Results 37,561-37,580 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not in a position to be specific today. Ministers will have to meet later in the week to look at all the options, come to a decision on them and then bring a recommendation to the Cabinet on Tuesday. I will be able to be specific in a few days' time, once we have made those decisions. I do not think it is unreasonable of me to point out what has been done. It would be a more gracious...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Even with Sinn Féin's 13 tax rises, it cannot afford to keep all those promises. People are starting to see through Sinn Féin.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We had a budget in September and it was passed by this House in the form of the Finance Bill, the Appropriation Bill and the Social Welfare Bill by very clear majorities. We will not have a mini-budget. That is not necessary. The budget set out the fiscal parameters for this year, and anything we do or announce between now and the next budget will be done within the confines of those...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not want to make promises today that I may not be able to keep-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and I encourage Opposition parties to follow that policy and not to make promises they cannot keep. People will have clarity no later than next Tuesday. Ministers will meet over the coming days and we will be in a position to set out what we will do on Tuesday. It will probably require a short finance Bill, perhaps next week, or if not next week-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----within the next few weeks, to do what we propose.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As to what the measures will look like, they will be both universal and targeted. They will be targeted because pensioners, people on low incomes and people in receipt of social welfare payments are suffering the most from the rising cost of living, particularly because groceries and energy costs have gone up the most. There will therefore be targeted measures and there will be a welfare...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure people that there will not be a cliff edge on 28 February when a lot of the measures are due to expire. We will make decisions no later than the Cabinet meeting next Tuesday, we will inform the Dáil and the public next Tuesday and then any legislation that has to be done between now and 28 February will be done. I know we will have the Deputy's co-operation with that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is the objective of the Government to build safer and stronger communities. In order to do so, we need more gardaí and we need to properly train and support them. We also need to invest in our Defence Forces, the Courts Service and the Irish Prison Service. I appreciate that gardaí are working hard, they are under a lot of pressure and their jobs are much more challenging than...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that I will take it in hand and it is a priority for me as Taoiseach and for this Government to build safer and stronger communities. That involves increasing the number of gardaí and investing in our Defence Forces, the Courts Service and the Irish Prison Service. It also involves dealing with the underlying causes of crime which are very much linked to poverty and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue of neurology services, generally and particularly in CHO area 8 and in Laois-Offaly. It is a specific question about a specific branch of medicine in the Deputy's part of the country, which is the midlands. I do not have a detailed note on it right now but I will try to get the Deputy more information in writing this week or next week....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank the Deputy. I am advised that we have funding this year for 23 neuro-rehabilitation nurses. These will be permanent positions, not once-off ones. As I mentioned in my earlier reply, we have a new consultant contract that is being offered. I hope the bodies that represent doctors will accept that. It will allow us to take some significant steps forward in terms of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have a date for the publication of the Bill, but it is a priority to ensure courts are resourced to administer justice efficiently and effectively. The Minister for Justice is optimistic that both the implementation of the working group report and the commitment by the Courts Service in its strategic plan for 2021 to 2023 to maximise the use of digital technologies to provide a more...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We anticipate having this assembly up and running by the middle of 2023. I welcome any input the Deputy may have between now and then as to how we structure the assembly properly to get the best outcomes from it. As is the normal course, the citizens' assembly will be allowed to hold its meetings, deliberate and make its recommendations. These recommendations will be sent to an Oireachtas...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I recall having this debate on how we count the numbers during the previous Government when Eoghan Murphy was the Minister with responsibility for housing. At that point, the CSO updated its methodology. The methodology the office uses, which is published on its website, was welcomed across the board at the time, including by Deputy Ó Broin, for example, and others. I am a little bit...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware of the ongoing dispute. I understand the people concerned are employees of education and training boards. An industrial relations process must be followed and negotiations have to occur. I am not exactly sure at what point they are at, but I will endeavour to get more information from the Ministers for Education, and Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot, and will not, comment on individual cases currently subject to litigation.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the Deputy is not asking me to do that. The remit of the State Claims Agency is clearly set out in law. Once cases are delegated to the agency, Government and Ministers have no role in the management of cases. That is not the case for every legal case but it is for those referred to the State Claims Agency. Its remit is set out in law and has been agreed by the Oireachtas.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know the details.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Ticketing systems and so on are a matter for the GAA rather than for the Government, although the report on retail banking published a few months ago indicates that the Government believes there should be a place for cash transactions. We want to encourage electronic payments. By the way, many older people and bachelors use cards, phones and Revolut and are well capable of doing so.