Results 7,041-7,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I did not have an opportunity to watch that programme but I am going to. I have recorded it and many people have said to me that it is essential viewing for all of us as politicians. I will make a point of doing that. On the local county rule, if you like, it seems to be very unfair that somebody would be turned down for a place and left on the streets because they...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: People coming in from the United Kingdom or South Africa — there are no direct flights from South Africa but people could come in from other airports — are required to have a negative PCR test before landing in the country. It is mandatory. They are then strongly advised to self-isolate for 14 days; that is not mandatory. On sharing information with Northern Ireland, we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Obviously, the buck stops with the HSE in this regard. I do not know whether the national outbreak team has been established yet. I will find out for the Deputy. In general, we all appreciate the Covid situation is very serious. We are still seeing more than 2,000 cases per day. More than 200 people are in intensive care, and about 2,000 are in hospital. Case numbers and the number...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I will check the position on the national outbreak control team. I am not sure whether it has been established yet, but it is fair to say the settings in question are healthcare settings. Many people in healthcare settings will have Covid and many will have other illnesses. They are very susceptible to Covid, and that is why infection control is so important. Hospitals, nurse managers and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: No, that is exactly what I said, or more or less what I said, back in November. Of course I got the document from the Department of Health. Where else would I have got it from? The only people who had it were the Department of Health and the IMO. I hardly got it from the IMO, so of course I got it from the Department of Health, through the Minister, Deputy Harris, and my special adviser....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Just be to clear, on 17 April, the Minister for Health requested the current draft - so a later, more up-to-date draft, presumably - appreciating that there were ongoing tweaks.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: There was a third draft and ongoing tweaks. He got it the day he requested it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for her questions. The passenger locator form has been in place for many months, as she knows. It has not worked out to be as robust a measure as was needed. That is why the Government made changes in recent weeks in response to the fact that we are now concerned about new variants entering the country from other parts of the world. Now, anybody who is entering the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I do not agree. These are the facts, and I am happy to restate them. It was not actually a contract; it was an agreement about a contract. I gave a copy of that agreement to Dr.Ó Tuathail, who was president of the NAGP at the time. I should not have done this. I accounted to the Dáil for it last November and I apologised for it. I acted on my own judgment and nobody is...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Redundancy Payments (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Redundancy Payments Act 1967 (as amended) outlines the rights and obligations of employers and employees in relation to statutory redundancy entitlements. Section 12A of the Act is the Covid-19 emergency provision which suspends an employee’s entitlement to claim redundancy from their employer following certain periods of lay-off or short time work due to Covid-19. The...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: IDA Ireland (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: IDA Ireland owns approximately 10.6 hectares of industrial zoned land on the Sligo Road in Quignashee, Ballina. The site has been concept master planned by the Agency in order to demonstrate its potential to investors. Planning permission was previously obtained for infrastructural development, although this has since expired. The IDA continues to market the site to existing and prospective...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Company Registration (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Registrar of Companies is a statutory role and the Registrar has administrative independence in the exercise of this function. The filing of annual returns by a company with the Registrar is a matter of law in accordance with Chapter 13 of Part 6 of the Companies Act 2014. Section 343 of the Act places the responsibility on every company to deliver its annual return to the Registrar of...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The SBCI COVID-19 Working Capital Scheme makes lending available to eligible businesses that have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak. Loans under the scheme range from €25,000 to €1.5 million and are for terms of up to three years and are offered at favourable terms. For example, the maximum interest rate on loans under the scheme is 4% and there is no...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The issue of commercial rents is primarily a contractual matter for the parties involved, and as such, I cannot advise or on an individual case. The Government has urged landlords and tenants to talk to one another and come to some arrangement, as it is in everybody’s interest that terms are amicably agreed. With this in mind, on 1st October 2020, I published the Code of Conduct...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware that there are a range of businesses which are not eligible for the COVID Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS). My understanding is that the design of the scheme is such that eligibility is dependent on the level of public health restrictions in place in the business’s local area and the extent to which customer access is restricted from the business premises during that...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Legislative Measures (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Government policy on Human Rights is led by my colleague the Minister for Foreign Affairs whose Department chairs the Inter-Departmental Committee on Human Rights. The recent report referred to by the Deputy will be considered by officials, along with other proposals from civil society and interested parties, and feed into overall government consideration of this matter.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Brexit Issues (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: As the UK has also left the Single Market and Customs Union, 1 January saw the introduction of a range of customs and regulatory controls at EU and UK ports. The data required from small businesses importing goods from the UK are needed by Revenue and other public bodies. These are operational matters for those bodies and my Department has no function in this regard.

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Company Registration (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: The Registrar of Companies is a statutory role and the Registrar has administrative independence in the exercise of this function. A major upgrade of the CRO IT system went live with effect from 16th December 2020. This was a significant modernisation project which greatly increases the range of documents that can be filed electronically, with resulting efficiency gains for both business...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: I am keenly aware that businesses are continuing to make massive sacrifices to protect their communities and I am committed to ensuring that the Government will offer as much assistance and support as possible. My Department has worked to ensure that appropriate supports are in place for businesses that require finance as they develop their response to their exposure to impacts arising from...

Written Answers — Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (21 Jan 2021)

Leo Varadkar: Under Level 5 of the Plan for Living with COVID-19, only essential retail outlets will remain open. Further information can be found on . The decision to move to full scale Level 5 was not taken lightly and all factors were considered. The restrictions are in place for a period of at least one month from 31 December 2020. S.I. No. 701 of 2020 Health Act 1947 (Section 31A - Temporary...