Results 2,381-2,400 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I remember that speech well. I made it at Bausch + Lomb, on the outskirts of Waterford city, at a jobs announcement and I committed to a number of things happening in Waterford. I was back there recently - the Deputy was with me for some of it - and I was so pleased to see the amount of progress that has been made in the five or six years since then. I said there would...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We were always clear when this was introduced that it was a temporary measure. If one reads the regulation, it says winter period. It was very clear that this was to be a temporary measure for the winter period and would end on a phased basis from 1 March. It gave tenants facing or receiving notices of termination a few more months to find alternative accommodation and gave the Government...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The truth is that extending the eviction ban until the end of January just means it is going to be much worse then and it will be in the middle of winter. In fairness to the Labour Party, it has put forward a different proposal. It is proposing that the eviction ban can end if we see the number of people in emergency accommodation fall for four months. That needs to be thought through....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is very clear to everyone that once this was introduced, it was going to be very hard to unwind. I do not think it gets any easier by extending it until the middle of winter, which is January, or by waiting until the numbers fall by as few as four over a four-month period.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That is not the position I am articulating. I do not agree that it makes sense to extend the eviction ban until the depths of winter at the end of January when the situation-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----could be even worse. I do not think waiting until the figure has fallen by maybe one person a month for four months makes sense either. The solution is a different one.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The solution is more social housing. We built more social housing last year than in any year since 1975 and we will do more again. The solution is the tenants in situ scheme, with councils and approved housing bodies buying up-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----homes so that people can stay in them. The solution is more supply, which is why we are extending the Croí Cónaithe scheme to rental properties, changing the rules around the fair deal-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and engaging on unactivated planning permissions. It is also why we have committed today to tax changes for small landlords that will take effect this year and will be in the budget later in the year. It is why we are investing in homeless prevention services. These are real solutions that will make a difference.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As is so often the case, the Deputy seems to think the solution to the housing crisis is just her being Taoiseach and her party being in government.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: She puts no solutions forward in her contributions, and nor does she do so in the Sinn Féin motion. It seems to me that she sees housing not as a crisis to be overcome, or a problem to be solved, but a political issue to be exploited. There are four things the Deputy could do to help, if she is interested in helping. One, she could stop objecting to new housing.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy objected to 2,000 homes in her constituency alone. Her party has objected to 12,000. She particularly objects to one-bedroom accommodation because the people who live in them are "transients", to use her language, and build-to-rent accommodation, even though we need more properties to rent. She could drop her opposition to the help-to-buy and first home schemes Many...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The third thing the Deputy can do is to stop threatening landlords with increased restrictions and regulations and more taxes. That will just cause more of them to leave the market.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald could acknowledge that Sinn Féin's plan to extend the eviction ban until the end of January will only do one thing. It will make the situation worse but perhaps that is what she wants.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As was always the case, whether six months ago, before the moratorium was in place, a year ago, three years ago or five years ago, it depends on everyone's individual circumstances. It is not the case that every notice to quit turns into an eviction, and it is not the case that every eviction results in somebody living in emergency accommodation. Deputy McDonald conflates the three things,...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Bodies (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The International Section of the Department supports my work at international level, beyond Europe, to promote Ireland’s foreign and economic policy objectives, and to develop and maintain strong bilateral and multilateral relations. Working closely with other departments, especially the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Section provides me with advice and briefing on bilateral...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Cabinet Committee on the Humanitarian Response to Ukraine last met on Thursday 23rd of February. The next meeting is scheduled for 30th of March. This Committee, which I chair, works to ensure a coordinated approach to the State’s humanitarian response for people arriving from Ukraine who have sought Temporary Protection here. The Government’s coordinated response to the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Funding (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach sought and received approval for virement in principle, in full compliance with the Public Financial Procedures, from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery, and Reform in December to vire monies within non-pay administration subheads. Provisional sanction was also granted to vire surpluses associated with the Tribunal of Inquiry to offset the full...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Capital Expenditure Programme (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach does not oversee any capital projects and has no capital expenditure subhead in its estimates.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Records (21 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach fully complies with its responsibilities under the National Archives Act 1986. This involves transfer of records for public inspection when they become thirty years old. Any records held by this Department relating to this subject matter up to and including 1992 will therefore, have already transferred to the National Archives in line with the Act. Any...