Results 39,581-39,600 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am sorry to hear about the experiences the Deputy is having with Clare County Council. The council and its executives are not accountable to me. They are accountable to the elected members of Clare County Council but I will certainly let the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, know that the matter was raised and perhaps he will have some suggestions as to how it can be brought forward.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know a lot of progress has been made on it. There was a memorandum to Cabinet only in the past few weeks. I think it is on schedule to be done before the end of the year and, if not, certainly within the next few months. I will double-check with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, and come back to the Deputy if I am incorrect on that but...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on environment and climate change oversees the implementation of the ambitious programme for Government commitments on the environment and climate change. The committee has met four times in 2023 and its next meeting will take place on 27 November. The climate action unit within the Department of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. Deputy Dillon asked a question on energy security and gas security. The Government's view, which I endorse strongly, is that long-term gas security is secured through the development of green hydrogen and biogas, and biomethane in particular. In the medium term, our security comes from the Corrib field and the interconnectors with the UK. There will also be a need...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Please do. The condition of the seawater at Seapoint and Dún Laoghaire in Dublin Bay after heavy rain has not been discussed at Cabinet subcommittee level, but I will bring it to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. My understanding is that the Poolbeg upgrade is supposed to deal with that. I hope it will. I will seek further information on it. I did not have...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 9, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination generally meets in advance of Government meetings. Its next meeting is scheduled for Monday, 27 November. I am a member of the committee alongside the Tánaiste, the leader of the Green Party, the Secretary General to the Government, my chief of staff and the chief of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Barry raised the issue of gender-based violence, violence against women and femicide, in particular. As I have said previously, I believe we face an epidemic of violence women not just in Ireland, but across the world. As the Deputy said, there have been approximately 20 murders since the killing of Ashling Murphy. By comparison, this year so far, thankfully, we have only had one...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think it helps.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy mentioned the Holocaust, or Shoah, being a genocide. A total of 6 million people were killed by the Nazis, and they would have killed another 6 million people if they could. I know that there are active debates around the Famine and the treatment of indigenous populations in America and Australia. If people want to use words like "genocide" and "apartheid", I am not going to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----we have a ceasefire, that the killing stops and that the hostages can be released-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----so that we can get aid into Gaza. Those are the things that are most important.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to answer the questions, but it is clear that when the Deputy does not hear exactly what he wants to hear, he shouts you down. I have kind of lost my-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I lost my train of thought in that regard.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: What is clear is that what the Palestinian people have faced for 75 years is dispossession, the loss of their lands and being made into refugees. They have not got the level of support that they should have from the international community to date. The most important thing now is that we secure a ceasefire so that the violence and killing stops, aid can get into Gaza and hostages can get...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----need to be viable and need to be secure. With regard to Irish citizens who are in Gaza, almost all who want to leave and their dependants are now out, or at least the majority are. We are working on a few further cases. We engage with the Israeli, Egyptian and Jordanian authorities, and others, on this. I know there are people who want us to expel the Israeli ambassador. Being...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 13 together. The social dialogue unit, part of the economic division of the Department, co-ordinates and assists the Government's overall approach to social dialogue. This includes the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, which engages with representatives of employers and trade unions on economic and employment issues insofar as they affect the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. Regarding ambulance services, I am genuinely sorry to hear about the bad experience that Deputy Ó Murchú's constituent had. Certainly, nobody would want that to happen to anyone or in any constituency. We have increased investment in ambulance services all the time. We have new paramedics, new vehicles, new basis and systems for call out, but sadly, there...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I regularly visit the hospitals. The waiting lists are 22% lower than they were from peak levels. They are still too high-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----but they are not going up.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate that this issue has been raised a number of times in the Chamber. As I said previously, the idea of a stakeholder forum is a good one. I cannot see what harm it would do, and it exists in other industries. I know the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is giving some consideration to it at the moment.