Results 7,401-7,420 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: -----just as student teachers are paid for substitution duties. We are happy to engage in a grown-up, fact-based and mature way with the unions, as we always have, to come to a resolution on this.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: My apologies.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. She made a valid case that must be listened to. The task force report on the deployment and administration of the vaccine is expected to be completed tomorrow and it will go to the Cabinet on Tuesday. Last Tuesday, the Cabinet approved the prioritisation of the vaccine, including which groups will receive it first and last. That was...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much for raising this important issue. From my time working in the public health service and as Minister for Health, I am very aware of the contribution student nurses and midwives make to the health service. I am also aware of the limitations regarding what a student can do and provide in the health service, whether it is a therapy student, a nursing student, a...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am acutely aware of the difficulties that communities and voluntary organisations have faced in recent months due to the impact of social distancing requirements. The Government’s 'Resilience and Recovery 2020-2021: Plan for Living with COVID-19, the operation and reopening of Ireland' will be guided by the need to manage risk and repairing the damage that COVID-19 has inflicted...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am keenly aware that businesses are making a massive sacrifice 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 as they develop their response to impacts arising from COVID-19. Details of the wide range of supports...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Departmental Expenditure (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Professional fees are paid in my Department in line with Circular 47/2001: Reimbursement of Professional Membership Fees. The reimbursement of fees are initially paid, where there is a mandatory condition for appointment to the role advertised during the recruitment campaign. In an effort to ensure the highest level of professionalism in certain areas of the Department and as part of...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Restart Grant Plus Scheme for B&Bs, while funded through my Department, is administered wholly by Fáilte Ireland on its behalf.My Department has no role in relation to individual applications. I would therefore encourage the proprietor to liaise directly with Fáilte Ireland with regard to payment of the grant. Fáilte Ireland's...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (10 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Organisation of Working Time Act 1997 (OWTA) sets out an employee’s entitlement to annual leave and the terms around the taking of same. Under Section 20 of the Act, the times at which annual leave is taken is ultimately determined by the employer subject to the leave being granted within the leave year to which it relates, or, with the consent of the employee within the period of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Bodies Data (9 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Details of the State Boards that fall under the remit of my Department, including details on board appointments and board vacancies, are available on the StateBoards.ie website. The information requested by the Deputy in regard to the current composition of these boards, disaggregated by appointments through PAS or Ministerial appointment, is set out below. As the Deputy will be aware,...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Regional Development (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Project Ireland 2040 places a particular focus on investment in our rural towns and villages and in ensuring that Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford, grow at twice the pace of Dublin.  The National Development Plan (NDP) sets out the medium-term investment priorities that will underpin the successful implementation of the National Planning Framework. The review of the NDP, which...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: There are already established reporting mechanisms in place for COVID-19 infections in Ireland.  All COVID-19 infections are firstly reported to Chief Medical Officer of the Department of Health and to Health Protection Surveillance Centre/Health Service Executive, as with other public health infectious diseases. The current reporting obligation on employers under occupational safety...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise; Trade and Employment, I have engaged with my counterparts in Northern Ireland at meetings of the North South Ministerial Council in July and November. We discussed measures in place to support communities and businesses on both sides of the border but did not specifically discuss cross-border shopping trips.  Retailers in Ireland are key...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Departmental Advertising (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Under the EU's Single Market rules Member States are prohibited from discriminating between the purchase of each others' products.  Nevertheless, Governments can advocate for buy local campaigns.  Buying locally sustains local economies and the growth of jobs and vibrant communities throughout Ireland. In November, I launched the "Look For Local" campaign which is a new national,...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Restart Grant Plus was just 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 Restart Grant Plus scheme, which replaced the original Restart Grant scheme, closed to new...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Enterprise Ireland (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Enterprise Ireland is currently not in a position to support companies active in the area of cannabis-based products. Enterprise Ireland’s position is based on the fact that, while EU regulations permit a threshold of 0.2% of THC in hemp products, products containing any trace of THC are considered as a controlled drug in Ireland under the Misuse of Drugs Orders. In other words, there...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Enterprise Ireland (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: AgriBioTech Partners trading as Floreo Botanicals have been engaging with their Local Enterprise Office in Offaly.  I also understand that Floreo Botanicals is a Botanicals Company and they use many plants in their products including Flax, Nettle, German Chamomile and Hemp.    Hemp is a cannabis-based product and for the purposes of Enterprise Ireland and Local...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Employment Rights (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As our country continues to navigate Covid-19, remote working has become more important than ever before. In December 2019, my Department published the Remote Work in Ireland report which outlined the prevalence and types of remote working arrangements in Ireland as well as the factors influencing its adoption.  This year, as a response to COVID-19, my Department launched a new...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Following the ending of the 6-week period of Level 5 restrictions, the Government made the decision to move the entire country to Level 3 of the Framework for Living with COVID-19. The first phase of the gradual reopening coming into effect on Tuesday the 1 December. Further information on the measures in place from 1stDec can be found at . Businesses should carefully review measures above...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic (8 Dec 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Outdoor markets are permitted under the current restrictions, and fall under the responsibility of the Local Authorities, who must be satisfied that they can be run safely and in line with local authority planning, retail guidance and, in particular their plans to manage public areas in busy town centre areas. In line with updated Government Health measures, available at: , businesses must...