Results 38,721-38,740 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Equality Issues (20 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will start with the sad death of George Nkencho. George was a constituent of mine and sadly was killed in the way that he was. I met his family and his legal team. It was a virtual meeting because it was during the pandemic. A GSOC investigation was established. That was the appropriate course of action. None of us as politicians should jump to conclusions. GSOC has now carried out...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Equality Issues (20 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure. It is hard for me to answer that. In terms of my actions, I do not think I personally was guilty of racial bias, nor was my party. I met the family and their legal team. I also contacted the Garda but did not meet with the gardaí involved. It is my view that we should allow an investigation to take place. That is just me; I cannot speak for other politicians,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this important issue. I think we can all agree that it is a hugely distressing and shocking affair that strikes terror into the heart of anyone living in a nursing home or anyone who has a loved one in a nursing home. These are supposed to be safe places and they almost always are, but in this instance, that clearly was not the case. It is important to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. At this point, we will do this as soon as possible. I do not want to give a firm timeline here in the Dáil and then not be able to honour it because of factors outside our control, but there is no time to waste here. We have existing patient safety and safeguarding legislation, but clearly it should be strengthened and updated. We will get this done as soon as...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his questions. Context is important. The public want to know the full facts. It is fair enough to criticise the Government for the housing budget not having been spent fully last year. I do not think it is fair, though, not put this into context by saying the budget for housing was the largest ever last year and will be the largest ever again this year. The budget...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not seek to justify it. I explained to the Deputy what the major cause was and what we are doing to make sure there is not a recurrence of it this year. I do not dispute any of the facts the Deputy put across, but they are not the full facts. As a party, the Social Democrats preach honest politics, but that requires context and the full facts. Last year, 30,000 new homes were...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The fact is that we are now experiencing full employment in Ireland. Some economists say that we are beyond full employment and that there are more vacancies than there are people available and qualified to fill them. This is only the second time in our history that we have achieved that. While that creates real problems, some of which the Deputy has touched on, in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The answer to his question is "Yes". We intend to do that. As he will know, local authorities have to make a decision - I cannot remember if it is within four or five weeks.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There is no statutory limit for An Bord Pleanála. Under the Planning and Development Act, we intend to introduce statutory time limits during which An Bord Pleanála has to make a decision on an appeal. That also means staffing up An Bord Pleanála to ensure it can actually achieve that because we do not want the refusal rate to go up as a means of satisfying the timeline....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his measured approach and for the very reasonable questions he asked. It is important we talk about this issue but in a considered way. We should never lose sight of the fact that what we are experiencing across Europe is the worst refugee crisis since the 1940s. Some 4 million people have been displaced from their homes in Ukraine and roughly 2% of them have come to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We have a Cabinet subcommittee on Ukraine and migration. I chair that subcommittee and health is part of that. A pretty regular agenda item we discuss is the health impact and health needs of people who have come here from abroad.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That is a fair point and something I will follow up on because the situation in each community is different depending on the needs and the capacity of the community and the profile of the people we are bringing into that area. One thing that can help is registering Ukrainian doctors and nurses. They have come to Ireland as well. Making sure their qualifications are recognised, allowing...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I reiterate and restate the Government’s opposition to this legacy Bill. We think it is entirely the wrong approach to give former army servicemen and former IRA and paramilitary terrorists immunity from prosecution. We owe it to the victims to make sure we all do everything we can to make sure any information that can be given to the police is given to the police and that those...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----because we all have a role to play.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know when those regulations will be published but I will find out and get back to the Deputy in the next couple of days. The Government has agreed that there will be retrospection with regard to people who have already had to pay for defects to be repaired in their buildings.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I had a very good meeting yesterday with eight of the organisations that represent the LGBT community. The Tánaiste was present, as was the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. We discussed this particular issue. The Minister committed to do two things. First, once the hate crime legislation is signed into law, a public campaign will be run to inform people of the law and what...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to follow up on that with the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. It is certainly our intention. It may require a change to primary legislation although I am not sure about that. That could be the reason for the delay. However, I will check it out. We certainly do want to encourage people, and particularly older people who often have a spare room or a number of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We are seeing an enormous and unprecedented level of demand for new passports and passport renewals at the moment. The Deputy will know of the problems that have arisen with regard to car parking at Dublin Airport. There is a lot of financial distress in the country but there is also a lot of money in the country and large numbers of people are travelling. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I am not familiar with this particular complex. It is probably a matter for Dublin City Council rather than one for central government.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: However, as somebody who lived for 14 years in an apartment complex which had a mix of owner-occupiers, private renters and social housing tenants, I know that access to the car park and other facilities was linked to the payment of a fee for those services.