Results 6,241-6,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Bríd Smith asked about the three-year review of the abortion legislation. That is planned. I understand the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has done some initial work on it. I will ask him to provide the Deputy with more detail on that. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, is aware of the anomaly...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy will be aware, the Government is developing our first autism-specific strategy. It will be an important step forward. Work on that is under way. I am sorry to hear about the individual cases that the Deputy raised, but the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, who has responsibility for disability services, is taking a real interest in this matter and will do her best to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I heard the Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, speaking authoritatively on it a few weeks ago. The PUP is paid directly to the individual and should not fall into this at all. However, there is a basic principle that, when it comes to an insurance policy, one cannot be compensated for the same thing twice. That is why insurers will, in some...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: This is a fraught area and it requires some discussion, including perhaps in this House. Using vaccine passports or vaccine green passes could have the benefit of allowing us to open up our society more quickly and allow more people to return to work and businesses to open. On the down side, it would create a division in our society between people who are vaccinated and people who choose...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: This is the first time in a long while when the issue of trolleys or hospital overcrowding has been raised with me in the House. It used to be something that was raised nearly every week when I was on my feet. That tells a story in itself. The problem of trolleys and hospital overcrowding has not gone away by any means, but it is considerably less than it was before the pandemic. Even...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Higgins for raising this issue. It is something on which the Government is working. Young people in particular need to be able to get on the road, especially in rural areas but also in urban areas, such as our shared constituencies in west Dublin. We are keen to see a return to driving lessons and driving tests and to enable theory tests to be done online, which would help....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not aware of whether there is an appeals process. I will ask the Minister to respond to the Deputy's letter. I am aware of this issue. It has been raised with me by Deputy O'Dowd, among others, and we agreed on the need to build that road for many different reasons. It seems to fall between two stools. It is really a transport project, but the application was made under the urban...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not familiar with the rapid one-hour PCR test but I will certainly check it out and follow up on it. It is not a secret that there are differences of opinion with regard to lateral flow rapid antigen testing and rapid antigen testing in general. In the main, public health doctors are not enthusiastic about it but scientists generally are. That has been an issue all along. The report...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to correct the record in that regard. What I meant to say was that the laws in question were passed by this Oireachtas. I did not suggest that everybody voted for them. I understand that in only one case was an attempt made to rescind a statutory instrument. That attempt was defeated in a democratic vote of this House. On the issue the Deputy raised, I concur with him....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I very much welcome the recommendations of the Citizens' Assembly and I thank its members for the work they have done. They have produced a really excellent report, as did the Constitutional Convention and previous citizens' assemblies such as that which considered the eighth amendment. Government will consider these recommendations and the Oireachtas will also want to do so. We will be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for her work on this topic. Anybody who has looked into the matter will understand the complexity of it all. Something being complex is not, however, an excuse not to act. It is our intention to put in place more permanent and durable solutions as opposed to the sticking-plaster version put in place for the Minister and for councillors around the country. One thing we...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure if there are any specific plans for the Meelick site but I will let the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, know that the Deputy has raised the matter and has some suggestions as to how it could be put into use for the benefit of the community. I am sure he will want to consider them. It is the Government's policy to phase out...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will, with the help of the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, look into the issue the Deputy raised of people who are on the pandemic unemployment payment moving to a lower payment, maternity benefit, and we will see whether we can do anything on it. I had the privilege to be Taoiseach for three years and Minister for Social Protection for one year, and this is exactly the space I moved us...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Rents are too high in Ireland and in Dublin especially. I do not think anyone would dispute that statement. We have brought in rent controls to limit the extent to which rents can be increased, through the rent pressure zones. The problem of rents being too high is not going to be solved by tax credits or rent controls, which people can get around through subletting and do in other cities...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There is no solution to this without building more homes and more apartments of all types.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The matter of visits to maternity hospitals is under consideration, although I do not know whether there will be an announcement on it today. A strong case is being made for partners to be able to attend antenatal appointments and that is currently under consideration. The change in vaccine guidance is helpful. The national immunisation advisory committee, NIAC, has now advised that...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: One thing we all need to acknowledge, when it comes to the miracle that is the development of these vaccines, is that they were developed by private enterprise and with the help of Government funding-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----and with the private and public sectors working together and we need to acknowledge that. Were it not for private enterprise, it is possible these vaccines would not have been developed. As it happens, none of the vaccines are made in Ireland and the intellectual property does not sit in Ireland, so our position on that has to be seen in that context. There are discussions on a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Network technicians at ESB Networks who are members of the Independent Workers Union are engaged in industrial action, including work-to-rule and work stoppages. Industrial relations within ESB Networks are a matter for the company, and while any industrial action is regrettable, the impact of this particular action is expected to be limited. The action has been taken by network technicians...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Apr 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I can only repeat what I said earlier, that is, that laws are passed here by us in the Houses of the Oireachtas. There is no law on Covid that did not come through this House. The Garda is responsible for enforcing the law. Statutory instruments can, of course, be revoked by this House. I have not yet seen a proposal to revoke any of the statutory instruments put in place since this...