Results 4,101-4,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (31 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The total value of grants paid by IDA to PayPal for the period 2012-2021 is set out in the following tabular form. It should be noted that approval and payments do not usually fall within the same calendar year. Therefore, it was necessary to include 2010 approved grants as they were subsequently paid in 2012. Year Approved Grant Type Location Grants Paid ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Losses (31 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I have expressed my disappointment as this recent announcement and I know the news came as a real shock to the staff working at PayPal's Dundalk and Blanchardstown offices, their families and communities. Job creation and sustainability of these roles is always at the forefront of Government policy, and unexpected news like this is never welcome. I have been advised that an enhanced...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Missions (31 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Each year, Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland collaborate on a programme of ministerial led trade missions and events which support the goal of securing high-level market access for companies based in Ireland who are aiming to grow business overseas and increase domestic employment.  In recent years the majority of Ministerial-led Trade Missions have taken place to the Eurozone, North...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I have answered a number of questions on this important matter this morning. I assure the Deputy the Government's policy is one of mainstreaming and integration. A meeting is under way at present about that with stakeholders and partners. It is to be hoped that will have a positive outcome.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. We are all appalled by the scenes we are seeing in Ukraine and the extent to which cities are being pulverised and civilians are being killed and harmed in the way they are. I hope in the not too distant future we will see a ceasefire in Ukraine. That means the killing will stop and reconstruction can begin. I very much agree with the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot give the Deputy a date but I will ask the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, to contact him directly with the reply.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, a lot of work is already being done to bring derelict houses back into use. In some parts of the country, local authorities are placing buildings under compulsory purchase orders and bringing them back into use. Louth is a good example of that. There is also the repair and lease scheme, which people can use-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----to bring a house back into use and then lease it, but we need to do more. The kind of things we are working on at present include a general grant people will get if they buy a derelict house, bring it back into use and live in it, which is the carrot. A proposal being worked out, which would be the stick, is a tax on vacant residential properties.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I accept that.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government commits us to move towards a living wage in Ireland over the period of this Government. I have the report of the Low Pay Commission in this regard, which sets out a roadmap as to how we can achieve that. I intend to bring those proposals to Government before the summer recess and then engage on a public consultation on them. It is to be hoped we will make an...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: My plan is to bring it to Government in June. With its approval, I will publish the report and the research that backs it up, and also initiate a public consultation on it with a view to beginning to make it a reality in 2023.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I hear what the Deputy is saying and I hear his concerns. I assure the House the Government's policy on special needs is one of integration, mainstreaming children in mainstream classes with a special needs assistant where appropriate, special classes in mainstream schools where appropriate - 300 more of those were provided in the past year alone - and only where there is no viable...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We all acknowledge that the limits for access for social housing need to be raised. They have not been raised for quite some time and the cost of housing has increased considerably in the last couple of years. It is intended that we raise those limits, but I cannot give the Deputy the exact amount or the timeframe for that at the moment. That is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I join Deputy O'Dowd in expressing my concern and regret that PayPal has announced these job losses. Some 135 of them will be my constituency and 172 will be in Deputy O’Dowd’s constituency. The company has given a commitment that it is here to stay in Ireland and will continue to have over 2,000 people employed in west Dublin, Louth and other parts of the country. We are...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I was informed earlier by the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, that it remains a Government commitment to extend the cath lab service to the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. This was meant to happen in March. It has not happened yet because it is necessary to hire another clinician to do so. That has not been possible to date. It is still intended to get that done this year, in the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I totally agree with the Deputy’s sentiments in this regard. I was appalled to read about what happened in Naas. I read that a doctor has been struck off in recent times. I will have to follow up on this because I am not exactly sure of the current position. However, it would make sense to me that if the Medical Council strikes somebody off, it should-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: -----be publicly disclosed so that patients are aware and other potential employers are aware, not just in Ireland but abroad. The last thing we want is people being struck off in one country and then being hired in another. That has actually happened. The Deputy raises a very important issue. I will follow up on it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Whatever about language, and language is important, the policy is clear and the Government's policy is absolutely clear. It is one of integration. If we want an integrated society, we must have integrated schools. It is the Government's policy to provide children who have special educational needs with mainstream education. That could be in a mainstream class with the help of an SNA or it...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: This is an important issue and the Deputy asks some valid questions. I am afraid I do not have an up-to-date answer with me but I will ask the line Minister to come back to the Deputy in writing.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (26 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the concern and understand how parents must have felt last night when they heard language used that their children would be offered a stopgap solution. No parent wants to hear that. The Government's commitment and policy on this is clear. As I mentioned earlier, 300 special classes opened in mainstream schools last year. The Minister has the power to require schools to...