Results 2,081-2,100 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I think Macra na Feirme is a very impressive organisation. I have met Macra on many occasions. I have had them into Government Buildings and I have met them at the Ploughing Championships. It represents roughly 10,000 people in rural Ireland, some of whom are farmers and some who are not. I would be very happy to meet them again. I understand they expect to be at the Dáil around 1...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Bill will be published and enacted before the summer recess, with the co-operation of the House, and will raise money we can use to help families with the high cost of living. I expect to see energy prices fall. We are already seeing petrol and diesel prices fall and I expect to see electricity and gas prices fall throughout the course of the year.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not arguing with the OECD. The OECD report says that incomes rose last year but the cost of living rose faster. However, that was the first year where that was true since the crash about ten or 15 years ago. Under this Government and the previous one, almost every year, incomes have been rising faster than the cost of living and poverty rates have been falling. There was a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Under the current Government, and indeed the previous one I led, living standards rose and poverty rates went down. This is a simple fact that the Deputy can check if he chooses to do so. In most years since 2014, we have seen incomes or wages rising faster than inflation, or faster than increases in the cost of living, and as a result we have seen incomes and living standards rise and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and pitting people who want to buy their home against people on the housing list. We need to help everyone. The plan is Housing for All; it is public and private and involves us doing as much as we can possibly do on both tracks. I disagree with the Deputy's analysis. Housing for All has had a very good start. More social housing was built last year than in any year since the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There was no political pressure applied. I am happy to confirm that once again. The Labour Party has six or seven Deputies. She may not know this yet, but I imagine she will find that two of those will not be contesting the next election. That is roughly a third, which is quite a lot. People move on and retire, and they have the right to do so. Tá an plean Tithíocht do...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Sinn Féin is not doing that, however. It does not have a housing plan. Its only housing plan is a change of Government and that is totally vacuous and empty.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I fundamentally disagree with the Deputy on this. We have a very deep housing crisis that is affecting individuals and families in so many different ways. It is not about public versus private or people who want to buy their home against people who are in social housing.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: If we are going to solve the housing crisis, we need to maximise the amount of public housing we build and we also need to maximise the amount of private housing we build. It is not an either-or situation. Only in the past few weeks, we announced increased investment for local authorities to provide more social housing and to purchase houses off landlords who are selling up, therefore...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Because only a few weeks ago we provided funding to local authorities to purchase 1,500 homes where landlords are selling up. That money has not yet all been drawn down. If they draw it down, there will be more. Only a few weeks ago, we announced an increase in the amount of social homes we will provide this year through long-term leasing. The announcement today is not the totality of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Housing for All, which is the Government's housing plan, has had a really good start. At the moment, 300 to 400 people are buying their first homes every week. That is the highest number since the Celtic tiger period. It gives me a lot of hope and confidence that we are going to be able to turn the tide on home ownership into the future. Some 30,000 new homes were built last year, and we...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Consultations (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Following a public procurement process on the e-tenders and OJEU websites in early 2022, the Department of the Taoiseach, with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, awarded a contract for data strategy services to support the implementation of the Housing for All plan to Ernst & Young Chartered Accountants. Expenditure under the contract is a matter for the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Official Engagements (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The official dinner held in Dublin Castle in honour of the President of the United States, the Honourable Joseph R. Biden Jr., on 13 April, included a diverse range of attendees. Invited guests, across the Irish and US side, included current and retired senior political representatives, public servants, and a broad range of representatives from sectors such as arts and culture, education and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cybersecurity Policy (25 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will appreciate that it is not the practice to detail in public the measures that are taken to protect the security of official and office holders’ communications, including those measures taken regarding mobile devices. This is a long-standing practice adopted for sound reasons of security. In general, all users of official devices have a responsibility to exercise...

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I attended a meeting of the European Council on 23 and 24 March in Brussels. The agenda covered Ukraine; competitiveness; the Single Market and the economy; energy; and external relations. In his contribution to today’s debate, the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, will provide further detail on some of the external relations issues discussed, including Serbia-Kosovo relations,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Public Sector Reform Review (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. On Deputy Bacik's question, I join with her in commending the work of An Garda Síochána, the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the courts. As the Deputy said, it is five years since there has been a murder in Ireland linked to a feud involving serious organised crime gangs. Please God, this will continue. I am aware the gardaí have done phenomenal...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Starting with Deputy Durkan's question on school transport, I agree with him regarding how important this issue is, especially in rural areas, for children accessing school. We have done a lot in the last couple of years to improve the situation. Fees have been reduced significantly for school transport, which has been a big benefit for families...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Public Sector Reform Review (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 25, inclusive, together. The main responsibility for the public service modernisation, development and reform functions is vested in the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. An ongoing joint project between the Department of the Taoiseach and the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 12 go 20, go huile, le chéile. Cabinet committees meet as appropriate according to their work schedules. The Cabinet committee on health has met twice so far this year. The Cabinet committee on housing has met three times, most recently yesterday. The first meeting on the Cabinet committee on children and education will take place shortly....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Apr 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. Deputy Bacik mentioned the EU ambassador Aidan O'Hara. I want to take the opportunity to confirm to the House that on Monday, a robbery was conducted by armed men at the home of the EU head of delegation in Sudan, H.E. Aidan O'Hara. The Department of Foreign Affairs has been in touch with Aidan, who thankfully was not seriously hurt. However, the attack was deeply...