Results 37,201-37,220 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I very much look forward to reading the report over the recess and will do that. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak before the committee some weeks ago. I recognise Deputy Bacik's work as Chairperson, and all the members of the committee for the work they did. Politicians and parliamentarians often do not get credit for the kind of work that gets done in committees but it is often...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will take up that challenge. Just in the past few months, we have introduced legislation around the gender pay gap and we are seeing that come into effect now. That will help us understand better what the gender pay gap is in businesses and organisations and how it can be closed. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is bringing legislation through at the moment on work-life balance, which...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising these important matters relating to the Garda. I look forward to an early meeting with the Garda Commissioner in order that I have a chance to tease through some of these issues with him. We are in the process of reforming oversight of the Garda to establish the new office of the police ombudsman and I hope that reformed office will complete investigations...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank the Deputy. He is correct to raise the issues of the mental health and well-being of gardaí. Being a Garda member has always been a tough job but it has become harder in recent years with the changing complexity of demands, some violence, quite frankly, and an increase in disrespect being shown to the Garda. One of the things we want to progress very soon is the use of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his questions. At the outset, we should acknowledge that there are some very good things about our health service. Life expectancy continues to rise in Ireland. It is at 83 now and that is, in part, because of the improvements that have been made to our health service in recent years. Stroke survival rates are improving all the time. When I was working as a doctor,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I should add to my comments earlier that a waiting list initiative is under way and we are seeing substantial falls in the number of people who are waiting a long time to see a consultant or to have an operation. The number of people who are waiting more than six, 12 or 18 months is now falling. That is a result of the additional resources being put in. The target should really be 11 or 12...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will examine that. I do not think finding a solution should have to wait until we have a referendum. I am not an expert in this area of the law whatsoever but I know in other jurisdictions there is the concept of a common law wife or husband whereby a person was not married but was de factomarried and could acquire certain rights in that regard. Not being at all an expert on this area...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I had a number of discussions about this with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, before she went on maternity leave. There are a number of Garda station projects that are overdue and that we really need to get on with - Clonmel is one and there is another in Laois and a few others in different parts of the country.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy may be right that part of the problem is that it got bundled with other projects that are not similar. I am determined to work with the Minister for Justice and the incoming Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to get those projects to tender next year, and that is definitely the objective.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I can certainly say we have no plans to increase the licence fee. I cannot make that commitment for the duration of the Government but there are certainly no plans at the moment to increase it. I appreciate that it is de facto a compulsory charge. Anyone who has a television has to pay it, although, in fact, people who do not have a television even though they are watching the services,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----which would mean we would not have to increase it for a number of years. That is being worked on at the moment.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Richmond for once again raising this very important issue. I agree the statistics that he articulated would indicate that the economy in Northern Ireland is outperforming other parts of the United Kingdom when it comes to trade. Perhaps that is linked to the advantages of the protocol, which give Northern Ireland access to the European Single Market but also give it access to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his question. We are moving towards a model where childcare will be largely funded by the State and will be much more affordable for parents. That is something that is welcomed by everybody in this House. Some details will have to be worked out and I am aware of some small providers, in particular, who have a different cost model based on the fact they are small and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and I appreciate that he has raised this issue before and has raised it personally with me. I also appreciate the separation of powers between the courts and the Legislature. I know that this is a matter that he has a great deal of concern about and my adviser will engage with him further on it and with the Minister for Justice.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I will take the questions in order. In reply to Deputy Paul Murphy, I express the Government's solidarity with the people of Iran, who are struggling to see their democracy restored. They have not experienced democracy since the Shah was reinstated and Mohammad Mosaddegh taken down in the 1950s. They are demanding basic and equal rights for women and, in some cases, ethnic minorities and...

Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2022: First Stage (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Taoiseach a Ainmniú - Nomination of Taoiseach (17 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le baill Dháil Éireann don onóir mhór a thug sibh dom inniu. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuilim ag déanamh mar a rinne na daoine ar éirigh leo a ainmniú mar Thaoiseach don dara huair. Glacaim go humhal leis an ainmniúchán seo. Ba mhór an onóir dom a bheith mar Thaoiseach agus céad bliain...

Ceapachán an Taoisigh agus Ainmniú Chomhaltaí an Rialtais - Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government (17 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: B’áil liom cead a chur in iúl, mar eolas don Dáil, gur chuir mé m’ainmniú mar Thaoiseach in iúl don Uachtarán agus gur cheap sé mé dá réir. I have informed the President of my nomination as Taoiseach and he has appointed me accordingly. A Cheann Comhairle, when I became Taoiseach for the first time five and a half years...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Fáilte ar ais, Teachtaí, and a happy new year to everyone. Deputy McDonald, I believe Paschal Donohoe. I believe he is a man of integrity and a man of the highest standards. He is somebody I have known for a very long time and I believe he is somebody we can trust, and somebody who I believe. I think, deep down, everyone in this House knows that Paschal is a man of integrity...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: My view is that we should allow the standards commission to decide whether an investigation is appropriate, and to make a determination as to whether the rules were broken. This is a political chamber. We all know how this plays out if we allow it to become a party political matter. It should not be. We have ethics legislation and standards legislation. It is set up to be independent of...