Results 3,761-3,780 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: It is past time already, given that the new school year is now well under way. I do not know exactly all of the rules and regulations around school transport. I know most Deputies here do. It would not be as big of an issue in my constituency, perhaps, as in the Deputy's. I do not, however, see the logic in telling somebody not to get on a bus if the bus has empty spaces on it. Whatever...

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

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge that many people feel public transport is unsafe, especially at night and for women. That is a real problem and it is not just a perception. People see incidents occur on the Luas, buses and on trains and it makes them very worried. It also very much goes against what we are trying to do in encouraging people to use public transport more often, which is why we brought down...

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

Leo Varadkar: I was not aware that meeting was happening today but I am glad to hear that it is. It would probably not be right for me to prejudge the outcome but I hope it is a positive one. I know there was an arbitration process under John Rogers SC many years ago, which did not come to a conclusion. I hope we will get a conclusion on that issue under this Government.

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

Leo Varadkar: There will be an income tax package in the budget. It will be the largest income tax reduction package in any budget for quite a number of years. I guarantee the Deputy it will never go as far as we want it to go, which is always the case, but it will be significant and, of course, the objective is to make sure that people get to keep more of their own hard-earned money and especially that...

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

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the problems that we face in providing home help for people who need it. As the Deputy says, it is a vital service. It keeps people out of hospitals. It makes considerable sense that we fund it well and, indeed, we do, but there is a shortage of people willing to work in the area. Among issues being examined at present by the Minister is whether we need to improve pay or...

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

Leo Varadkar: I have not seen the numbers but if they add up it would make sense to do it. We want to move freight off the roads and on to rail but we do not want to spend considerable money building a train line which is uneconomic and then requires many more subsidies. As the Deputy points out, capital is a one-off, but subsidies are not. Thus, if we open a rail line and it can wash its face that is...

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

Leo Varadkar: I join the Deputy in extending my condolences to the family and friends of the man who died in those tragic circumstances. It is Government policy to bring in supervised injection centres. We have plans to do so at Merchant's Quay. The Deputy knows the difficulties and complications that have arisen around this but we certainly have not given up on it. The policy remains an objective. I...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We will certainly give it consideration. The Government has been criticised in the past, by the way, for buying properties on the private market for social housing as opposed to building them. The Deputy may even have been one of those who has been critical of us for doing so.

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

Leo Varadkar: Sometimes it does make sense to buy properties on the private market, in the instances the Deputy has mentioned, for example, or where a particular type of property may be needed for a large family or a family who has a member with disabilities. What the Deputy has said about corporate tax is also valid. We should not rely on our corporate tax receipts to fund day-to-day spending. Capital...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am very alarmed to hear this situation has arisen in his constituency. I am sure we will have to find a solution to it. If I have picked up the Deputy right, it is not so much an issue of finance as the availability of a bus. I cannot give an answer on it here but I appreciate the fact he has raised it. Perhaps we will engage offline or with the Minister, Deputy...

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

Leo Varadkar: We very much value the essential work that family carers do. Of course we will give consideration in the budget as to how we can help them out. Everyone, particularly carers and some other groups, are feeling the bite of the cost of living much harder, especially people who have to be at home a lot and generate costs relating to heating. We will absolutely bear this in mind in the budget...

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

Leo Varadkar: It is not fair to say that the Government has not acted to help households and families with the rising cost of living. As recently as January, all the budget measures kicked in such as lower income taxes and increases in the minimum wage, the pension, weekly welfare payments, and the fuel allowance. In spring, the Government intervened again by reducing excise on petrol and diesel, by...

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

Leo Varadkar: The approach taken by the Government to date, since the changes in May, is that where the carbon tax increases, it is offset by other measures. That was introduced last spring with the reduction in excise on petrol and diesel so that people do not experience that increase in their pockets.

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

Leo Varadkar: Just to be very clear, we are not opposed to bringing more gas ashore from Corrib if there is more available-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----and we are not opposed to Barryroe either.

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

Leo Varadkar: I have not blocked any licence nor has the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan.

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

Leo Varadkar: There is an obligation on the company to honour the terms of its licence and that involves demonstrating that it has the financial wherewithal to exploit those resources.

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

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy mentioned cutting energy taxes. We have cut energy taxes. We took 20 cent and 15 cent off the cost of petrol and diesel-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----reversing several years of carbon tax increases in reality. We have cut VAT on electricity and gas to 9%.

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

Leo Varadkar: It is 20% in Northern Ireland and Britain. The VAT on electricity and gas in Ireland is 9% - the lowest it has ever been. As the prices of gas and electricity continue to rise, the proportion of taxes which the Government gets falls. That is the reality of the situation we are facing.