes-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----and they have the broadband in their homes. I do not have any information on the commercial aspects of National Broadband Ireland.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know if the criteria can be published, but if they can, I am sure we will publish them.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: That is certainly not acceptable. If, with the permission of the family, the Deputy wants to pass on the details of the case to my office, I will follow up on it and see if there is anything that we can do. It may be that there is a shortage of consultant paediatric urologists. It is a lesser known fact in Ireland, but there are 40% more consultants in Ireland and 40% more doctors in our...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We are going to have to do that, and we will do it. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and I co-chair the hospitality forum. We are going to have to have more discussions about this in the new year. What we have done to help the sector through this difficult period and the new restrictions is that the commercial rates holiday will be extended until the end of the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I had the pleasure of spending some of my summer holidays last year in Sligo. I climbed Knocknarea and saw Queen Maeve's grave. I am familiar with the wider passage tomb complex in County Sligo. I strongly support the bid to include it as a world heritage site. I am not familiar with the particular site the Deputy mentioned, to be frank. I cannot really answer the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Data (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The CSO's Labour Force Survey (LFS) is a household survey which provides quarterly statistics on employment and unemployment and is the official source of labour market estimates in the State. The latest LFS, for the third quarter of 2021, was published on 25th November. On an annual basis, employment increased by 221,200 in the year to Q3 2021 to 2,471,200. This represented an annual...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has worked to ensure that there is a wide range of easily accessed financial assistance for SMEs affected by the changing impacts of COVID-19, these include the COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the Brexit Loan Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme and the Future Growth Loan Scheme. For further information, businesses are advised to view my Department’s website at...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Regional enterprise development and sustainable local job creation is a key policy priority of mine and this Government. Overseen by my Department, nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024 are being developed by regional stakeholders which will identify growth opportunities, recognise vulnerabilities, and enable job creation across the regions. These Plans are complementary to and...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Employment Rights (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 104 and 167 together. This Government is committed to introducing a statutory sick pay scheme and work is well underway in this regard. Any move to introduce a statutory sick pay scheme must be balanced with the need to support the viability of the business and enterprise sector, thereby protecting jobs. My Department undertook a full public consultation,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 105 and 124 together. Ballinasloe is marketed by the IDA as part of the West Region. There are 120 IDA supported companies in this region, employing 27,695 people in total, with 93 IDA supported companies in Galway city and county, employing 21,428 people (up 3% on the previous year). This provides scale and scope and gives confidence to potential...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Local Enterprise Offices act as a ‘first stop shop’ providing advice and guidance, financial assistance, and other supports to anyone wishing to start or grow their own business. The Local Enterprise Office can offer direct grant aid to microenterprises (10 employees or fewer) in the manufacturing and internationally traded services sectors which, over time, have the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Brexit Supports (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Brexit Impact Loan Scheme was launched in the market by Bank of Ireland in October this year. AIB subsequently opened for applications through the Scheme in November as well as five Credit Unions in the Metamo Credit Union Group: Access CU, Cara CU, Savvi CU, St. Canice’s CU and St. Francis CU. It is anticipated that a further lender to the Scheme will open to applications next...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Renewable Energy Generation (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Climate Action is one of the most urgent issues facing the Irish economy and society and mitigating the impacts of Climate Action is one of the core objectives of this Government. Renewable energy of all forms will be instrumental in enabling our transition to a low carbon economy. Under the Climate Action Plan 2021, the Government is committed to 80% of our electricity being created from...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government’s Expert Group on Ventilation was set up by the Minister for Health in February 2020, to provide scientific advice on the role of ventilation and other control measures in mitigating against the risk of long-range (airborne) transmission of SARS-CoV-2. In its second report, published in March 2021, the Expert Group concluded that ventilation is an important factor in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (9 Dec 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has worked to support manufacturing and services businesses through these challenging times with a wide range of measures for firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, business continuity and trading online grants, COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme, the COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme, the Future Growth Loan Scheme, commercial rates waivers and warehousing of...