Results 2,761-2,780 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am not in a position to be specific today. Ministers will have to meet later in the week to look at all the options, come to a decision on them and then bring a recommendation to the Cabinet on Tuesday. I will be able to be specific in a few days' time, once we have made those decisions. I do not think it is unreasonable of me to point out what has been done. It would be a more gracious...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Even with Sinn Féin's 13 tax rises, it cannot afford to keep all those promises. People are starting to see through Sinn Féin.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We had a budget in September and it was passed by this House in the form of the Finance Bill, the Appropriation Bill and the Social Welfare Bill by very clear majorities. We will not have a mini-budget. That is not necessary. The budget set out the fiscal parameters for this year, and anything we do or announce between now and the next budget will be done within the confines of those...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not want to make promises today that I may not be able to keep-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and I encourage Opposition parties to follow that policy and not to make promises they cannot keep. People will have clarity no later than next Tuesday. Ministers will meet over the coming days and we will be in a position to set out what we will do on Tuesday. It will probably require a short finance Bill, perhaps next week, or if not next week-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----within the next few weeks, to do what we propose.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As to what the measures will look like, they will be both universal and targeted. They will be targeted because pensioners, people on low incomes and people in receipt of social welfare payments are suffering the most from the rising cost of living, particularly because groceries and energy costs have gone up the most. There will therefore be targeted measures and there will be a welfare...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will take a moment to pay tribute to Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, MSP, who announced her resignation today. I met her many times in Dublin and also in the context of the British-Irish Council. I always found her to be an impressive, competent, articulate and thoughtful politician, a true European and a friend of Ireland. Certainly, she will always be welcome at our table....

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Cabinet Committee on Government Co-ordination is scheduled to meet again next Monday, 20 February.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Constitutional Amendments (15 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There are various proposals for constitutional reform under consideration, including some arising from the Programme for Government, others from the work of Citizens’ Assemblies and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality and others, such as the EU Agreement on a Unified Patent Court, that arise from legal requirements. While no final decisions have been made as yet on...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I apologise if I did not catch everything. The Deputies spoke much more quickly than I can write, but I will try to cover as many questions as I managed to jot down. In respect of Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan's question about the tenant in situ scheme, that is a scheme the Government supports and I know the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage supports it very strongly. We...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know. I will have to check with the Minister on that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In regard to Deputy McAuliffe's question, I am not familiar with the site-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We might have a chat afterwards and he can let me know where it is. We can certainly ask the LDA to take a look at it. On the rent tax credit, it does cover students who are paying rent and where parents pay on their behalf, but it does not cover unregistered landlords. The difficulty with unregistered landlords is they should be registered. They are either not registered with the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Family breakdown is one and another, of course, is people being evicted from private rented accommodation. We are seeing a change in the profile of people who are homeless. It is quite different from what it would have been five, six or seven years ago and that is a factor too, but we will assess that over the next couple of weeks. It will remain the case that if somebody is not paying...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check with the Minister for Finance but I would have thought there would be a charge this year.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: What was the Deputy referring to?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Urban Development (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their questions. Regarding the programme implementation board and the appointment of a new chair, no decision has yet been made on the appointment of a chair but I would very much welcome any suggestions or nominations that Members may have, perhaps on a confidential basis. It can be difficult to approach people for these roles. The enthusiasm for taking on this kind...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 25, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing met on 30 January. The next meeting of the committee is scheduled for 9 March. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All. The quarter 4 2022 progress report was discussed at the most recent meeting of the committee, and was subsequently...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (14 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think I need to answer the question as to what the point is in having elections, at least I hope not.