Results 38,381-38,400 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has reached very high levels in the past year or so. Thankfully, it is now slowing down, but that is not the same as prices falling. Prices remain very high. A lot of people and families are struggling with those bills, and everyone in government understands that. As I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As I said earlier - perhaps I did not say it - we are not going to oppose the motion that Sinn Féin has tabled. We do not agree with all of it, but we think there are some things in it that we are doing already and that can be done. There are other suggestions that are worthy of consideration. While we will not be agreeing to everything Sinn Féin has put forward, we will not be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I had a chance to read Micheline Walsh's story just yesterday. I do not want to speak in too much detail on any individual case. Individual cases are individual and it is difficult to be across all of the detail of any individual case. It is certainly not appropriate to talk about it here. It is a very sad case. All of our sympathies are with her and her family. A solution needs to be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We have been discussing the temporary winter eviction ban for many weeks now. My view on it is different from the Deputy's. Extending it by another few months would not solve the problem. We would just see more and more notices of termination build up and would probably have a bigger problem to deal with when it ended-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and that is our view. I reject the Deputy's contention that we have not been acting. We have been acting. More social housing was built last year than any year since the 1970s. Nearly 8,000 new units were built and 10,000 new social homes were provided. We are going to do more than that this year. That is our objective and we will achieve it. We are also telling local authorities...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The new 97-bed block will be delivered as soon as is possible. I wish I could give the Deputy a date of a week or a month hence. I cannot do that at present, but it will be delivered as soon as possible. It would still be needed even if there had not been a fire given the increasing population in Wexford and the increasing need for healthcare to be available. I am...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am the Taoiseach and the buck does stop with me when it comes to matters such as this. However, it has to go through a certain process. It has to be designed. Planning permission will be required. It has to go to tender, be built, installed and commissioned. I do not want to make a commitment to the Deputy in good faith that I cannot necessarily honour. I cannot give her an exact...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is a serious issue and one that it is right and valid to raise. There are a lot of tourism towns in the country that are being adversely affected by the fact that we had no alternative but to accommodate so many people fleeing the war in Ukraine and fleeing war in other parts of the world in tourist accommodation. Whether it is Killarney, Westport,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We are an outlier in some ways; we are not in others. Lots of countries, particularly in eastern Europe, have taken in many more people from Ukraine than we have, both in raw numbers and as a percentage of their populations. While we have taken in many more people from Ukraine than France has, for example, France would point out how many it has taken in from Syria, Algeria and other parts...

Minute's Silence for Former TD, Mr. Derek Keating (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, a Cheann Comhairle.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for raising these issues. The security of our skies is a national security question and, therefore, I am limited in what I can say about it. What I can say is that any arrangements we have in place are consistent with our foreign defence and security policy. We have a very good and effective Air Corps in Ireland. We do not have an air force of the nature of the United...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not proposing to have a debate on the matter.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. As I said earlier, this is a sad case. We all sympathise with Micheline and her family. As the Deputy mentioned, there are approximately 100 or 200 people over 65 years of age in emergency accommodation. That represents approximately 2%, but it is still a lot. There are more than 100 people over the age of 65 in emergency accommodation. Many of those became homeless...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The underlying cause of the problems that we face is a lack of housing. There is a major housing shortage and a lack of social housing in particular. Until we address the deficit, close it, and build the additional housing we need, and the additional social housing we need, unfortunately, these problems will continue to arise. Temporary solutions are not solutions.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That means building a lot more social housing, which is what we are doing all over the country.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The short answer is “Yes”. This tax was introduced to penalise people who were hoarding land during a housing crisis. It now appears to be affecting 100 or possibly 200 landowners who are not land hoarders. They are farmers who have sought de-zoning, which has been refused in some cases by An Bord Pleanála. As Deputy Canney mentioned earlier, the issue of R2 zoning...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I utterly condemn and express my revulsion at the attack on a prison officer the other day. It was really shocking and I hope he makes a speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with him and his family. Nobody should be subjected to assaults or violence in the course of their work. I know it can happen in uniformed services and other places but it does not make it any less horrific...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is responsible for media. She is doing some work on the list of fixtures that are free to air. It is not decided yet but she should be able to conclude it in the next couple of weeks. As I mentioned earlier, what the former uachtaráin of Cumann Lúthchleas Gael, Liam O’Neill, said to me this morning made a lot of sense. Yes, it would...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I have discussed this with the Minister for Finance. I have an engagement once a year with the Central Bank governor. Deputy Bruton’s point is very valid. Rising interest rates should not be used by banks as an opportunity dramatically to increase their profits. If interest rate increases are passed on to mortgage holders then they should also be passed on to depositors and I am...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I am aware of a number of people whose mortgages are with non-bank lenders who are facing very high interest rates in some cases. It is 8% or 9% in some cases. I understand that it is relatively easy to switch if a person has equity in the property and a good payment record. They can switch back or switch to another bank where they might get a...