Results 38,341-38,360 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is absolutely the job of every Deputy to fight their corner for their county and for their region, and I do not have any difficulty with the Deputy doing so but it is worth putting on the record of the House the considerable investment that has happened in the south east under this and the previous Governments, and investment that is ongoing and to come, for example, the long-awaited North...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I share the Deputy's frustration about the fact that so many infrastructure and capital projects take time to come to fruition and I can guarantee that it is not unique to the south east. I will not embarrass myself by listing them, but all of us from Cork and Dublin can tell the Deputy about capital projects in both counties that we would have liked to have started a long time ago but...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the cost of living and the high grocery prices that people are facing, we are seeing evidence now that inflation is slowing down. It peaked at around 10%, is now around 6% and we expect it to fall to 5% by the end of the year. While inflation slowing down is not the same as prices coming down, there is some evidence that some prices are coming down. Certainly the price of petrol and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Sorry, yes. In regard to the issue on wood chips, I do not have any information on that but I will come back to the Deputy on it, if he lets me check it out.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In regard to the issue raised by Deputy Paul Murphy, again I want to be clear about what I meant last week. It is the job of Dáil Éireann to hold Ministers to account. Of course Ministers should come in here and make statements and answer questions in regard to their ministerial responsibilities. However, this matter does not relate to the Minister of State, Deputy Collins's,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: If Deputies are going to come in here-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and account for their actions that are not related to their ministerial functions, why is it that the Deputy did not come in here? He detained two women against their will in Jobstown several years ago.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It found him not guilty of a particular offence-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy was found not guilty of a particular offence-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----but given that case was even more recent than the Bruff local area division meeting, why is it not appropriate for Deputy Murphy to come in here?

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not surprised the Deputy believes my earlier response to be disgraceful because she is another person who refuses to come into this House to answer questions. Accountability should not be just for Ministers. Questions have been raised about her party's finances-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and about her party's links to organised crime and she will not come in here and make a statement and take questions.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: These are much more serious matters than what happened at the Bruff area committee 16 years ago and she refused to come in here and answer questions about her party's finances and her party's links to organised crime.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is not a surprise she would align herself with Deputy Murphy in this regard.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Accountability should not just be for-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----Ministers or people on the Government benches; it should be for all of us.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy demands accountability of others and evades it always when it relates to herself and her party, and that is a fact.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the question, interest rates are set by the ECB-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----as the Deputy will be aware. When it comes to the issue of mortgage interest relief, that can only be considered in the context of the budget. As I have said in the past in the House, we cannot be changing the income tax system every couple of months. It is best done at budget time and we will consider it in the wider context at that time.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We are and we will. As I mentioned earlier, more than 1,000 additional beds have been added to our acute hospital system since this Government came into office. We have added about 6,000 more doctors, nurses and midwives than was the case three years ago, so we are doing those things. There is an engagement between the Government and the nurses' union on particular...