Results 9,901-9,920 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Companies do not always give advance notice. They have their own commercial reasons for not doing so.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of health services in Galway again. It is very much acknowledged by the Government that Galway requires additional capacity when it comes to our health service. It is a growing city and county, and UHG is the medical centre of excellence for the western and Connacht region. Over the past couple of years, there has been very significant investment in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely appreciate that people want clarity and clear information about when the boil notice can be lifted. As I mentioned earlier, this affects my own constituency and may even affect part of Deputy McDonald's.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is an area where there are many families and older people and it also affects my own home and my own family. We cannot give people clarity until we have clarity ourselves and, once we have that, we will provide it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The way it works is that the risk to health is low but a boil water notice cannot be lifted until there are three clear samples. Even though the water may well be safe to drink, three clear samples must go to a laboratory to prove that before the boil water notice can be lifted. My understanding is the Leixlip plant is operated by Fingal County Council and, therefore, is not privately...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: An EPA audit was done back in March. I do not know if there is any connection between that and this incident but there were five main findings on that occasion and Irish Water and Fingal County Council have responded to those audit findings.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know if there is any connection between the audit in March and this incident but we will certainly find that out for the Deputy and, once I know, I will pass on the information.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and join with him in expressing my regret at the news that jobs are to be lost at Molex in Shannon and Novartis in Cork. These are not connected. One is a pharmaceutical company and the other is in manufacturing and while the IDA had some advanced notice that there may be issues with Novartis, there was no prior awareness of job losses at Molex. This will be a big blow...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Reports have come in this morning that 39 people who include at least one minor have been found dead in a container in Essex. The information we have so far this is very sketchy, but there are some reports that the truck may have passed through Ireland at some point. Obviously, we will need to obtain more information and carry out any necessary investigation that may be required....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is correct. The fault was found on Monday evening. The Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has asked the EPA to provide him with a full report on the incident, its causes and the responses of Irish Water and Fingal County Council which operates the plant on its behalf. The way it works is that before a boil water notice can be lifted, there must be three rounds of clear samples, which can...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Housing matters are primarily covered by the Cabinet Committee on Infrastructure which works to ensure a coordinated approach to policy and delivery in the areas of infrastructure investment and delivery, Project Ireland 2040 and Rebuilding Ireland. There is significant work underway across each of the areas covered by the Committee through Government Departments, agencies and a range of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee G (Justice and Equality) last met on 10 June 2019. Since then a new Cabinet Committee on Security has been established which deals with issues relating to justice, defence, Garda reform and national security. This Cabinet Committee was scheduled to meet on Thursday, 10th of October but the meeting was deferred as I travelled to England on that day to meet with the British...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: European Council Meetings (23 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I attended the European Council in Brussels on Thursday 17 October and Friday 18 October. On Thursday agreement was reached on the terms of a proposed revised Withdrawal Agreement between the EU and the UK. The European Council agreed to endorse the revised Withdrawal Agreement which allows the UK to leave the EU in an orderly fashion. The European Council also approved the Political...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Citizens Assembly (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have made much progress on gender equality as a country in the past few decades. We should not be embarrassed to acknowledge that, whether it is the repeal of the eighth amendment, new laws related to domestic violence, the ratification at long last of the Istanbul Convention, the reform of our divorce laws, gender quotas for election to this Dáil, or subsidised childcare for the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Citizens Assembly (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I know that cannot be the case in all cases but it should be more common that the person who is perpetrating the abuse leaves the home and not the person who is the victim of the abuse.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Citizens Assembly (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: With regard to areas where I think we will all agree there needs to be progress, one area is pensions. It is worth reading the facts and research about the State pension. The difference in the average State pension paid to a man versus a woman is approximately 2%. Pensioner poverty in Ireland is higher among men than women. When it comes to the State pension, there is not significant...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 14, inclusive, together. I travelled to the United States on 22 September for a five-day programme in New York and Los Angeles. My programme in New York centred around the 74th annual session of the UN General Assembly, where I joined Heads of State and Government from around the world for a series of engagements. On Monday, 23 September, I...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I feel very sad for Deputy Martin.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Over the past two years, there have been several intense attempts to re-establish the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement - the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Northern Ireland Executive and, of course, the North-South Ministerial Council. The North-South bodies continue to operate, as with the British-Irish Council meeting regularly. It will...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (22 Oct 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There are ESRI ones as well.