Results 38,001-38,020 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Sometimes there can be difficulties with particular events.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We are committed to having a referendum on the public ownership of water.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We do not have the wording or the date for it yet, so I cannot commit to November. It is important that the wording of any constitutional change is got right.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We know why that is. It is because it is open to interpretation by the courts. The power is taken from here to the courts to decide what is possible and what is not. I must say that there are no proposals of which I am aware, from any party in this House, to privatise Irish Water. I understand people want the referendum to give them a reassurance that this will not happen, but we must...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I might ask the Minister for Justice, Deputy Harris, to speak to him about it directly today. We all believe that shoplifting, larceny and such crimes should be taken seriously. It is not just a case of something being taken from a shop. It jeopardises businesses and, potentially, the employment of the people working in those businesses. In...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy knows, it is a new special school. It is in addition to the education infrastructure and services we have in Dublin West that we have the special school. I have been to visit with the Minister of State, Deputy Madigan, and I hope to visit again. I acknowledge that the building the school is in is not working out. We are examining whether the former institute of horology in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has raised the matter of alienation on a number of occasions both in the House and with we personally. It is fair to say there are different views on that matter. Ultimately, we cannot interfere in decisions made by the family courts. Perhaps the best thing I can suggest is for Deputy Durkan to engage with the Minister for Justice or perhaps even the Attorney General to explore...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There probably are lessons to be learned. The Deputy may be aware of a recently published report that was commissioned by the Department of Health on a reimbursement system and how it might be improved. Fundamentally, though, there is a real difficulty when a single company develops a new product and new medicine, and it is the only product. That company develops and manufactures it and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In fairness, the Deputy is not saying that. That is the underlying problem; if a single company develops a medicine that it manufactures and controls, it tends to hold a lot of the cards when it comes to negotiating the price.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am a little bit disappointed in the Deputy's question. People in the south east fought for a very long time to secure a university for the region. We now have the South East Technological University. It is an addition to the region and certainly when I went to visit and spoke to businesses and ordinary people in the region about it, they accepted that it is a plus and a good thing. I am...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Maybe the Deputy does not realise he is doing this, but he is talking down the only university in his region.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is not something that most people from most parts of the country do. The Deputy can call for something to be improved and expanded without talking it down and making out that it is-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----something less than it is. I actually have an update on those three issues. I cannot remember it all off the top of my head but I did follow up on the PPP building, the former Waterford Crystal site, the student accommodation issue and the borrowing. I will send that to the Deputy in writing so that I get it exactly right.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The vast majority of people entitled to the payment have received it and received it last year. I should say that it was intended for people who were front-line workers - the people who wore masks and gowns and were exposed to Covid patients before the vaccines were available. It was for our own employees who were employees of the State. We put in a provision allowing non-State employees'...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy referred to the funding in the budget to recruit 1,000 more gardaí this year. That should be more than enough to cover retirements and resignations. That recruitment campaign is now under way. Decisions on how gardaí are allocated to different services in different regions are not made by the Minister or the Taoiseach. Such decisions are made by the Garda...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I believe that all of us in this House, and the Deputy, are familiar with the Constitution, the law and Standing Orders. We all know what they are. There are motions of confidence, financial motions, Private Members' motions and legislation. They are all different. Legislation trumps Private Members' motions. We passed legislation in this House - I think almost every...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising the issue of Garda resources in Carlow. I do not have a date for the reopening of the station in Leighlinbridge, but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, to contact the Deputy directly about it, and also about Garda resources were generally in the county. Certainly, when it comes to personnel, it is the Garda Commissioner who decides how...

European Union Regulations: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the exercise by the State of the option or discretion under Protocol No. 21 on the position of the United Kingdom and Ireland in respect of the area of freedom, security and justice annexed to the Treaty on European Union and to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, to accept the following measure: Regulation (EU) 2021/2303 of...

Criminal Justice Regulations: Motion (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I move: That Dáil Éireann approves the following Regulations in draft: Criminal Justice Act 1984 (Treatment of Persons in Custody in Garda Síochána Stations) (Amendment) Regulations 2023, a copy of which has been laid in draft form before Dáil Éireann on 28th February, 2023.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Church-State Relations (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. The most recent formal meeting between the Office of the Taoiseach and church leaders took place on 15 April 2021 when the then Taoiseach, now Tánaiste, met with the leaders of the all-island Christian churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church, Methodist Church and Irish Council...