Results 3,721-3,740 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Business Regulation (27 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: A proposal for a Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence was published by the European Commission in February 2022. The proposal focuses on establishing a system within company law and corporate governance to address adverse human rights and environmental impacts arising from companies' own operations, their subsidiaries' operations and their value chains. Companies are required...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: State Bodies (27 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy is aware, 2021 was a record year for foreign direct investment and in the first half of this year we have exceeded that again, with investment up 9% on the same period last year. IDA Ireland in July reported significant investment growth in the first half of 2022, returning FDI employment creation plans to above the pre-pandemic 2019 record levels, despite a continuing...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Jobs Data (27 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: In the first half of 2022, IDA Ireland, the inward investment agency of the Irish Government reported significant investment growth, returning FDI employment creation plans to above the pre-pandemic 2019 record levels, despite a continuing challenging global environment. 155 investments were won, with associated employment potential of over 18,000 jobs, up 9% on the same time in 2021. 73 were...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Relations (27 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: In the course of my role as Minister, I frequently meet with other Ministers for Trade, either bilaterally or at Trade Councils. I met Ambassador Tai to discuss trade matters in a bilateral virtual meeting that took place in May 2021 in advance of a meeting of the EU Trade Council. USTR Tai also attended the aforementioned Trade Council via videoconference in May 2021 where an informal...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It was a real pleasure to spend the day with the Deputy and his team in Kerry last Friday. We did not get to Kilgarvan but we did get to Castlemaine. No visit to Kerry is complete without a visit to Castlemaine. The large-scale sport infrastructure programme is being discussed at the moment between the Departments of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and Public...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: It is not good and it is not acceptable that those services should be cancelled in that way. As the Deputy said, there will be problems from time to time but if the problems become too frequent, there is something else going on. I certainly will alert the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that the Deputy has raised the issue and ask him to talk to the him directly about it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Dillon for raising this matter. The 9% VAT rate will remain in place, at least until the end of February. Any decision on extending it would be made either on budget day or at a later point. That is a matter under consideration. I had a chance to visit Kerry with Deputy Griffin on Friday and I met with some of the people involved in the hotel business and the tourism...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know if that has been done but I will ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to get back to the Deputy directly. I accept the point she is making. Construction inflation is running at about 12% a year at the moment and that would have to be reflected in any scheme the Government provides.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As we both know, Tipperary is a very large county geographically and has benefited from increased Garda resources in recent years. I agree with the Deputy that more will be necessary. He can be confident that will be the case. The number of people going through Templemore is going to increase very significantly in the coming months. I cannot comment on the issue of the chief...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. Section 39 bodies and agencies are a very diverse group. They range from very big healthcare providers, hospices or disability service providers to some very small charitable groups with only a small number of employees. It is a complicated area. I think both the Deputy and Ministers across Cabinet would agree that in the real world, if the HSE...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Berry for raising this issue. We have all seen the video footage of what happened in Cherry Orchard. We are all taken aback and rather shocked at the scenes we saw and unreservedly condemn what happened. I have visited Cherry Orchard on a number of occasions. I spent time there with the former Minister of State, Catherine Byrne, before the pandemic and I have spoken to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am not directly involved in this area. It is a licensing issue between the company and the Department. Despite what some have suggested, it is not a matter for the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, to decide yes or no on. It is a licensing matter between the Department officials and the company. As the Deputy pointed out in his remarks, it relates to issues around finance. The company says...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have an up-to-date note on that. I will ask the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to contact the Deputy directly.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I neglected earlier to convey my best wishes to the gardaí subjected to this unprovoked and highly dangerous attack and to the people living and working in the area who I have no doubt were very frightened by the scenes we have all seen. With regard to Garda resources, the total budget will be decided in the Estimates and we will know what it...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: A number of backlogs built up over the course of the pandemic, including in the areas of passports and work permits. We have managed to get through most of them. The passport situation is much improved and delays in getting work permits are now down to four to five weeks. This is clearly one area in which there is still a backlog and that needs to be dealt with. I do not have detailed...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Fitzpatrick for raising this important issue, which is a matter of great interest to newly qualified teachers, in addition to school management and school communities. As teachers returned to their classrooms a few weeks ago to meet their students after the summer break, we were once again reminded of the significant and valuable role teachers play in our communities. For the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Other than in exceptional circumstances, schools should deploy newly qualified teachers in a mainstream setting. However, in certain circumstances, a newly qualified teacher may complete the Droichead process in an special educational needs setting. As a general rule, paid employment in a permanent, temporary or substitute capacity is eligible. During the past school year, the Teaching...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot give the Deputy a definitive response. I certainly hope and expect that the mica scheme will be up and running in the new year. I will be very disappointed if is not. There will need to be a scheme to help people who live in apartments that have defects. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is working up the proposals around...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As far as I understand it, the deal for this year is that the Government will provide additional funding to childcare and early education providers. There are pay increases for the professionals who work in that area. In return, fees are supposed to be frozen for this year. Not everyone has signed up to that, but I understand the vast majority have. If there are instances of fees being...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. He paints a bleak picture of the country in which we live. One would not think that the United Nations - not me but the United Nations - considers Ireland to be one of the top five or ten countries to live in the world. That is based on health, education and economic well-being. One would think from the remarks of the Deputy that we were seeing a massive outflow of...