Results 9,041-9,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: That is a good suggestion. It is something we will need to address appropriately and at the right time. We will recognise all of those who have died as a consequence of Covid-19, but particularly those who worked in healthcare and put themselves at risk in the way that such workers do every day. There are death-in-service arrangements in place for healthcare staff who pass away as a result...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: There were pertinent questions there and it will be impossible for me to answer them all in two minutes. It always takes less time to ask a question than to answer it properly. The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, might come back to Deputy Kelly on the questions about banks and insurance companies.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I will do my best to answer as many of Deputy Kelly's questions as I can. The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, has informed me that he intends to lay the agreement with the private hospitals before the Dáil. I am not sure when he will be able to do that but that is his intention. On testing, Deputy Shortall said there should be engagement at the highest level of government with...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I wish to endorse the Deputy's comments about the need to protect the health and mental health of our HSE staff. The points he made were very relevant and well made. They are issues I bear in mind every day, knowing so many people who work in our health service at the moment and knowing the pressures they are under. Many of us will have been following the debate around the wearing of...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I will do my very best, a Cheann Comhairle. In regard to care homes - the nursing homes and long-term care residential facilities - it is important to acknowledge that they are homes. These are people's residences. It is where they live. It is not the same as an acute hospital, for example, but there are standards and it is a highly regulated sector. The regulator is the Health...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am sure Deputies appreciate that some of their questions are going to be very specific and I may not have the answers to them. I absolutely agree with what Deputies have said, that transparency is really important here. If we want to keep the trust of the people, we need to be transparent, but I would also ask for understanding from Deputies that we do not always know the answers to the...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: We are dealing with all of these things in real time, and it is very challenging.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: As is often a challenge in this format, it is quicker to ask a question than to answer it. I want to answer as many as I can.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I have jotted down one, two, three four-----

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I am in the Ceann Comhairle's hands.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I have just jotted down six questions that have been asked already.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: All I can promise is I will answer as many questions as the time I am given.

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I will answer as many of those questions as I can in the time allowed. The matter of nursing homes and care homes is the burning, pressing issue at the moment and was the focus of this morning's meeting of the Cabinet sub-committee on Covid-19. That sub-committee, which was established over a month ago and is chaired by me, is the task force by which the crucial decisions are made on how we...

Health (Covid-19): Statements (16 Apr 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome this opportunity to discuss the actions being taken to respond to the Covid-19 emergency, to answer questions and to exchange ideas with leaders about future actions to rebuild, revive and renew our country. I am very sorry that Deputy McDonald is not yet back in this Chamber, but I know she will be once fully recovered. Our thoughts today, and every day, are with all of those...

An Bille um Bearta Éigeandála ar mhaithe le Leas an Phobail (Covid-19), 2020: An Dara Céim - Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (26 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I think they are a non-essential service at the moment, if that is all right.

An Bille um Bearta Éigeandála ar mhaithe le Leas an Phobail (Covid-19), 2020: An Dara Céim - Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (26 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: We are meeting today to take unprecedented actions to respond to an unprecedented emergency. A Cheann Comhairle, I am grateful to you, and to all our public representatives for facilitating this work. I also want to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the staff in Leinster House for going about their business with such efficiency while following the recommended guidelines on physical...

An Bille um Bearta Éigeandála ar mhaithe le Leas an Phobail (Covid-19), 2020: An Dara Céim - Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Bill 2020: Second Stage (26 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." Inniu táimid bailithe le chéile chun dul i ngleic le héigeandáil nár tharla riamh roimhe seo. Sular phléimid an éigeandáil seo, ba mhaith liom ómós a ghabháil dóibh siúd go léir a tháinig le chéile ar aon chéim leis an iarracht náisiúnta...

European Council Meeting: Statements (5 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I attended the special meeting of the European Council held in Brussels on Thursday, 20 and Friday, 21 February, the first meeting of EU leaders this year. The meeting was convened by President of the European Council, Charles Michel, following our request at the December European Council for him to take forward negotiations on the post-2020 multi-annual financial framework, MFF. When we...

European Council Meeting: Statements (5 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: This proposal was informed by a series of bilateral meetings he held with leaders in the preceding weeks. I discussed Irish interests and concerns with him on 12 February. It also built on extensive consultations at official level. As the House will be aware, the Commission published its proposal for the next MFF in May 2018. This proposed an overall level of 1.11% EU 27 GNI. Sectoral...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (5 Mar 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I also thank the Deputies for their suggestions and measured responses. This is a matter no one will want to politicise in the weeks and months ahead and it may well go on for many months. The Business Committee made a wise decision in not advocating for a full Oireachtas committee at this stage. We have a relatively small number of very competent and...