Results 37,001-37,020 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid that I just do not know the details on that issue. I will check it out with the Ministers for Health, and Public Expenditure and Reform, and I will come back to the Deputy with a reply as soon as I can.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. That is our intention. We are still learning about long Covid. Many viral illnesses produce a post-viral syndrome. The vast majority of people who get the virus recover, but some develop a long-term illness. We need to see it in the context of other post-viral syndromes. More and more, we need to see Covid not as a separate illness but as one of many viruses from...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Help is on the way for businesses struggling with high energy costs. It is in the Finance Bill. It is the temporary business energy support scheme, which will cover 40% of the increase in energy costs up to €10,000 per month per business, backdated to September. There are European rules and regulations around how far we can go in this regard and it is taxpayers'...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will certainty look at that. I appreciate the need to improve safety on that road. I have travelled it many times. I will make the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, aware that it was raised in the Chamber.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge that Deputy Durkan has raised this matter before in the Chamber and corresponded with me recently. I read the letter he sent me the other day. I am not sure if this is an area in which we can intervene as a Government. I undertake to speak to the Deputy about it, perhaps properly next week, and engage with the Minister for Justice.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I take his point. I have a constituency service too and sometimes I find means tests are very mean. No matter where the line is drawn, there will always be somebody €1 or €2 above it. I know the Deputy appreciates that. In the current budget we have relaxed the means test for the SUSI grant, carer's allowance and fuel allowance but...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will ask my people to look into that. I do not want to make any promises here, but it may be an anomaly. We will look into that and see if a change is warranted. Next week, a number of lump sum payments will be made: fuel allowance, €400; living alone allowance, €200; to carers, €500; working families, €500; people in receipt of disability...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge this is a very serious issue. We have helped people with pyrite in their homes to have those homes repaired, are trying to help people with mica in their homes to have them repaired and need to help people living in defective apartment buildings with the cost of those repairs. I agree with the Deputy that it is not their fault. We can argue about whose fault it was, but it is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is something I have heard about and am concerned about. The service public health nurses provide is essential. Calling to those homes and checking those babies can bring to light issues that need to be brought to light and make sure help is provided at an early stage. There may be a particular issue with staffing in one or two parts of the country....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I certainly will. The Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, spoke about this issue at a meeting only yesterday evening. She is very keen to get the application process under way as soon as possible because there will be a lot of applications and the sooner we can open the applications, the sooner we can make the payments. The Minister does not want to wait until the new year to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely agree. The situation in Northern Ireland is always at its best when the Irish Government and the British Government work together with a common agenda and common objectives. Unfortunately, those have been absent for quite some time. The fact that Prime Minister Sunak is attending the British-Irish Council in person, the first time a Prime Minister has done so in a very long...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is an issue I am not familiar with so it is new to me. If the Deputy wants to pass on more details to my office, the Taoiseach's office or the office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, we will make sure the matter is raised with the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland as a matter of urgency.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Staff (9 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: While my Department has 72 staff* seconded to State Agencies and other public bodies, according to records held on each secondment none of these 72 are in receipt of a higher duty/acting allowance. Of the 72 staff seconded, 2 have been seconded for more than 10 years.  Records indicate that there are no staff seconded for more than 20 or 30 years. *36 staff assigned to the Office...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Energy Prices (10 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I know businesses around the country are very worried heading into the winter. The cost of energy and of doing business is rising, interest rates are going up and consumer confidence is waning. Irish businesses can rely on us to back them and to protect jobs to ensure a strong economy. The Government announced a package of measures in the recent budget to respond. The TBESS will provide...

Death of Vicky Phelan: Expressions of Sympathy (15 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I extend my deepest sympathies and those of my party to Vicky's friends and family, particularly her husband, Jim, and her children, Amelia and Darragh. I met Vicky on a number of occasions and she was one of the most impressive people I have ever met. There was something about her that was hard to define. She is an example to us all, a woman of limitless strength, courage and compassion....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this very sensitive matter and for his ongoing interest in it on behalf of the 18 families affected. The matter has been discussed in the House previously. Once again, I express my deep sympathy to the families in Cork who have experienced the tragedy of losing a child and who then had the devastating experience of learning that their children's organs were...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The delays with this inquiry and many other inquiries are impossible to defend. I can only imagine the frustration people experience when these inquiries, which you think will last six months, go on for more than six months and last a year or two years. That is very hard to defend. When we challenge the people carrying out the inquiries as to why this is the case, they often say that the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy again for raising this important issue. On Monday, I had a chance to listen to the radio documentary. It was very compelling. I pay tribute to the bravery of all those who participated in it. If people do not tell their stories, then it is very hard for us to take actions against people who carry out abuse and prevent it from happening in future. I recognise their...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It is fair to say there is broad consensus across the House that we do need an inquiry into these matters and that it should be victim-led and survivor-led. As we all know from our own experience of inquiries that have been initiated by the Government or this House, getting the form of the inquiry right is very important, as is getting the terms of reference right. Inquiries can range from...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The residential zone land tax will raise revenue. Any tax raises revenue. However, that is not the primary purpose of the tax. Its primary purpose is to make sure that where land is zoned for housing, it gets developed for housing. We are all aware of the need for additional housing in the State and the fact that much land that is zoned for housing is not being...