Results 1,981-2,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not surprised the Deputy believes my earlier response to be disgraceful because she is another person who refuses to come into this House to answer questions. Accountability should not be just for Ministers. Questions have been raised about her party's finances-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and about her party's links to organised crime and she will not come in here and make a statement and take questions.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: These are much more serious matters than what happened at the Bruff area committee 16 years ago and she refused to come in here and answer questions about her party's finances and her party's links to organised crime.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I share the Deputy's frustration about the fact that so many infrastructure and capital projects take time to come to fruition and I can guarantee that it is not unique to the south east. I will not embarrass myself by listing them, but all of us from Cork and Dublin can tell the Deputy about capital projects in both counties that we would have liked to have started a long time ago but...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the cost of living and the high grocery prices that people are facing, we are seeing evidence now that inflation is slowing down. It peaked at around 10%, is now around 6% and we expect it to fall to 5% by the end of the year. While inflation slowing down is not the same as prices coming down, there is some evidence that some prices are coming down. Certainly the price of petrol and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is absolutely the job of every Deputy to fight their corner for their county and for their region, and I do not have any difficulty with the Deputy doing so but it is worth putting on the record of the House the considerable investment that has happened in the south east under this and the previous Governments, and investment that is ongoing and to come, for example, the long-awaited North...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We published the retained fire service review. It went to Cabinet only a few weeks ago. Approximately 1,000 submissions were made, including many from the retained service. As a point of context, it is worth pointing out once again that we are very close to full employment in this country with 2.6 million people at work. This is more than ever before. We have more public servants than we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy mentioned the fact we have a budget surplus, and we do. We also have the biggest budget for housing in the history of the State. If it was a matter of money and budgets, this problem would have been solved a long time ago. There are many other constraints and she rightly pointed out that one of the constraints is the availability of labour and construction staff to do all the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I was aware of the protests when I visited Cork last week. This is a live issue and, because it is an industrial relations matter, I am limited in what I can say in the House. I understand Cork City Council has invited SIPTU to talks with a view to finding a solution to the dispute and remains available to meet staff representatives....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. As I have often said before in this House, homelessness is a stain on our society. As a Government, we are honour-bound and duty-bound to do everything we can to reduce the number of people who are required to stay in State-provided emergency accommodation over the next months and years. We had a period when we were able to bring it down by 30% to 40%, but it has gone...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I have only seen the media reports of the survey she mentioned. I have not had chance to read it yet. My understanding from what I was briefed on earlier is that it relates to three out of four staff having considered at some point leaving their work area, not necessarily their profession which is obviously a different thing. However, I acknowledge that we need to continue to improve...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is important that the Deputy hears it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is important that Deputy McDonald hears it because north of the Border her party has been in and out of government for nearly 20 years, and has held the office of finance minister, health minister and joint head of government on regular occasions. I would take the patient outcomes and the performance of our health service down here anytime over those in Northern Ireland-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----where patient outcomes are worse, waiting lists are higher and staff get paid much less.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the various challenges that affect our health service. As somebody who has worked in the public health service for seven years and has served as Minister for Health and as Taoiseach, I am not in any denial about the challenges faced by patients or staff in our health service. There are certainly too many patients waiting too long to see...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Functions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The role of the Social Policy and Public Service Reform Division is to assist me, as Taoiseach, and the Government, in fulfilling Programme for Government objectives to help create a socially inclusive and fair society. Specifically, the Division assists the work of the newly established Cabinet Committees, as follows:the Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Public Services and the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Functions (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Our vision is to make Ireland the best country in Europe to be a child. The role of the Department of the Taoiseach will be to co-ordinate and focus Government action. Poverty restricts a child’s opportunity. I recently informed cabinet colleagues that the new Child Poverty and Well-Being Programme Office has been established. The areas it will focus on are as follows: ...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach does not have any contacts with the company in question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government (26 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has been working to implement commitments in the programme for Government. These are advanced through the co-ordinating mechanism of the Cabinet committee structure. The ten Cabinet committees established by Government reflect the core policy areas set out in the programme for Government. Cabinet committees meet regularly to accomplish their work. Strategy statements...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Programme for Government (26 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Moynihan's colleague, Deputy Creed, has raised this issue of a Garda station Macroom with me many times. We are working on the issue. I met the Minister for Justice, the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and the Office of Public Works recently about it. A new station is needed in Macroom quite urgently, as well as one in Clonmel. The...