Results 9,161-9,180 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Forget it.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have those figures in front of me now, but I remember reading them in the past. I accept we have a high gap between high pay and low pay. The reason we have that is that we have a very large number of very high-paid people, particularly in the multinational sector. We have high pay in Ireland. It is not that we have low pay relative to other countries. It is that we have many...

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I did hear the Deputy accuse me of lying. I think that is unparliamentary language.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No, the Deputy accused me of lying as well.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It does not matter as we can check the blacks later.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am sure the Deputy will withdraw the remark if that is what he inadvertently said.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have never been soft on the insurance industry or on the legal industry when it comes to the issue of insurance; not in the slightest. Our efforts have always been to bring down the cost of insurance, including motor insurance for drivers, as well as employer liability and public liability for businesses. That is our objective and why we brought around these reforms which led to this...

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We understand the concerns of providers as they do need to have insurance cover to provide services. Childcare services are mostly private businesses and are expected to cover their costs from the income they receive. Insurance costs have not been raised as a significant issue with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs until the recent withdrawal of one of the underwriters on 6...

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That was quite a diatribe that went way over time. I do not think I heard many questions in that particular contribution.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We all acknowledge in this House that the cost of insurance, be it motor insurance, public liability insurance or employer liability insurance for business people, is too high. Our objective is to bring down the cost of insurance. How do we do it? We do so through the reforms that have taken place and more that will take place in the future. One, for example, is the establishment of the...

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In the long term.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Martin for raising this very important issue. What I said was that the cost of motor insurance had gone down by about 25% since it peaked in 2016, which it has. That is what the figures show. It went up and has gone down by approximately 25% since 2016.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Our objective now is to make sure that it continues to go down in the coming period.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I think it is the Central Statistics Office but I will provide Deputy Martin with the source.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will provide the Deputy with the source before the end of the day.

Leaders' Questions (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is a published number. I believe it comes from the CSO, but I will provide the Deputy with the source by the end of the day. I am sure he will be good enough to retract his earlier remarks when he sees the data I produce. As I said earlier, the cost of motor insurance has gone down by approximately 26% since it peaked in 2016. It went up before that. Now we need to make sure we drive...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No credit cards are issued to Ministers in my Department. There are currently five credit cards in use for official purposes assigned to three Heads of Division (Finance, HR and IT) and two Private Secretaries. Departmental credit cards are used for official purposes only. They are allocated to officials where the facility will be of practical use in meeting the requirements of official...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Budgets (17 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has no capital allocation for the years 2020 to 2025.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Civil Service Renewal Plan (11 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is also an appeals system, which was a very significant change to the approach taken by the former Minister, John O'Donoghue, and the former Minister, Jim McDaid, before that.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Civil Service Renewal Plan (11 Dec 2019)

Leo Varadkar: IGEES is a very good project and is continuing to develop. Deputy Burton is right to point out that we have never had a woman at the head of the Department of Finance or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Of course, the person who is at the head of the Department of Finance or the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, in my view, is the Minister. Unfortunately, the Deputy's...