Results 4,721-4,740 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The coroner, Dr. Myra Cullinane, is independent in her functions. There are very strict rules around the extent to which a politician can intervene with the coronial process. As the Deputy is aware, a bespoke courtroom was built in the RDS to facilitate the inquests. The contract for this special courtroom is due to expire at the end of this month. The Government recognises that this is a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I very much identify with Deputy McAuliffe's comments on illegal dumping. I also had the chance to visit Dunsink Observatory and it really is a hidden gem. We should make better use of it and I hope people will have the chance to visit if they have not already done so. It is in one of those interface areas that crosses sometimes into my constituency and sometimes into the Deputy's. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I met with the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, last night and at my request this was one of the issues on the agenda. I am very committed to the project of directly elected mayors. It was always the intention that the mayor would not just take on most of the functions of the chief executive of the local authority but would also have additional functions that would be devolved from central...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: No date.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Cannon raising this issue. It is a big item on my plate at the moment and that of the Minister of State, Deputy English. There has been a 50% increase in work permit applications this year compared to before the pandemic in 2019. This is driven by a labour shortage for employers who cannot get staff. It is not just in Ireland; it is also in the European Union and in the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I know the Deputy has a real interest in this matter. We spoke on the phone about this not too long ago. At the moment, through my Department and through the Department of the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, we have helped to fund remote hubs and community hubs. To the best of my knowledge, however, currently no Government Department or Government agency rents desks. I...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy asked a lot of questions there, which perhaps the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, might be better placed than me to answer. With regard to the legislation promised, that legislation is a priority. We intend to get it through the Dáil and the Seanad as soon as possible. I would be extremely surprised and disappointed if we cannot have the scheme up and running by the end...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I spoke with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, this morning, and she confirms that fees for both the leaving and junior certificate exams are being waived for this year. As the Deputy knows, some families are exempt from payment, but for those which are not exempt, this will be a saving of €116 in the case of the leaving certificate...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We all know what happened here when we had a banking and financial crisis ten or 11 years ago. The banks, the construction industry and housing supply collapsed, and as a consequence of inadequate supply, houses prices started rising again and are now very high and out of reach for many people. It is a social disaster, quite frankly, that people in their 20s and 30s who...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I believe the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, made a statement on the staff of section 39 agencies yesterday. I have not seen the detail but I will ensure it is transmitted to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to double-check with the Minister for Health and the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, as to exactly what the legal position is on this matter. There are two regulators in this area, as the Deputy knows. The Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland regulates pharmacists and is responsible for making sure that pharmacists do not hand out these medicines too easily, while the Health...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I am not at liberty to tell the Deputy what was and was not discussed at Cabinet, but I can tell him that the Government is seized of this issue. I had an opportunity to meet with the Irish Farmers Association, IFA yesterday, alongside the Minister of State, Deputy Heydon. It raised a lot of issues, including climate action, the Common Agricultural Policy, its concerns around the dairy...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: We would all agree that reduced use of fertiliser would be beneficial. It would be beneficial environmentally and would also help reduce costs for farmers. I do not think we should dismiss Teagasc in trying to give advice to farmers on how they can do that. I am sure the vast majority know all of this already but there may be people who benefit from that additional advice and I do not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The thinking behind the SHDs was to speed up planning and to get planning permissions through more quickly for housing and apartments. It did not work which is why we had to change our policy on strategic housing developments by going back to something similar to an older system where the application is made to the council first and then there is a right of appeal to An...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I will discuss this with the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, and with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and will provide the Deputy with a more considered response a little bit later on. I had a chance to read the article about Laura Newell and her family in The Sligo Champion. I express my condolences to the family on Laura’s loss and to her two daughters aged...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: The Government acknowledges that inflation, in particular the type of inflation that we have at the moment, which is very much driven by higher energy prices, is impacting on those with lower incomes more so than those with higher incomes. That is clear. People on lower incomes spend more on energy and fuel, or a higher percentage of their income on energy, fuel and groceries than those on...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (3 Feb 2022)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, but what about somebody who has a mortgage or somebody who is not on social welfare? His proposal would not help them.