Results 19,881-19,900 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I hate to disappoint Deputy Ryan but he would need to be a member of Fine Gael in good standing for at least two years before he had an opportunity to vote on that question.

Leaders' Questions (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: It could well be two years or more so perhaps he will have the opportunity to join up. I understand the Minister, Deputy Zappone, is from neither Boston nor Berlin but from Seattle. Leaving that aside, I have a radical suggestion for Deputy Ryan, rather than try to ape systems in other countries, whether Boston, Berlin or the Nordic countries, we should strive to take the best from Boston,...

Leaders' Questions (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----and design a vision for Ireland that suits our culture and aspirations. The aspiration of this Government is to support families by doing the things I have mentioned already, expanding maternity, paternity and parental leave-----

Leaders' Questions (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----by reducing the cost of health care and education for children and supporting stay at home parents through the home care tax credit, child benefit and subsidising child care. We do not want to force Irish people and families to make a choice between Boston and Berlin, we want to build the best model for everyone.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to ask the Minister, Deputy Ross, to answer that question in detail for the Deputy.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy said, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to reintroduce it, so it will be reintroduced, but I cannot tell the Deputy the exact timeframe. During my time in the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport we allowed local authorities to decide from their discretionary grant and discretionary budget whether they wanted a local improvement scheme.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: In many ways, that made sense because some local authorities want to prioritise roads that are not taken in charge and others do not. Any commitment in the programme for Government will be honoured, but the exact timeline would be a matter for the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport to communicate directly with the Deputy.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I am delighted to hear that Deputy McDonald is interested in expert opinions and I hope she will seek an expert opinion on her own party's tax policies. She might ask the experts about the impact on our health service and our financial services of a major hike in income taxes on consultants and IT specialists-----

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: -----or, similarly, on the prospects of multinational investment in Ireland. I challenge her to seek an expert opinion on that and perhaps to publish it.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: On the question the Deputy asked, the purpose of the help to buy programme is twofold: first, to help first-time buyers and to give them an edge over others who are seeking to buy homes, particularly investors who are looking to rent properties - even if prices rise, this still gives them an edge; and, second, but importantly, to incentivise builders to increase supply to build more homes,...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: All social welfare increases announced in the budget occur in March, although some will occur in January because I will be able to implement them by order. The exact date will be in the social welfare Bill, which goes to Cabinet on Tuesday and will be published either next Friday or the week after, so people will have plenty of notice as to when the increases will come into effect. I am...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I ask the Minister responsible to take that question.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The Government's plan is to prevent strike action taking place, if at all possible, and discussions took place in the Department of Education and Skills yesterday involving departmental officials and representatives of the ASTI. We want to come to an agreement to ensure there is no disruption to the provision of children's education and that parents are not inconvenienced by taking their...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: Officials from my Department have met representatives of Childminding Ireland and will meet them again. There is time between now and September to legislate for the new programme and to put the necessary websites and administrative systems in place. It also gives us a window of opportunity to ensure more childminders can be registered with Tusla and that is certainly the objective of the...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government contains a commitment to increase the State pension, both contributory and non-contributory, by more than the rate of inflation. We have done much more than that in this budget in view of the fact that inflation is minimal. No matter how modest the increase may be, it more than fulfils the commitment made in the programme for Government with regard to increasing...

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The social welfare Bill will be published either on Friday of next week or the week after that and all the relevant details will be contained therein. We will totally reverse the cuts made to farm assist by the previous Government - of which I was a member - for the obvious reason that farm incomes are down. We want to be able to support farm families who are on the margins and also give...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Social Insurance Data (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The 2017 Expenditure Report, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on Budget Day, provides for Social Insurance Fund (SIF) income of €9,599 million in 2017, up from the €8,883 million published late last year in the Revised Estimates Volume. The estimate for 2017 takes account of: - the trends in SIF income to date in 2016. At the end of September, SIF...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Carer's Allowance Applications (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: I confirm that my department received an application for carer’s allowance from the person concerned on 29 July 2016. Additional information was requested by a deciding officer on 6 October 2016. Once the information is received the application will be processed without delay and the person concerned will be notified directly of the outcome. I hope this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The supplementary welfare allowance (SWA) scheme provides assistance to eligible people in the State whose means are insufficient to meet their needs and those of their dependants. The main purpose of the scheme is to provide immediate and flexible assistance for those in need who do not qualify for payment under other State schemes. The Government has provided €79.7 million for basic...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Household Benefits Scheme (20 Oct 2016)

Leo Varadkar: The household benefits package (HHB) comprises the electricity or gas allowance, and the free television licence. My Department will spend approximately €228 million this year on the household benefits package for over 421,000 customers. The package is generally available to people living in the State, aged 66 years or over who are in receipt of a social welfare type payment or...