Results 6,581-6,600 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am sorry to hear about the experience his constituent is having. I am afraid I do not have any information on the particular issue. Reimbursement is a matter for the HSE. I will certainly let the Minister for Health know the matter was raised in the Dáil.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will get that checked out. I will let the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, know the Deputy raised the matter here, and we will see whether we can find a solution.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. I will ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs to provide them with a written response.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. All of us in this House, when we voted for and supported GDPR, the new European law on personal data, understood it would mean that people would have access to their personal information, that it would be protected and that it would be corrected where it was wrong. The law on people who have been adopted, both legally and illegally, has been interpreted in a different...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Gabhaim buíochas leis na Teachtaí as a gcuid ceisteanna. I am told the Garda Síochána Bill will be published in this session, an seisiún seo. On Deputy Bruton's question, there are two ways we can deal with this. In the first instance, it is a question of Garda action. It is unlawful both to organise and participate in these gatherings so Garda action to prevent...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for giving me the opportunity to acknowledge that today is World Engineering Day. I acknowledge the enormous contribution that engineers make to strengthening our economy and making it a better place, particularly when it comes to housing and infrastructure. I very much agree that finding a sustainable model for higher education is essential because we need to continue to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I very much appreciate the sentiments. I am sympathetic to them. At the moment, it is too soon for us to make those kinds of decisions and calls. The next decision date is 5 April. In the run-up to that date, the decisions in question are the kinds of decisions we will consider in consultation with NPHET, the public health doctors and the scientific advisers. There...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the Deputy may have raised this matter before but it is not a case with which I am familiar. I certainly will let the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, know the Deputy has raised it in the Dáil and I will try to get him a proper reply from the Minister.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am advised we are not yet ready to bring forward that Bill on Report Stage. There are some delays and issues that need to be worked out. I will arrange for a written reply to be sent to the Deputy in the next couple of days explaining the situation.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his question. The Minister, Deputy Martin, is working on some new schemes at the moment, one for live performance and another for musicians. Perhaps it is possible, as part of this, she will take into account the Deputy's views.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his question. It does ring alarm bells for the Government, quite frankly. Here in the Republic, south of the Border, anybody arriving through a port or airport has to have a negative PCR test and must quarantine at home or, in some cases, will soon have to quarantine in a hotel. There is a very different approach in Northern Ireland. For people arriving there from...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The reason this is happening is we have a different regime south of the Border. We have decided to restrict international travel and aviation severely on public health grounds-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----whereas the reverse approach is being taken in Northern Ireland. It was the same last summer when the Northern Ireland Executive agreed a green list of 60 countries, supported by Sinn Féin and the DUP-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: -----and that contributed enormously to the Spanish strain coming into this country and seeding the second wave.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. A big part of our climate action strategy is to increase the amount of land under the cover of forestry. That will not be possible if we are living in a country where it is virtually impossible to get a licence to plant or fell. I know many people are experiencing that at the moment. It is something the Government is apprised of and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am going to check this out. I only read about this yesterday. What I launched this time last year was a one-off announcement that we provide an extra 200 or 300 internships, particularly for medical students from overseas who train in Ireland and often struggle to get an internship. I had hoped that would continue. It seems it is not and I do not know why. I do...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is absolutely right that access to finance is crucial for businesses, and particularly the small business sector. It is not a well-known fact but currently one third of all lending to SMEs is now Government backed - it is State-backed lending. That is done through various schemes, including Brexit loans, Covid loans and the future growth loan scheme. It has been recently...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not agree with Property Industry Ireland on this particular issue. The reality is that when one does something that increases demand for housing, it may have a side effect - increased house prices. However, that does not mean that people should not be helped to buy. People argued against the help to buy scheme for first-time buyers because they thought it would increase house prices....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I watched the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last night. It was really well produced and well researched, and I want to extend my compliments to those involved in putting it together. I also pay tribute to the people who told their stories. It cannot have been easy. It is hard to imagine a social worker coming to one's door to break the news that one's parents are not one's biological...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Mar 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check with the Minister for Health on that, but I do not think that is the correct representation of what is intended. The hospital will be built with public funds and will belong to the people of Ireland. There may be an issue around the technicalities of the ownership of the land on which the hospital is built, but I am quite confident that the hospital itself will be...