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Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Creed, was in the House earlier and answered the question as it related to him. We are working very hard to get the beef task force up and running and allow it to meet. We should not forget what happened the last time it tried to meet. It did not meet because some of those trying to attend the meeting were intimidated and assaulted. We cannot allow that to happen again.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Injunctions are a matter for the courts. It would be very inappropriate for a Minister------

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----to put pressure on anyone to have an injunction removed.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The injunctions are really a matter for the courts.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Significant investment is being put into flood defences. I will ask the Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Boxer Moran, to provide the Deputy a more detailed briefing in that regard. Many flood relief schemes are under way around the country.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Many have been completed, such as those in Bandon, on the River Tolka and in many other locations. Other schemes are under way or about to start. The Deputy is quite right that sea levels are rising as a consequence of climate change. Even with us reducing emissions dramatically over the next couple of decades, sea levels will continue to rise because of the cumulative effect of CO2 in our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I mentioned earlier, we are securing unprecedented resources for the Garda. Next year it will have a budget of €1.8 billion-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----which will be invested in more gardaí, better ICT and more vehicles.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am coming to the answer to the Deputy's question. There are now 14,200 gardaí in An Garda Síochána, which is more than it has had for a very long time, as well as 2,900 Garda staff. I am confident that we will meet our target of 21,000 by 2021. A decision has been made in consultation with the Garda Commissioner, and taking into account the recommendations of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have not personally been lobbied on this matter but I cannot answer for every Minister in the entire Civil Service. I do not think the Deputy expects me to do so; his question is more of a rhetorical one. I wish to state very clearly that lobbying is not a crime. It is part of what happens in a democracy. Politicians, Ministers, and those in Opposition are constantly lobbied by all...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware of the project in Cork, though I do not know much about it. While it is not a Government project, as Deputy Barry rightly pointed out, the Port of Cork is a State-owned enterprise. We will continue to use gas for the next few decades. It is part of the transition to net-zero emissions in 2050 and the vast majority of climate scientists accept that we will need to continue to use...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We live in a democracy, although the Deputy is at best ambiguous about his support for that concept.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No. Deputy Barry has been very supportive of far-left regimes in Venezuela, Cuba and other places, which are not democratic.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I know the Deputy is a fan of statistics and I guess I am too, and I imagine we could exchange statistics until the night is long. The Respond report to which he referred, however, does not state what he said. It shows more than half of people spend less than one year in homelessness and those in family hubs, on average, six months. That is why we want to make sure we have more family hubs...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It was never going to be the case that a five-year plan would show all results in two years. As I said, in the year before Rebuilding Building Ireland was launched, family homelessness increased by 60%, and in the year gone by, it has increased by 0.17%. We are seeing family homelessness level off. We will see improvements in the years to come. We are seeing housing supply increase...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We can see from indicators such as planning permissions and commencement notices that supply will continue to increase.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We are seeing house prices levelling off and falling in Dublin, which is no small thing. Some 15,000 young people, individuals and couples were assisted by the help-to-buy scheme to buy their first home. Some 2,500 people have got low-interest mortgage through the Rebuilding Ireland Home loan plan. Those are the types of results we have seen in the past two years. We need to build on them...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I agree with the Deputy in his assertion and comment that we should not use the term "gangland" to refer to any part of our country or any part of our capital city. There are places where crimes occur and those crimes may involve gangs, but it is pejorative to suggest that entire area is therefore gangland. I know large parts of my constituency, including Blanchardstown, where I grew up, is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will be aware that the Kinahan gang no longer operates from Ireland but from the United Arab Emirates. That is one example of the success the Garda has had in getting some of these gangs out of the country altogether. To answer the Deputy's question, I do not think anyone needed a Europol report to understand the scale of the problem of drug-related organised crime we face across...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Nov 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, I do.