Results 3,021-3,040 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, but-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----people are being evicted because they have not paid their rent-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----or because they have been engaged in antisocial behaviour-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ----and I think allowing people to-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 14, inclusive, together. The housing and infrastructure unit assists me and the Government to meet our housing and infrastructure policy objectives. This includes providing a secretariat to the Cabinet committee on housing, which oversees the delivery of Housing for All, along with wider public investment through Project Ireland 2040, which falls...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We support community energy projects. There have not been all that many in Ireland and I would like to see a lot more happen. I do not know the situation with the particular directive or with European law, but I will get my office to liaise with the Minister, Deputy Ryan’s, office and come back to the Deputy once we have an answer.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Farrell for raising this important question, which I know is of great concern to his constituents and indeed to constituents not too far from my own place, where there was a well-attended public meeting recently. I am advised the DAA holds statutory responsibility for the airport. Noise mitigation at Dublin Airport is subject to substantial regulation and oversight as well...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of home care. It is so important, as we all know. It keeps people out of hospital, gets people out of hospital more quickly, keeps people out of nursing homes and makes sure they are safe. We have dramatically increased the budget for home care in recent years. The problem is no longer a matter of money but of finding staff who are...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Our objective is to go from a situation whereby only approximately 10% of the country is under forest to get up to 18%, which will almost double the amount of the country that is afforested. That will require the State, through Coillte, to plant more forests, particularly on public land. It will require farmers to plant more trees. It will require private investment, which can of course...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On Deputy Nolan’s question, I saw the footage the other day. It was very upsetting to think anyone would treat an innocent animal such as a donkey in that way and then take pleasure in videoing it and putting it online. It was appalling. I agree we need to step up enforcement when it comes to dogs and dangerous dog laws as well as the wider issue of animal welfare, which the Deputy...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----but it has made a difference, and I think it is the right thing to do. I agree that if Ennis is to take more patients, even if they are stable patients, it will need the resources to do that. Otherwise, it will just move the problem to somewhere else, and we do not want that to happen.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am sorry to hear about that closure and the loss of jobs in Carrick-on-Suir. The Deputy’s colleague, Senator Ahearn, has been on to me about this too. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Coveney, to engage with the company to see what can be done perhaps to save the jobs, to make sure a package is put in place for the staff if possible and if an alternative use can be found for the site.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am sorry to hear about that case. Without knowing the details, I cannot comment on it much further but if the Deputy sends the details to my office, we will look into it on her behalf.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It was a very useful meeting and I was glad to be able to attend for at least an hour of it. I hope to visit the hospital soon. I do not have the exact answers to all the Deputy’s questions. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to come back to him directly but I understand the 96-bed block is under construction and might be open some time next year. I will double-check that....

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will let the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, know that the Deputy raised Midoc and out-of-hours services in the midlands. Out-of-hours GP services, which are really important, have evolved on an ad hocbasis. Back in the day when my dad was a GP, GPs did their own calls and were out every night. Nobody would expect anyone to do that any more. When I was a GP, the co-ops started being set up...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I only became aware of that matter in the last couple of days whenever the story appeared online. I do not know if it is fully accurate. I would not necessarily assume that it is and I do not want to comment on it further. I do not know Michael Stone but I met him once or twice in the context of his chairmanship of the north-east city project. I must say that the vast majority of people I...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am deeply saddened and was quite shocked to hear about what happened to Mr. Healy only a few days ago. My heart and my thoughts go out to his family and friends and to his community. It is particularly sad that this happened to him only a few weeks after he buried his own wife. Sadly, as we all know, assaults can happen anywhere. Hospitals should be safe places, however, and we...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We do not have the exact figures in yet for 2022, but we will have them in the next few weeks. They will show that we met, and in fact exceeded, our overall housing target for last year, with more new homes being built in Ireland since probably 2010 or 2011. In relation to social housing, we have not built perhaps as many as we would have liked or as many as we had intended, but we will...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy knows, state aid rules are a European matter, but we are examining the state aid rules to see what can and cannot be done. It is 20 years since the particular court judgment was handed down. The State is, and will be, planting trees on public land for all sorts of purposes. We need trees for timber to build all those houses we need. We also need trees to act as a carbon...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (24 Jan 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will have to consult the Whip on this but we will certainly be happy to provide time to discuss the issue. The response to Ukraine and the migrant crisis we are dealing with across Europe, including Ireland, is co-ordinated by a Cabinet subcommittee led by the Department of the Taoiseach. It involves many different agencies, not just the Department responsible for...