Results 721-740 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That does not necessarily mean we do not do the right thing, and we have increased our humanitarian aid to Gaza and Palestine. We have provided additional funding to the International Criminal Court so it can fund the investigation into war crimes that may have been committed in the Palestinian territories. We will continue to press the matter at UN and EU levels. As the Deputy knows, when...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I have had occasion a number of times in recent years, including in the Deputy's company once or twice, to visit areas that have been flooded and to witness first-hand the devastation experienced by homeowners, farmers and business people when the flood waters come in. I also know that flood relief schemes work. Approximately 50 schemes have been done in the past ten or 11 years in Bandon,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the Deputy's question, which was initially a straight one on emergency powers, the OPW and local authorities do not have emergency powers to expedite schemes arising from damage caused by flooding events and all schemes must meet regulatory and planning requirements. Works for flood relief schemes on an emergency basis were attempted and the Deputy mentioned Lough Funshinagh in County...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As is so often the case, the Deputy's passion is phoney. Sinn Féin voted for the pension age to be 66 in Northern Ireland. Why should people in Northern Ireland have a different retirement age from people in the Republic of Ireland? Is it because there are two Sinn Féins? It just does not make sense. If the Deputy cannot explain why his party voted for a pension age of 66 in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ----while advocating for 65 in the Republic of Ireland, then he does not have a coherent case. I will be interested to see if Sinn Féin proposes in its next manifesto what it proposed in its last, which was a massive 40% increase in employers' PRSI-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----which would have been an anti-jobs measure. That is absolutely true.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It would have been an anti-jobs measure and would have cost jobs.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: When it comes to the pension age and the retirement age, the Deputy and I were both born in the 1970s. At that time, the pension age in Ireland was 70 and the average life expectancy for a man was 68. All the calculations, going back through the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, were based on the idea that people would pay into the Social Insurance Fund for 30 or 40 years and only be retired for a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much. I join the House in welcoming the news that there will be a four-day ceasefire in Gaza, to be observed by all sides: Israel, Hamas and the other armed groups in the territory. I recognise the role of the US Government and the Qatari Government in mediating this welcome ceasefire. The ceasefire will facilitate the release of 50 hostages being held by...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. He may recall that in the 2020 election, the parties that form the Government, namely, Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, won 51% of the vote. That is why we are the Government and Sinn Féin is not. Let us not forget that. Getting a plurality of the vote is not a majority; quite far from it. When it comes to the issue the Deputy raises, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. Regarding ambulance services, I am genuinely sorry to hear about the bad experience that Deputy Ó Murchú's constituent had. Certainly, nobody would want that to happen to anyone or in any constituency. We have increased investment in ambulance services all the time. We have new paramedics, new vehicles, new basis and systems for call out, but sadly, there...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I regularly visit the hospitals. The waiting lists are 22% lower than they were from peak levels. They are still too high-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----but they are not going up.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Social Dialogue (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate that this issue has been raised a number of times in the Chamber. As I said previously, the idea of a stakeholder forum is a good one. I cannot see what harm it would do, and it exists in other industries. I know the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, is giving some consideration to it at the moment.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Barry raised the issue of gender-based violence, violence against women and femicide, in particular. As I have said previously, I believe we face an epidemic of violence women not just in Ireland, but across the world. As the Deputy said, there have been approximately 20 murders since the killing of Ashling Murphy. By comparison, this year so far, thankfully, we have only had one...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think it helps.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy mentioned the Holocaust, or Shoah, being a genocide. A total of 6 million people were killed by the Nazis, and they would have killed another 6 million people if they could. I know that there are active debates around the Famine and the treatment of indigenous populations in America and Australia. If people want to use words like "genocide" and "apartheid", I am not going to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----we have a ceasefire, that the killing stops and that the hostages can be released-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----so that we can get aid into Gaza. Those are the things that are most important.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Nov 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to answer the questions, but it is clear that when the Deputy does not hear exactly what he wants to hear, he shouts you down. I have kind of lost my-----