Results 38,741-38,760 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: I do not know the details but there is generally a fee for these things.

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

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly discuss that suggestion with the Minister for Justice. I will take it up with the Deputy later.

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

Leo Varadkar: That is a very good question. We put out a call to the universities, both the technological universities and the traditional universities, and asked them what could be done, within what timeframe and how much it would cost. The next step in the process is to action it. We are going to need all of these places sooner or later. The question is which do we open next year, the year after and...

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

Leo Varadkar: It is not my practice to agree to meetings in the Chamber. That would not be fair on the very many people who do not have a Deputy to raise a request in the Chamber for them. I understand that the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has already met with them on behalf of the Government. We are scoping out how best to carry out an inquiry into how Covid was managed in this State with a view...

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

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will know, we have extended free GP care without fees to everyone under six, everyone over 70 and people in receipt of carer's allowance as well as people who qualify under the means test. The next step is six- and seven-year-olds and people who earn less than the median income. That is a very large number of people, hundreds of thousands. Negotiations are under way with the...

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

Leo Varadkar: I have been hugely impressed with the Educate Together model and how it has grown in recent years around the country. In my own constituency of Dublin West, we have two Educate Together secondary schools and a large number of Educate Together national schools, whereas we had maybe one or two when I started off in the Dáil. It has been a real addition to education and education choice....

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

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, and come back to the Deputy. I know the pyrite scheme has worked very well in other parts of the country, including Dublin and Meath. I am not sure exactly what the delay is in extending it to Clare or whether that is linked to the mica scheme. I am not sure and do not want to give...

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

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I have not seen the plan but I certainly look forward to taking a look at it. I have visited the hospital on many occasions. Obviously, we will consider positively any plans that a hospital has to expand its services. One of the difficulties we often run into when we allocate additional resources for staffing is that hospitals often struggle to find those staff, given the...

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

Leo Varadkar: I certainly will speak to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage about the matter. There will be a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on housing next week, so we will have a chance to discuss it then. There may be a risk of a knock-on effect on other schemes. We just have to bear that in mind but the Deputy makes a very valid and fair point.

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

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely accept that there is a very serious problem here. The number of referrals made to CAMHS has increased and our ability to provide appointments is challenged by the real difficulty we have in recruiting staff to work in this area. That is not unique to this jurisdiction. It is a problem in Northern Ireland as well, and it is a problem in Britain and across the developed world....

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Browne. A distinction has to be made between public servants whose only income is from the salary they are paid from the State and pharmacists, GPs, dentists and others who have various sources of income, one of which is the State. This distinction has to be made. When it came to GPs there was a negotiation and there was a partial phased reduction in the reversal of fee cuts...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together. The Climate Action Plan 2023 sets out how Ireland will accelerate the action required to respond to the climate crisis, putting climate solutions at the core of Ireland's social and economic development. The plan includes actions across all sectors that will transform and improve life in Ireland. It will help us to break free...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their questions. Deputy Hourigan asked about progress on geothermal energy. I am familiar with one or two proposals in the south west of Dublin, which have been around for a long time, about 15 or 20 years. They are interesting and exciting. I do not know enough about the technology to know to what extent they are viable but the Deputy is correct in saying that we...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the EPA issue, the latest greenhouse gas emissions figures from the EPA highlight the challenge that Ireland faces in meeting its climate objectives.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The EPA has projected that Ireland is on course to reduce emissions by 29% by 2030. However, if all the unmodelled actions and as yet unallocated emission savings in the climate action plan are included, then the EPA's projected emissions reduction would be 42%. While projections show that emissions are expected to decrease in almost all sectors, it is clear that Ireland has work to do to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Action Plan (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will get a reply from the Minister for the Deputy. I have run out of time.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 21, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy and investment was re-established in January 2023 and met on 25 May. The next meeting of the committee is not yet scheduled. The committee has a function similar to that of the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment, which met six times during the course of 2022. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their questions. Unfortunately, almost all the matters raised have not been considered by the Cabinet committee on economy and investment. That is fair enough. Notwithstanding that, I will do my best to answer the questions but I may have to come back to Deputies in writing with some replies because they do not relate directly to the work of the committee. Deputy...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That is the point I am making.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There is an inconsistency in the Deputy’s approach to intellectual property. He wants to protect some people’s property but not others.