Results 5,541-5,560 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The right to request remote working is part of a broader Government vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland's workforce in a way that can be to the benefit of everyone - economically, socially and environmentally. The commitment to introduce legislation to underpin an employee's right to request remote work was made in the national remote work strategy published last...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and I hear what he is saying. I will definitely look into the issue of storage. I am unsure as to whether this is an issue for Enterprise Ireland, for the customs service or for the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine to take the lead on but this is an all-of-government matter and I will make some inquiries.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As I advised the Deputy in June, there is a commitment in the programme for Government to request the Low Pay Commission to examine universal basic income, UBI, informed by a review of pilots that have happened around the world that would also advise us on how we would carry out UBI pilot here in Ireland during the lifetime of the Government. The Low Pay Commission is currently examining...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Low Pay (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There has been contact at official and ministerial level and I am happy to clarify this point. As the House will understand, the whole idea and point of a universal basic income is that it is universal. This would be a weekly or monthly payment paid to every adult in the State, whether they are a Bono or a busker, a Deputy or someone experiencing homelessness. What was proposed in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I appreciate that the announcement was only in the past couple of days and came after the Deputy submitted his question. As Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I can assure the Deputy that the Government is very much aware of the challenges that Brexit brings for exporters, in particular for businesses in the agrifood sector. We continue to work closely...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Brexit Issues (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. In an ideal world, I would like to see a closer relationship between the EU and the UK. I am not sure that is possible for the foreseeable future but anything that would align our standards, such as a veterinary agreement or food standards agreement, would dramatically reduce the number of checks and controls necessary and would be very beneficial to our farmers and...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Living Wage (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government makes the commitment to "progress to a living wage over the lifetime of the Government". I have spoken before about how the pandemic has caused many of us to reconsider and re-evaluate what an essential worker is. We now understand that it is a much broader group of workers than people would have originally described, many of whom are on low pay and in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Living Wage (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not expect the Low Pay Commission to come back to us with the rate of the living wage. I expect it will come back to us with a method by which the rate can be calculated on an annual basis. Perhaps that is the same thing, but it is an important point nonetheless. There are two ways of calculating it. It can be calculated as a percentage of median wages, for example, 50%, 60% or 65%,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Living Wage (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There is a group - I forget exactly how it is described - that calculates the living wage at €12.30 per hour. If I remember, it also recommended that there be no increase in it last year. I do not know what the recommendation will be for next year. The group is made up mainly of people from the trade union movement, academics and those from NGOs. They are all worthy and learned...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We expect to have heads of the Bill, that is, the general scheme of the Bill, in the next couple of weeks. Obviously, that will have to go to the committee chaired by the Deputy. We hope to have the legislation enacted, realistically early in the new year, but if we get it done before then that would be great. I am a big fan of remote working and blended working. It is part of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Essentially what I want to do here is to maximise choice for people. Many people have seen the benefits of working from home and remote working. Many people said it could not be done or that we would see a big drop-off in productivity. Generally speaking, that has not been the case although some people would dispute that. We are keen to make this part of the new normal. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed) - Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Employment Rights (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The right to request remote working is part of a broader Government vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland's workforce in a way that can benefit all, economically, socially and environmentally. The commitment to introduce legislation to underpin an employee's right to request remote working was made in the national remote work strategy published last January. The...

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: It is an honour for me this evening to express my full confidence in my friend and colleague, Deputy Simon Coveney. I first met Simon 23 years ago, when I was canvassing for him in the Cork South-Central by-election, following the tragic death of his father, Hugh. I know nobody more committed to public service than him. Since then, he has served with distinction as a Member of this...

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: He put back together the Executive Sinn Féin collapsed in a tactical act of arrogance, leaving Northern Ireland without a voice for three years during the Brexit negotiations. He deserves their thanks and their respect, not their opprobrium. Sinn Féin knows the work he put in to ensure there was no hard border on our island. Yet, they seek tonight to hound an honourable man out...

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Also, we brought in legislation to protect whistleblowers. We ended the link between big money” and politics, effectively banning corporate donations and donations of big money from wealthy individuals. Only one party in this House - Sinn Féin - flouts this law, in spirit and perhaps and letter, by routing its grubby millions through the United States and the United Kingdom....

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We know from the renewable heat incentive, RHI, inquiry how Sinn Féin Ministers handle confidential government documents and records. We know that when it comes to public appointments in Northern Ireland, Sinn Féin operates an international centre of excellence when it comes to cronyism. I do not make these points to understate the mistakes that were made, but rather I make them-----

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I think the interruptions and the curse words are indicative of the fact the truth really hurts Sinn Féin. The truth really hurts Sinn Féin.

Confidence in Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence: Motion (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The mask slips as well, when it is not on. I repeat, a Cheann Comhairle, that I do not make these points to understate the fact mistakes were made nor to avoid accountability for them but rather to ask for balance and proportionality. Sinn Féin does not meet its own standards as a political party or as a government in the North. If we cannot have confidence in Simon Coveney, how can...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Universal and equitable access to safe, effective and affordable vaccines, diagnostics and treatments is crucial in the global fight against COVID-19. International Trade is a competence of the EU under the Treaties and in exercising that competence, the European Commission engages fully with the Member States, including Ireland, through a variety of Committees and Working Parties/Groups,...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Trade Missions (15 Sep 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 60, 67 and 129 together. Last week I led a three-day Enterprise Ireland and IDA trade mission to the UK, France and Germany to  support the accelerated export-led recovery of Irish businesses in the UK and Eurozone. This was the first in-person trade mission undertaken following the EU-UK Trade Agreement and following the onset of Covid-19. The...