Results 9,281-9,300 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: New carriages have been ordered which will increase capacity by 34% on the Maynooth, Kildare and northern lines.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: We are providing €1 billion for Irish Rail over the next five years to improve the quality of our railways.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: Also, for the first time, there will be 24 hour bus services in Cork and Dublin. That has never been done before.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: The short answer is "Yes". However, I would say ratified rather than signed because there is a difference there. Should the withdrawal agreement be ratified, the Government will implement the Low Pay Commission's recommendation to increase the minimum wage to €10.10 per hour. That will be the third increase in three years by this Government and will mean that we have the sixth...
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: I know the Deputy is a lover of conspiracy theories but I am sure he does not really believe that I write the headlines in the newspapers. I have not quite got that kind of power.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: The issue of smoky coal is twofold. It is not 1990 any more. That was nearly 30 years ago and things have changed since then. We now know that turf briquettes and solid fuel are just as bad for air quality-----
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: -----as smoky coal if not worse.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: People moving from smoky coal to briquettes or turf or wood does not improve the air quality.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: We have to bear that in mind. That is the environmental issue. There is also a legal issue-----
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: -----which is the risk that for that reason, an extension of the ban nationwide may cause the entire ban to be struck down and that would be a disaster.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy goes off topic, I would like with his indulgence to briefly go off topic once as well. I want to acknowledge the fact that UN today published its development index which shows that Ireland is now the third best country in the world in which to live.
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: When it comes to quality of life-----
- An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: This is not my opinion; this is the UN's opinion.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: We need to do more and we will do more.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: Our housing market was destroyed. Our construction industry was destroyed.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: Our banks were bust. Our Government was bust. We had a seven-year period when almost no homes were built in Ireland.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: Two hundred thousand homes should have been built.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: No matter what anyone may say, it will take us many years to recover from that.
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: I think I am correct in saying that when this Government came to office, or certainly when the current Minister came to office, the number of people in emergency accommodation was 8,000. It is now 10,000. That is not quite a doubling but it has got worse - there is no denying that - despite our best efforts. In terms of what we have been trying to do to alleviate the situation, the most...
- Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Dec 2019)
Leo Varadkar: The fact that the Deputy feels the need to put words in my mouth and attribute remarks to me that I never made says to me that she is not interested in the facts. The Deputy referred to council housing. As I mentioned, we have a retrofitting programme under way. That is in part being funded by the proceeds coming in from the carbon tax. We are building more social housing all the time....