Results 6,981-7,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: You need to take something to calm down. You are a very angry man.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I welcome the constructive suggestions that have come from the Labour Party in recent weeks. He is right; neither the Government, the Opposition, any government, NPHET nor any expert has got everything right when it comes to managing this pandemic. What we all hope is that when this is over we will have been seen to have got most things right most of the time. I know...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We may well end up in the same place. There are lots of things that we have done in the past year to fight this pandemic that I never thought we would do. The Government and I will always keep an open mind on these things. We may not be as far apart as people may think. When we have a discussion like this, in slogans, it misses the detail. This is the complexity of what we have to deal...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Nobody should say "permanent". No matter what strategy one has, there is the risk of having to reimpose lockdowns. Unfortunately, we have seen that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We have seen that in Melbourne. People want to know that whatever we do is going to be sustainable.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. All of us in this House acknowledge that the cost of housing in Ireland is far too high, particularly for those who want to buy their first home. Those costs are very high relative to people's incomes. That is particularly so in the cities, especially in central Dublin to where the report the Deputy referenced refers. I note that the whole premise of the Deputy's...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: For anyone who decides to write or review this debate, the record should state that it was the Deputy who got personal, both towards Deputy Eoghan Murphy and me. It was the Deputy who was partisan, attacking Fine Gael, my party, by name rather than talking about the Government. It is important that is recognised. Having been personal and partisan, it is only fair that I should be allowed...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The fact is that the Deputy's party, Sinn Féin, has been in government for 13 of the past 20 years in Northern Ireland. It has been in government on this island longer than my party has in the past 20 years. Sinn Féin is a party of government, an establishment party north of the Border. When it comes to social housing, its record is not good. It built fewer social houses in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Restart Grant Plus Scheme, which closed to new application on 31st October, was only one part of the wider range of schemes available to firms of all sizes, which includes the wage subsidy scheme, low-cost loans, write-off of commercial rates and deferred tax liabilities, all of which will help to improve cashflow amongst SMEs. The Revenue Commissioners’ Covid Restrictions...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, commonly known as CETA, is one of the EU’s new generation of progressive free trade agreements. CETA is designed to benefit EU and Canadian companies through improved trade flows in support of increased employment for our citizens. The elimination of tariffs, reduced trade barriers and simplified customs procedures that flow...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: S.I. No. 701 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 and S.I. No. 4 of 2021 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 () clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5. A list of essential services can be found at and the list of essential retail outlets at...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Brexit Issues (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together. Now that the UK has formally left the EU single market on 1 January 2021, Irish consumers who are considering making online purchases are advised to exercise additional care. A website with a .ie domain name, does not necessarily mean that the entity which owns and operates the website is based in Ireland. My Department has no function in...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Consumer Protection (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 10 together. Now that the UK has formally left the EU single market on 1 January 2021, Irish consumers who are considering making online purchases are advised to exercise additional care. A website with a .ie domain name, does not necessarily mean that the entity which owns and operates the website is based in Ireland. ComReg appointed We Are Ireland...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: We know the serious effects on business of the current Level 5 restrictions. Budget 2021 provides a significant package of tax and expenditure measures to build the resilience of the economy and to help vulnerable but viable businesses across all sectors. My Department and its agencies have been focused on coming up with solutions to help businesses overcome the difficulties caused by...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Enterprise Support Grant, introduced by my colleague the Minister for Social Protection was a one-off grant introduced to reimburse certain non-rate paying businesses who had closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, for re-opening costs up to a maximum of €1,000. My understanding is that the grant was not intended to replace lost revenues for such businesses, but instead to help those...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (28 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: S.I. No. 701 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) Regulations 2020 and S.I. No. 4 of 2021 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary Restrictions) (COVID-19) (No. 10) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 () clearly sets out the temporary restrictions under Level 5. A list of essential services can be found at and the list of essential retail outlets at...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (27 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Government’s Living with COVID-19 Plan sets out how businesses should operate at five different levels. The Country is, at present, at Level 5 and within Level 5 people should work from home unless it is absolutely necessary to attend in person for the delivery of an essential service as listed on www.gov.ie. I would stress, however, that, at this particular critical juncture,...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Trade Policy (27 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I believe the Deputy's question relates to the application and operation of the European Union's Safeguard Measures on steel, which have been in operation since July 2018. As the Deputy will be aware, trade policy is a competence of the European Commission under Article 207 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, and referred to as the Common Commercial Policy....

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Health and Safety Inspections (27 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Between the 1st January 2020 and the 31st Dec 2020, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has carried out 3,641 inspections as well as 355 investigations in the construction sector. While carrying out an inspection, the HSA inspector will examine the different work activities being carried out on the site along with the examination of operator training and maintenance of plant and lifting...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Enterprise Support Services (27 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has invested in the development of enterprise/co-working hubs in every region. Under the Regional Enterprise Development Fund, the Border Enterprise Development Fund, the Community Enterprise Centre Scheme, and the Community Enterprise Initiative Scheme, Enterprise Ireland has invested over €180 million in these infrastructures. Based on Enterprise Ireland’s...