Results 7,581-7,600 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: I have received what Deputy Smith sent me relating to the forgotten families. I am engaging with the Minister for Education, Deputy Foley, to see if we can find a solution. I believe it is important for children who cannot attend school for health reasons to be provided for in some way, perhaps through an online access system or something like that. I did receive that and I am going to...

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

Leo Varadkar: I want to join the Ceann Comhairle in paying tribute to Brian and wishing him the very best in his retirement. It has been an unfortunate feature of the pandemic in recent months that we have been unable to experience the restaurant in the way we did before. He really did a great job and I hope he has a good retirement. Deputy Doherty raised the matter of ministerial questions. I am...

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

Leo Varadkar: The question on the children's hospital can only be answered by the National Paediatric Hospital Development Board. Everyone will know that the project is delayed. There are many reasons it is delayed. One of these is the delay caused by Covid-19. Then there are all the issues around the claims and disputes with the contractor. The representatives of the board gave a good presentation...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Some of the questions she is asking me are questions of the Chief Justice and the former Attorney General. I cannot answer questions on behalf of other people. I certainly cannot answer questions on behalf of the Chief Justice, and I am not going to do so, but I will do my best to answer the questions the Deputy has asked of me. I should point out once again that...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Quite frankly, it would be a bad idea for us in this Chamber to have a debate in which we discuss the merits and demerits of individual candidates.

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

Leo Varadkar: That is inevitably where it would go. We heard what Deputy McDonald said yesterday, very much going into that space. Deputy Catherine Murphy touched on it herself in that she asked what the criteria were, whether there was a scoring system and other such questions. Inevitably, the discussion would get into the merits-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----and demerits of individual candidates. That is where it will go. There is a reason only one name comes to the Cabinet, that is, because it is not appropriate for 20 people, let alone 160, to be poring over a shortlist of three, four or five names. Inevitably, that would cause embarrassment for those who did not get the job or who got passed over. Inevitably, it would discourage...

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

Leo Varadkar: I will be happy to answer that question. As a person who was Taoiseach for three years and has been in government for a considerable length of time, like everyone in government or anyone who has ever been a justice spokesperson, I know the process. There is the list from the JAAB. There is a list of people who have expressed an interest in being promoted, and there is a third list of...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The Minister for Justice has acted correctly and appropriately and has upheld the Constitution in fulfilling her duties on this matter and every other matter. If this is genuinely about the process and not about the suitability of individual candidates, here is exactly what happened. When making judicial appointments the Minister for Justice considered recommendations...

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

Leo Varadkar: There is a Cabinet memo prior to the appointment being made. This is, of course, a confidential-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----Cabinet document. The Minister for Justice has answered questions on this. She answered them in committee yesterday-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----and I will read into the record of the Dáil exactly what she said because it is exactly correct: The Chief Justice earlier this year identified that there was a vacancy within the Supreme Court. He asked the then Minister for Justice, Deputy Charlie Flanagan, to fill that vacancy. The process then ensued. The JAAB, which is an independent body chaired by the Chief Justice and...

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

Leo Varadkar: I believe the appointment of Mr. Justice Séamus Woulfe to the Supreme Court was a suitable appointment. He is now a serving member of the Supreme Court and I hope that nobody is questioning his suitability to be a Supreme Court Justice, recognising the separation of powers and the need to uphold the Judiciary. He had years of experience as a barrister and a senior counsel. He was an...

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

Leo Varadkar: In almost ten years serving in the Cabinet, as others will be able to attest to, I have never seen a shortlist of names brought to the Cabinet for discussion about a judicial appointment or even the appointment of a chair of a State board. That is not the practice. One name is brought to the Cabinet, and that is the case for good reasons. I think this specific vacancy arose in the Supreme...

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

Leo Varadkar: We could have filled the vacancy but chose not to. I am pretty sure it was the week before the new Government was formed that the party leaders discussed whether Séamas Woulfe would be reappointed as Attorney General or whether there would be a new Attorney General. We decided collectively that there would be new Attorney General and that Séamus Woulfe would not be reappointed as...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Covid-19 Pandemic Supports (19 Nov 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. 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. The measures in...

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

Leo Varadkar: The Restart Grant and Restart Grant Plus schemes were administered by the 31 Local Authorities on behalf of my Department. The Schemes are now closed and are superseded by other budgetary measures including the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS) operated through Revenue. As of 13 November 2020, Cavan County Council has approved and paid 741 applications to the value of...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Brexit Preparations (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Government’s Brexit Readiness Action Plan sets out a broad range of changes that will occur from 31 December 2020, regardless of the outcome of ongoing EU-UK negotiations. It provides clear and concise advice on steps to be taken now by businesses and individuals in order to prepare for the end of the Transition Period. My Department and its agencies have put a wide range of Brexit...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: IDA Ireland (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is strongly committed to regional development and my Department and its agencies - including IDA Ireland - are working towards ambitious targets to ensure that employment and investment are as evenly distributed as possible across the country. 54,868 jobs were created outside of Dublin over the past five years leading to 33,118 additional direct jobs...

Written Answers — Department of Trade, Enterprise and Employment: Trading Online Voucher Scheme (19 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am acutely aware that COVID-19 has brought particular challenges for retailers - large and small, across the country.  Trading online is a very important route for retail businesses to grow and improve their business in the current crisis and will be an important element in their recovery over the longer term. My Department proposed the COVID-19 Online Retail Scheme in response to the...