Results 5,141-5,160 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We anticipate herd stabilisation over the next number of years. Some farmers may increase the number of animals they keep, while others may decrease the numbers because they decide to diversify into other areas such as planting trees, engaging with carbon farming and so on We expect, in the round, to see herd stabilisation with the national herd staying at roughly the same size as it is at...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate that these are important questions and these are important projects for people living in west Cork but that question is probably best put to the Minister for Transport rather than me, as he would have the up-to-date information. I will certainly let him know the Deputy raised this question today in the Dáil. I am very aware of the strategic framework for land transport...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We will certainly do that. The Government will press the HSE and the Garda to have this report published. It needs to be published for two reasons. The families concerned have a right to information and a right to know what happened, who knew what at what point, and how they acted. Anyone involved in this, including some of the staff members - some may have a case to answer and others may...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure those figures for the transport budget and the budget for roads in 2022 are correct. I will need to go back to office later and check on them. As far as I am aware, we have found additional funding for the remainder of this year for local and regional roads. That is coming from the Department of Transport budget, which will not be fully spent this year and will need to be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Pringle for raising this issue and acknowledge his advocacy on this very sensitive matter. Anybody who has read or listened to reports on this issue will have been shocked and very upset at what happened and will struggle to understand how something like this could happen. When I heard about it, I was shocked and appalled that anything like this could happen anywhere at any...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: At the outset, it is really important to say that all four of the vaccines that have been used in Ireland are very effective, perhaps not as effective against transmission as we hoped but extremely effective in reducing hospitalisation and the need for ICU care and against death. What is remarkable is that, in the past two weeks or so, we have had as many cases of Covid detected as we did in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his questions. Nobody knows for sure what we are going to face into this winter with the health service. Much of that will depend on the pandemic and on whether cases peak and fall, continue to rise, or level off at a certain point. Looking around Europe and at other parts of the world, it is hard to know for sure what trajectory we are going to follow. We will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. There will, of course, be engagement between the Minister and the HSE on one hand and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation and SIPTU health on the other on this issue of student nurses and student midwives which, as the Deputy said, is an industrial relations issue. It is appropriate there should be further engagement. I do not know when the Minister, Deputy...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. For many in society, when it comes to the pandemic, things are largely back to normal. Many people are able to go back to their workplaces and schools, colleges, shops and businesses are open. For our hospitals, however, the pandemic is as bad as it ever was. There are 500 people in hospital with Covid today and almost 100 people in ICU. Hospitals are trying to manage...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Agreements (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Ratifying CETA is Government policy and an objective of mine as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. As a country, we owe our relative prosperity to the goods and services produced by our people and our land, which we sell around the world. This formula has worked well. It is based on international trade, our attractiveness as a place to invest and our ability to enter into...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Living Wage (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has been clear in our belief that a legacy of the pandemic must be better pay, terms and conditions for everyone, particularly for those on low pay. We are committed, therefore, to progressing to a living wage over the lifetime of this Government. Currently there is no official living wage in Ireland. The Living Wage Technical Group, which comprises members including Vincentian...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The pandemic has presented an opportunity to make a permanent change in the way we work - to make remote and blended working a much bigger part of normal working life and achieve a better work-life-balance. In January I published the National Remote Work Strategy. Its objective is to ensure that remote work is a permanent feature in the Irish workplace, in a way that maximises economic,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Flexible Work Practices (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The pandemic presents an opportunity to make a permanent change in the way we work - to make remote and blended working a much bigger part of normal working life and achieve a better work-life balance. After the pandemic, I believe people should have a choice to work from home or in the office, so long as the work gets done and business and service needs are met. The right to request...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Insurance reform is one of my top priorities as Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The Cabinet Committee Sub-Group on Insurance Reform, which I chair, published the Action Plan for Insurance Reform in December 2020. Significant legislative reforms have already been completed. The Personal Injuries Guidelines came into effect on the 24th of April, which has...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Departmental Funding (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Embracing digital technologies is crucial for our post pandemic economic recovery. A competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base is essential to provide high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions. Businesses can harness digital technology in many ways – to understand their customers better, to reduce their costs and to...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Artists' Remuneration (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Programme for Government includes a commitment to ‘Request the Low Pay Commission to examine Universal Basic Income, informed by a review of previous international pilots, and resulting in a universal basic income pilot in the lifetime of the Government’. Earlier this year, I formally requested the Low Pay Commission to examine this issue. In response to my request, the...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Enterprise Policy (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Budget 2022 recognises that a strong, resilient SME sector is key to rebuilding the economy. As part of Budget 2022, my Department has increased its allocation to its enterprise agencies who are continuing to deal with the impacts of Covid and Brexit. My Department is overseeing the development of nine new Regional Enterprise Plans to 2024. The Plans aim to identify growth opportunities,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Job Creation (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland Jobs created in 2021 will not be available until the Annual Employment Survey results are published in January 2022. However, as is evidenced with IDA Ireland investment announcements in 2021, set out in the table below, a significant number of companies have located or expanded in Cork with new jobs and it is reasonable to expect that this trend will continue into the future. ...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Industrial Development (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland actively promotes available buildings and land in IDA Business Parks and high-quality buildings in private ownership through their network of overseas offices. The IDA owns approximately 10.6 hectares of industrial zoned land on the Sligo Road in Quignashee, Ballina. Planning permission was previously obtained for infrastructural development, although this has since expired....

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Greenhouse Gas Emissions (2 Nov 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is actively pursuing opportunities for decarbonisation across enterprise and is integrating climate action into all aspects of the Department and its agencies’ activities. This approach recognises that those enterprises that make the move early to reduce their carbon footprint will be resilient to the impacts of climate change. The enterprise agencies will be aligning...