Results 36,041-36,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Aid (11 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I have requested that the relevant State Agencies provide this information and I will forward this to the Deputy once received.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Aid (11 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: At the outset, it should be pointed out that the Regional Aid Map is decided by the European Commission not the Government. In negotiations with the Commission, the Government sought the inclusion of much more of the country. We will do so again at the mid-term review in 2023 when the data from the census is available. Regional Aid does not involve any European money or grants and should...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (11 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland publishes, on a quarterly basis, data on site visits by county only. Site visits are visits by potential investors who may be looking at creating or establishing an investment and who are in the process of evaluating the total value proposition that Ireland and its regions and counties presents for that investment. Potential clients may visit more than one county and may return...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Regional Aid (11 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: At the outset, it should be pointed out that the Regional Aid Map is decided by the European Commission not the Government. In negotiations with the Commission, the Government sought the inclusion of much more of the country including Graiguecullen-Portarlington. We will do so again at the mid-term review in 2023 when the data from the census is available. Regional Aid does not involve...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: There can be no doubt that rents are too high in Ireland and that far too many people have to spend too much of their income on rent, often at the expense of other things such as saving to buy a house, paying into a pension fund or investing in their education or that of their children. It is a dual crisis; one of affordability and availability. Sometimes when you try to improve one of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: This Government has been in office for just over two years.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: That is a fact and I can give the Deputy some more facts in a moment. This Government has been in office for just over two years. The party I lead has been in office for about 11 years. No party has been in government on this island longer than Deputy Doherty's party in the past 20 years. Sinn Féin has been in government in Northern Ireland for most of the past 20 years. I am very...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: His was the party to increase the pension age in Northern Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Any time I tell him a few home truths about his party's record in government-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----in Northern Ireland, he loses the rag-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: ----because he does not want people to know the truth.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: That is the record of his party in Northern Ireland. Whether it is Covid, employment, poverty-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----he only has reasons to be ashamed of his party's performance in government.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: May I make a point of order?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: About two weeks ago, the Government decided to pause making a final decision on this matter. I think that was a sensible approach. It allowed people to ask questions and, in many cases, to get answers. It allowed for transparency and the publication of documents. It allowed for some people to be reassured and also allows us to consider what additional safeguards we might be able to add to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy knows, the entire St. Vincent's campus is owned by a secular non-profit company, a charity. It has been very clear with us that it does not wish to sell the site. If the site were at the edge of the campus, like the BreastCheck building, it might sell the site as it did in the case of BreastCheck. It is very clear that this site is in the middle of its campus and it does not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate the fact that he gave us some notice that this question would be raised because it allowed me to get some further information. Generally speaking, what the Government does is to provide funding to local authorities, charities or housing bodies either to build or purchase a house, and adapt it for people with disabilities. It makes much more sense, on many...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot commit to an audit but I have heard the Deputy's call for one and if he can pass on more information about the particular property he mentioned, we would be interested to know what happened and why. In total, €96 million is available under the capital assistance scheme for housing and that can be accessed by approved housing bodies for housing for people with a disability....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate that the issue he is raising is that of waiting lists at Letterkenny hospital and the waiting times for people who live in Donegal. He is also raising the wider issue of hospital overcrowding. I do not have updated information on Letterkenny with me so I do not want to give the Deputy information that may be incorrect. However, I can speak about the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It is an enormous challenge to recruit and retain healthcare staff, including doctors and that is not unique to Ireland. That is very much a global phenomenon. There is not a health service that I am aware of, certainly not in Europe, that does not have a difficulty recruiting and retaining staff. There is much more demand for healthcare than there are qualified doctors, nurses and...