Results 10,981-11,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: They have no answers for anyone with a housing need.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I will have to check up on that and come back to the Deputy with an answer about vulnerability assessments and EU law. I am not fully briefed on this but I will check it out and get back to the Deputy with a reply in the next couple of days, as best I can. Government acknowledges that there are many people who have been living in direct provision for far too long. A lot of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have met Mr. Justice McMahon on many occasions and I have had the privilege of attending some of the citizenship ceremonies with him. He did a very good piece of work in setting out what the standards should be for direct provision accommodation. We are implementing those standards but they are not fully implemented yet and we acknowledge that. The Department of Justice and Equality, the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: What I said was that National Broadband Ireland will make €220 million in working capital available upfront. This will be legally required by the contract, which is being finalised. No upfront contributions will be made by the taxpayer, and the taxpayer will only pay as the fibre is deployed and homes, farms, and businesses are connected. That €220 million is made up of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and the rest from Granahan McCourt Capital.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the rest of the Deputy's question, the fact that Deputy Naughten attended those dinners is old news. It has been in the public domain for many months and we knew it last year. The Deputy resigned from Government over six months ago and we used the interim period to make sure this bid was sound and that it was the right one to go forward with. An independent report was conducted...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy needs to calm down.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy really needs to calm down. The Government has been very transparent on this matter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin is once again weaving one of his many conspiracy theories.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald and myself may disagree on many aspects of housing policy, but I think everyone in this House agrees on one thing. At the core to the solution, though not the only solution, is additional supply and new homes and apartments for people who need them. Last year, 18,000 new homes were built in Ireland, up from 15,000 the year before and 9,000 the year before that. We are not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think there is anything new in the fact that the composition of the consortium changed over time. That is all information we have all been aware of for many months. I was not at that dinner. No member of the current Government was at that dinner. The former Minister, Deputy Naughten, was but I cannot answer questions on his behalf. In any event I am confident that all of this...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On 16 April last, I met with a delegation of nine from the US House of Representatives, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi. We had a broad-ranging discussion covering Brexit and Northern Ireland, US Immigration Reform and Ireland-US bilateral relations. Speaker Pelosi, Congressman Neal and the other members of the delegation were unwavering in their support for peace in Northern Ireland, and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I spoke briefly with Prime Minister May most recently on 15 May when we attended the Christchurch Call to Action meeting in Paris. Whilst we did not have a substantive meeting on that occasion, we recalled our prior meeting on 24 April when we both attended the funeral of Ms Lyra McKee, in St Anne’s Cathedral, Belfast. In coming together with other political leaders we paid tribute...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I attended an informal meeting of EU Heads of State and Government in Sibiu, Romania on 9 May. We had an initial exchange of views on our strategic priorities for the years ahead. We adopted a Declaration outlining 10 basic commitments which will guide our deliberations on the EU Strategic Agenda for the next five years, which we hope to adopt at the European Council meeting in June. My...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (22 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has established seven Cabinet Committees. Cabinet Committee A covers issues relating to the Economy. This includes jobs, the labour market, competitiveness, productivity, the Action Plan on Rural Development, the digital economy, and pensions. Cabinet Committee B covers Social Policy and Public Services including education, children, social inclusion, Irish language, arts and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Action Plan for Online Safety, which was launched in July 2018, contains 25 targeted digital safety actions that will be delivered over 12 to 18 months. It seeks to balance the opportunities and benefits provided by the Internet with the need to ensure people are informed and supported to deal with the risks. The implementation of these actions is under way across relevant Departments...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We decided, in the interests of caution and prudence, to assume it is all on the balance sheet unless EUROSTAT decides otherwise.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is the reverse of the mistake that was made in the case of Irish Water, when it was assumed that it would be off-balance sheet, but it was not.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot answer questions on behalf of the former Minister, unfortunately. That is the current state of play.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Digital Strategy Implementation (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to point out when we are speaking about the ownership structure that there are termination clauses. If the contractor does not deliver on certain milestones, the contract can be terminated. At that point, the fibre would revert to the State. If, after 25 years, the contractor does not want to continue to provide the service, there is the option to buy. It will be possible...