Results 221-240 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: That is for a lot of different reasons and much of the time, unfortunately, it is in peripheral locations where consultants, especially Irish ones, are not willing to work and therefore we rely-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: -----on people to come from other parts of the world who are willing to work in places that sometimes Irish doctors are not. I wish to clarify again the recruitment restrictions that exist do not apply to filling consultant posts on a permanent basis.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. First of all, the State has a construction company and it is called the LDA. It was established in 2019. It got off to a slow start, but it is really getting going now. The Deputy will know Shanganagh in his constituency, where hundreds of social and affordable houses are being built. He likes to claim there is none in his constituency, but there are hundreds being...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: -----because the LDA is a body you voted against the establishment of.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I have been sent a very long list by Deputy Carroll MacNeill just now, and indeed previously by Deputy Devlin, of all the developments in your own constituency you have objected to-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: -----on ideological grounds because-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: -----they are built by a private provider and they were one-beds and two-beds. However, if we look at the facts, look at the homelessness and look at the housing shortage, the areas we need the most new housing in are one-beds and two-beds. We need family homes as well, but the biggest shortage is for one-beds and two-beds and these are the kind of things Deputy Boyd Barrett and people who...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Is fadhb mhór í agus is tubaiste é i mo thuairim agus táimid ag lorg níos mó eolais agus ag iarraidh an fhadhb sin a réiteach. I have met the patient groups and I would be happy to meet them again. It is not my practice to organise meetings on the floor of the House, but I will be happy to meet them again as soon as there is a gap in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: No, it is not the point. The Deputy had used misinformation about the waiting lists here in the House.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: She has also claimed that the Minister said that he did not know where the money was spent. That is not what he said. It was spent on 200 staff, more beds, a new theatre-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: -----and a new MRI scanner. If the Deputy and her party honestly want to be involved in helping us to come up with a solution, which should not be political football, they need a different approach.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Ireland is a very good country in which to raise a child. Out of 200 countries in the world, we are in the top ten or 20 in almost everything. We have very good maternal and neonatal health services. We have among the lowest infant mortality rates in the world. We have a very good education system with among the best education outcomes in the world. We have...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cuid ceisteanna. Tá a fhios agam go bhfuil fadhb mhór againn leis na seirbhísí sin agus tá brón orm faoi. I know from my own experience, having worked in medicine as a doctor in what seems a long time ago now, that the problem of failures and inadequate services when it comes to spinal surgery, scoliosis and spina...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 and 28 together. A comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic. It will include a review of the whole-of-government response to the pandemic and how we might do better and be in a stronger position if another pandemic or other similar type event...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: National Security (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: The State’s security is a priority for the Government. We already have functioning services in place that carry out significant and important roles in protecting the State and the people, notably An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the National Cyber Security Centre. Much of the security-focused work our services do is, of its very nature, covert and simply cannot...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Social Dialogue (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: 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 labour market, and which are of mutual concern. The most...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: An Garda Síochána (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: A Policing Service for our Futureis the Government’s Plan to implement the Report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The Implementation of the Plan has been overseen by a dedicated Programme Office in the Department of the Taoiseach and an Implementation Group on Policing Reform (IGPR), chaired by an independent person. This phase is expected to conclude this year...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy Brendan Smith asked about the legacy Bill. He raises these issues regularly in the Chamber. I welcome that because it keeps them on the agenda. I will certainly continue to discuss them with Prime Minister Sunak any time we meet. Deputy Durkan asked about the Executive and the assembly. I am keen to work with them and to work closely...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: Yes. The Deputy might send me a note. I am aware of the issue but am not 100% across it.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 24, inclusive, together. The return of the power-sharing Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly is hugely welcome. I was very pleased to travel to Stormont on 5 February to meet the new First and deputy First Ministers and other members of the Executive Committee of Ministers. While in Belfast, I met the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. I...