Results 35,801-35,820 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I take this opportunity to pay tribute to Deputy Kelly on the role has played in recent years as leader of the Labour Party and as a Minister in a previous Government. Some people will say that the Labour Party has struggled to overcome its period in government. Quite frankly, however, it has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the period it spent in government between 2011 to 2016, which...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: In the past few moments, the Minister for Health's office has confirmed that Committee Stage of the Bill will be taken next week. This will allow us to make progress. There are some changes the Minister wants to make. Some of them follow on from the examination Dr. Scally did on this matter and the civil liability amendment situation and some input from members of the 221+ support group....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I echo and agree with the Deputy's remarks on at least two accounts. The first is that we all admire the bravery of the Ukrainian Government and the Ukrainian people who are resisting this attack and this attempt to take over and occupy their country. Even with regard to a city like Kharkiv, which is near the Russian border, in which most people are Russian speakers and in which there is,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Far too many people in the west, including many western European governments, turned a blind eye to President Putin for too long. We saw that after the Crimea crisis. That sent a message to him that the west was weak and I would say he started making his plans around about then to take the rest of Ukraine. However, it is not just about governments or government...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet the six main farming organisations in Government Buildings. We organised the meeting as a regular round table to talk about Brexit, Common Agricultural Policy, CAP, reform and climate action. As the Deputy can imagine and as is often the case, events overtake us. Most of the meeting was about Ukraine, the cost of inputs, the rising cost of fuel and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It is for both, actually.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It seems that one of the problems with the planting is that while licences are being issued, not all are being used.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As an aside regarding forestry, the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, is working on a new scheme to allow farmers to plant small plantations of trees. It is very small, but still significant if everyone does it. We would like to see farmers using a small part of their land for small plantations, ideally with native broadleaf trees. She is introducing that and allowing them to avoid the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have an update on the Dean Maxwell nursing home. I sought one before coming here, but it was not available. I will have that sent directly to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am not aware of that particular vote. As the Deputy knows, councillors act in a quasi-judicial manner when making decisions on their plan. I will certainly make inquiries. It would be unusual for Fine Gael to vote against or oppose housing. Quite frankly, that is more the Deputy's party's form than ours but I will certainly check it out.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The report was stark, and I would welcome a debate on it in the House if that could be arranged through the Business Committee. The report probably did not get the attention it deserved because of the other world events happening at the moment. It says two things to us as a country. It reminds us not only that we need to press ahead and implement our climate action plan but also, even if...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will have to give some thought to that. The shock to our economy and to energy prices as a result of the invasion of Ukraine was not anticipated but it has happened and we have to deal with it. The Government is very aware of the impact this will have on households in the form of higher energy bills for motorists, farmers, business people and the haulage sector. We knew prices would...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have any information on the detail of that appointment, but I will ask my office to liaise with the Department of Health and to provide the Deputy with a written reply. I know that the HSE's national service plan published the other day provides additional funding to help patients with long Covid. I do not know how that translates into particular posts in particular...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I agree that the strategic development zone, SDZ, around Ireland West Airport Knock has real potential. Perhaps we will have a chance to discuss it a little more tomorrow, when I will be in the county. We have seen the success of the zone around Shannon Airport, and I think something similar could be done around Knock. I am told that the preparation of the planning scheme for the SDZ is a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is right that we need a whole-of-government response to this issue. There is a real opportunity here for Ireland to move within a generation from being an energy importer to being an energy exporter using offshore wind, onshore wind and solar to produce electricity, while also using offshore wind to produce hydrogen, a dispatchable fuel that we can use to replace gas and petrol...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. As I mentioned earlier, I had a chance to meet with the six farming organisations yesterday and had a good discussion on this. While most sectors are seeing an increase in the prices farmers are getting, it is pretty much wiped out, if not entirely wiped out, by the increase of input costs, particularly when it comes to energy and fertiliser. The Minister, Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I join her in commending and congratulating the workers involved on taking that case. The outcome from the Labour Court is clear. We are working on amendments to the Bill. I engaged with the Attorney General on it yesterday. The difficulty is that a mandatory service charge is not a gratuity or tip. It is compulsory. If you do not pay it, the restaurateur or...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I join him in utterly and unreservedly condemning the attack on Garda Scott in County Cavan the other day. The House is united in horror and condemnation of that attack. An attack on the Defence Forces or An Garda Síochána is an attack on all of us because it is an attack on the State. In relation to Garda resources, we have more gardaí in Ireland...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: This is a long-running saga and has been going on for far too long. I am a big fan of the ESB as a company but it has not covered itself in glory when it comes to this issue. A decision has to be made by ESB. It has to take a case to the court or demolish and remove the wind farm. It is one or the other. It is a decision for that company but it has to resolve this quickly.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Mar 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am not aware of the practice and neither is the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We were chatting while the Deputy was asking his question. Perhaps the Deputy will send me a short note on this issue, maybe a page or two, and I will ensure the Minister for Finance receives it.