Results 3,241-3,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Foreign Direct Investment (29 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The proposed departure of Zurich Insurance Plc (ZIP) from Ireland comes following a review of the company structure in Europe, resulting in the commercial decision to re-locate ZIP’s European Headquarters to Germany, which is closer to its key markets. My first thoughts are with the staff affected by this announcement. I understand that a consultation period is underway, and I expect...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Staff (29 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department, and its Offices, which includes the Companies Registration Office, the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland, the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission, currently has six staff whose roles include functional responsibilities as access officers as required by section 26 (2) of the Disability Act 2005. These are set out on the Department’s website at...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Contracts (29 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My Department and its Offices, which includes the Companies Registration Office (CRO), the Intellectual Property Office of Ireland (IPOI), the Labour Court and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), are tenants in ten buildings across the country provided by the Office of Public Works who manage the public property portfolio on behalf of Departments. Currently the Department directly...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Ministerial Staff (29 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: In relation to my current corps of drivers, this information resides with the Department of An Taoiseach and An Garda Síochána. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is not responsible for employment records of my corps of drivers.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I join with the Deputy in thanking Dr. Scally and his team for the work they have done in the past couple of years. We were very lucky as a country that we found him. He has done some really good work to help us improve the CervicalCheck programme. I am very grateful to him and his team for that. The Coombe lab is being developed at the moment. We are keen to have it up and running...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I had the chance to meet Aimee Foley myself yesterday very briefly when she was in the House. I really admire her courage in going public in the way that she did and seeking a tougher sentence. I am glad that the DPP did appeal that sentence and that a higher sentence was secured. I would like to see that happen a little more often than it does. I understand and see the case for legal...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The negotiations on the consultant contract are ongoing. They are at an advanced stage. Within the next couple of weeks we will know whether agreement is possible or not. They are being chaired independently and it would not be helpful for me to engage in running commentary on some of the outstanding issues. I think we are close to the point in the next couple of weeks as to whether we...

Misuse of Drugs (Cannabis Regulation) Bill 2022: First Stage (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I am not familiar with the 109X, but if it stops in Blanchardstown I probably should be. The provision of a shelter should not be too difficult. With the additional funding for public transport, perhaps additional capacity can be provided. If the Deputy would like to set out the details in writing on one or two pages, I will make sure the matter gets taken up with the NTA and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for reminding us once again that paramilitarism in Ireland is far from dead. I very much condemn the events in Strabane in recent weeks. There is very good co-operation between the security authorities here and those in Northern Ireland and in Britain. We want to enhance that in any way we can. Obviously, much of this relates to security, much of it is confidential and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We review that list every six months, so it is probably up for review about now. It is handled by the Minister of State, Deputy English, as Deputy Ó Cathasaigh mentioned. Generally, we are guided by what we hear from employers as to which skills and posts they cannot fill. Two have crossed our desks a lot recently. One is bus drivers, which the Deputy mentioned. There are...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to give a commitment that I will speak to the Minister about it. It came up in my meeting with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, only in the past two weeks. I understand that the Minister and the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, met farmers from the Burren and local representatives on 22 November. I am told that the meeting was constructive and that the work of the Burren...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has no plans to join NATO or any other military alliance. We are involved in security and defence co-operation through PESCO with the European Union. We also co-operate with NATO through the partnership for peace and have done for a very long time. I have not seen the report the Deputy mentioned so I cannot comment on it but I will ask the Minister for Defence to come back...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the importance of this issue but I am afraid I just do not have that information to hand. I will ask the Minister for Health or the HSE to come back to the Deputy on that. I understand he has said the recommendation is now being implemented. I do not know why that was not done previously. I will ask the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, to get back to the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The answer to the Deputy's question is "No." We do not commonly do free votes in our system. The Deputy is an Independent Deputy and every vote is a free vote for him. Most Members in this House are members of a political party and are bound by the policies of that party, the programme for Government and collective responsibility. We allow free votes on a small number of issues,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The answer to the Deputy's question is "No".

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: That is very open-ended question. I will interact with the House in different ways depending on circumstances. When it comes to any international agreement that depends on the advice of the Attorney General. If the Attorney General advises that an international agreement requires a vote in the House, then of course there would be vote in the House. Some agreements - and this applies to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----that I share, that the environmental protections in it are not adequate.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I do not like using the guillotine but sometimes it is necessary to get things done.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (24 Nov 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The policy tools are differential pricing, which now exists, and also the Government ad information campaign encouraging people to reduce energy use and, where possible, to use energy at times when it is more efficient. I would never tell anyone when they should or should not cook the dinner but it is fair to say that when it comes to things like using the washing machine or putting on the...