Results 7,561-7,580 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know, but I will ask the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, to reply to that on my behalf.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Cahill for raising this important matter. There are schemes in place to help private nursing homes deal with outbreaks where they occur. Sometimes that involves staff being provided by the HSE and at other times it involves increases in the funding they receive under the nursing home support scheme. There may well be cases where that is not adequate. Perhaps if the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We will not know until the end of next week what level we will be at in December. As she said, under level 2 pools can open. I understand that they cannot under level 3. As the Taoiseach said, it is more likely that we will be at some form of level 3 rather than level 2. It is not that the levels are not closed to modification. It is something we will have to take...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I understand that report is with the Minister for Transport. I am sure he will publish it in the near future. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is very keen on the development of commuter rail in cities like Cork, Limerick and Galway. It makes a lot of sense. I know Deputy Cannon is an advocate of twin tracking and improving the services to Athenry and Oranmore. It is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. It is a very fair question. I will have to check that with the Minister, Deputy Heather Humphreys. My recollection is that the pandemic unemployment payment will stay in place until March of next year. It may not be open to new entrants from a certain point. We would all agree that if we go back into further restrictions in the new year we would not want people to be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I know this is an important issue in Drogheda, Ireland's largest town, for those living there and its business community. The matter has been raised several times in the House, including by my colleague, Deputy O'Dowd. A decision on funding is yet to be made and is a matter for the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, in respect of the LIHAF and the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The winter flu vaccine programme has been a success and more people in Ireland will be vaccinated against the flu this year than ever before. However, notwithstanding the fact that we ordered more doses than in previous years, demand has exceeded supply and we must prioritise those who are most at risk. There are more doses available, but they have to be prioritised for obvious reasons. ...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am very definitely the Tánaiste and am happy to confirm that for anyone who has not worked it out by now. The fee is approximately €100. It is paid to the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland, NMBI, and covers the board's administrative costs. There have been calls from some people to waive the fee. I agree that it would be a really nice gesture and a further sign of...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am not familiar with the details of the dispute, but I am sorry to hear that people, in particular individuals with disabilities, are being laid off, given the difficulty they often have in finding work. Although I am not familiar with the dispute's details, I would encourage Rehab Enterprises to engage with the union, which would be the right thing to do, and honour any collective...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I might ask the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage to give the Deputy a full reply. He will be able to give a better response than I can. Ensuring more housing is built that is suitable for older people is part of the Government's programme, in particular easily accessible housing that is near the centres of villages or towns, services, churches and shops, thus allowing...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for raising this important issue. I do not have an update at the moment, but I will ask the Minister for Health to provide one to the Deputies. I understand that there is an engagement involving the Irish Dental Association, the HSE and the Department of Health. I hope that the issue can be resolved.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to answer the Deputy's question on documents. The only document I ever saw in relation to this matter was the memo that was presented to the Cabinet. There may well be plenty of other documents but the only one I ever saw was the one shared with the Cabinet, which was the memo to appoint Mr. Justice Woulfe to the Supreme Court. There is another vacancy and the Government will...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware that there is a second vacancy but I cannot recall exactly when it arose.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: It is a matter for the Government to fill that vacancy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The decision to choose St. James's Hospital as the location for the national children’s hospital was made on foot of an expert committee recommendation in, I think, 2012 or 2013. That was before I was health Minister and long before Deputy Harris was health Minister. I was a member of the Government that made that decision so I have to accept responsibility for it, but anybody who...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think it is a question of the Minister intervening. He is the Minister for Health and he is actively involved in stewarding this project. The statutory authority falls to the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board but that board is appointed by the Minister and he is actively involved in managing the project.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The use of revenge porn, sexual images or private images to get revenge on somebody is heinous and disgusting. I read about that. I was shocked that it happens and sad that people behave in such a way. I think it is wrong. I will check with the Minister for Justice about the legal issues around it. It may well be illegal already. If it is not, it would be appropriate for us to make it...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: We want to find a pension solution for carers. Everyone in this House knows the value of the work carers do and we want to make sure they have a pension in their retirement. We appreciate there are many different types of carers: there are family carers, people who care for people who are not members of their family, carers who are in receipt of carer's allowance and carers who are not in...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Tá an tuarascáil leis an Ard-Aighne agus leis An nGarda Síochána. We are keen to see this report published without delay. A lot of people are waiting on it. It was provided to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, some weeks ago but, before it can be published, he wants to make sure it is seen by the Attorney General...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: Denmark is a fabulous and well-run country and has great public services. However, it does have a significantly higher incidence of the virus than Ireland does now. We need to bear that in mind. Notwithstanding the numbers in recent days plateauing rather than continuing to fall, we are the third lowest now in Europe. Only Iceland and Finland have a lower incidence of the virus than we...