Results 37,361-37,380 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That is a fair point and what the Deputy says is true. There is no universal legal entitlement to public healthcare or social care in Ireland and there was not at the time-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There was no legal entitlement there and people who claim there was are incorrect. Things were changed in 2009, long before I was a Minister - I was in opposition, in fact - when the fair deal scheme was brought in. Certainly by the time the Government was formed in 2011 and by the time the fair deal scheme was set up in 2009, there was a scheme in place to provide nursing home care on a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I acknowledge how essential respite is for people with disabilities and their families. It gives people the break they need and, in many cases, keeps people going. They would not be able to keep going if it were not for respite and I know how important that is to people. The need for increased respite, including in south Kerry and west...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I think decongregation is the right approach. If anything, it has been happening too slowly. When congregated settings or institutions in my constituency have closed, I have seen how it can cause disruption and a lot of difficulty and nervousness among residents and families initially. When you meet them a year or two later, after they have moved into a house in a housing estate where they...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is fair to say that the rising cost of living is biting hard. It is affecting many people and families who are struggling to make ends meet, notwithstanding the help that has come from the Government in recent months. Inflation is slowing down and it is good to see that prices are not rising as fast as they were a few months ago, but...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We need to consider a number of options. It probably would not be useful for me to speculate on the options now because it might just raise expectations. We will discuss it next week. I agree that the measures need to be targeted. It might be the case that there will still be some universal measures but, generally speaking, they need to be targeted at those who need them the most, those...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Business Committee, I think quite sensibly, has agreed that we will have statements next week on the first matter to be raised, which goes back to the 1970s. I think it is important that people should know the facts before they make statements. Nobody wants to come in here and make a statement and then find out that something they have said is incorrect. That can happen-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----with regard to things that happened six, eight or ten years ago. Some of the people who are laughing at me are people who had to change their own declarations on multiple occasions. It is a little much. Ministers want some time to look at documents and check the records before making statements. I am here twice a week and am happy to answer any questions the Deputy wants to put to...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy English has resigned as Minister of State. Anything to do with planning or enforcement law, as I have said, is a matter for Meath County Council.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The internal procedures we have in our party are confidential and are internal matters, just as the Deputy's are. I know there are disciplinary matters under way in the Labour Party at the moment. I would not ask her questions about those in the Dáil. With regard to Deputy Tóibín's question on excess deaths, I am aware that in Ireland and in a lot of countries there has...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: My understanding is there is to be a debate next week.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald keeps using the term "illegal charges". I will keep saying to her that we do not accept that. The Health Act 1970 does not provide free private nursing home care for people with medical cards. That is the view of the Government. We have bona fide defences in that regard. They were prepared by the Attorney General down the years.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Anything can be contested, but the Deputy keeps making a bogus assertion which is unproven, that these charges were illegal. She can make it all she likes, but it is not the case. It is certainly unproven. All cases were not settled. In some cases, claims were settled without any payment. I do not have the up-to-date numbers, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to provide them...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to provide them for the Deputy.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to consult with the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Tánaiste on that. I believe one of the difficulties with the legislation was the view that it conflicts with European law that trade is the sole competence of the European Union.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this important matter. As she knows, we are investing in the ambulance service all the time, with more vehicles, more bases and more paramedics. I acknowledge that we have take into account both population and population density. A rural area needs more ambulances than an urban one, or at least we need to take into account both population and geography for...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not entirely sure what the Deputy means by "outstanding liabilities". There are still cases; some are dormant and some have not been settled. I am not sure what he means by liabilities.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Okay. The €5 billion was an estimate related to public nursing homes and not private nursing homes. A scheme was set up - I do not know when but under then Minister for Health, Mary Harney - to compensate people who were charged in public nursing homes. The initial estimate was €5 billion. By the time scheme was developed, it came down by €1 billion. In the end,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: No decisions have been made on that yet. We hope to make a decision no later than the middle of February so that people get advance notice. I take the Deputy's point that we are probably heading for a budget surplus again this year. We had a budget surplus of €5 billion last year but we should never forget that we also have a debt of €250 billion. It is not a debt we have to...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (31 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I was not aware that this matter was an issue. I will contact the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Humphreys, about it and we will see what we can do.