Results 3,121-3,140 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I can certainly say we have no plans to increase the licence fee. I cannot make that commitment for the duration of the Government but there are certainly no plans at the moment to increase it. I appreciate that it is de facto a compulsory charge. Anyone who has a television has to pay it, although, in fact, people who do not have a television even though they are watching the services,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----which would mean we would not have to increase it for a number of years. That is being worked on at the moment.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Richmond for once again raising this very important issue. I agree the statistics that he articulated would indicate that the economy in Northern Ireland is outperforming other parts of the United Kingdom when it comes to trade. Perhaps that is linked to the advantages of the protocol, which give Northern Ireland access to the European Single Market but also give it access to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I should add to my comments earlier that a waiting list initiative is under way and we are seeing substantial falls in the number of people who are waiting a long time to see a consultant or to have an operation. The number of people who are waiting more than six, 12 or 18 months is now falling. That is a result of the additional resources being put in. The target should really be 11 or 12...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will examine that. I do not think finding a solution should have to wait until we have a referendum. I am not an expert in this area of the law whatsoever but I know in other jurisdictions there is the concept of a common law wife or husband whereby a person was not married but was de factomarried and could acquire certain rights in that regard. Not being at all an expert on this area...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising these important matters relating to the Garda. I look forward to an early meeting with the Garda Commissioner in order that I have a chance to tease through some of these issues with him. We are in the process of reforming oversight of the Garda to establish the new office of the police ombudsman and I hope that reformed office will complete investigations...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank the Deputy. He is correct to raise the issues of the mental health and well-being of gardaí. Being a Garda member has always been a tough job but it has become harder in recent years with the changing complexity of demands, some violence, quite frankly, and an increase in disrespect being shown to the Garda. One of the things we want to progress very soon is the use of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his questions. At the outset, we should acknowledge that there are some very good things about our health service. Life expectancy continues to rise in Ireland. It is at 83 now and that is, in part, because of the improvements that have been made to our health service in recent years. Stroke survival rates are improving all the time. When I was working as a doctor,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I very much look forward to reading the report over the recess and will do that. I was grateful for the opportunity to speak before the committee some weeks ago. I recognise Deputy Bacik's work as Chairperson, and all the members of the committee for the work they did. Politicians and parliamentarians often do not get credit for the kind of work that gets done in committees but it is often...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We will take up that challenge. Just in the past few months, we have introduced legislation around the gender pay gap and we are seeing that come into effect now. That will help us understand better what the gender pay gap is in businesses and organisations and how it can be closed. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, is bringing legislation through at the moment on work-life balance, which...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We understand the ECB will make an announcement on interest rates today. We do not know what it is going to be but it is anticipated there will be a further increase interest rates announced. We hope it is the last one, or failing that, the second-last one. As the Deputy will appreciate, the ECB is independent in its functions and it has a particular remit to bring...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I absolutely appreciate that interest rates going up will be very unwelcome for tens, if not hundreds of thousands, of families across the country. Those with tracker mortgages, for example, will receive that letter, the fourth such letter in only a few months telling them their repayments are going up. The same will apply to people on variable rates and that is not...

Death of Private Seán Rooney: Expressions of Sympathy (15 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Táimid aontaithe faoi scamall bróin inniu tar éis bhás saighdiúra chróga a bhí ag fónamh sa Liobáin. Déanaimid caoineadh lena theaghlach agus molaimid crógacht na ndaoine atá páirteach ann. Tá a fhios againn go mbraitheann gach duine in Óglaigh na hÉireann nó sa bhaile an caillteanas seo. Tá ár...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: EU Data (14 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: No fines have been incurred by my Department for infringements of EU law or for failure to transpose EU law during the 33rd Dáil term.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Support Services (14 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment is actively working with the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland on new loan schemes. The Ukraine Credit Guarantee Scheme will release up to €1.2 billion in lending to assist the liquidity needs of SMEs, farmers, fishers and small mid-caps. Increased energy costs are driving increased costs in every area of business...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Standards Authority of Ireland (14 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The table below details the funding provided to the National Standards Authority of Ireland by my Department in each of the years 2019 to date: SubheadA6 - NSAI Current Allocation (€,000) Capital Allocation (€,000) Total Allocation (€,000) Year 2019 6,146 ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: National Standards Authority of Ireland (14 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 22 and 23 together. The National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI) has six staff members engaged in this work. Meetings at ministerial level with EU counterparts on building technologies are within the policy responsibility of my colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Social Media (14 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Details of expenditure incurred by my Department on social media advertising during 2021 and to date in 2022 are set out in the attached table. - - Amount spent per social media platform € Year Platforms Twitter LinkedIn Facebook Instagram Youtube Annual Total € 2021 ...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Low Pay (13 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The objective is to eliminate low pay. There are many ways to define low pay but it is generally defined as the pay of those earning less than 66% of the median wage. With the introduction of the national living wage, the intention is to go to 60% initially and, provided the economy can manage it and businesses can afford it, to 66% thereafter. That would, at least on a statistical basis,...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Low Pay (13 Dec 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The plan initially is to go to 60% by 2026 and then to 66% but that can be speeded up or slowed down depending on economic circumstances. Part of the research behind this, done by Maynooth University, indicated there is a point at which, if the minimum wage is increased too much too quickly, there can be negative effects. People could be laid off, businesses could close and people's hours...