Results 11,041-11,060 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and because people are earning more every year, we take in approximately an extra €1.8 billion in income tax every year. We are proposing to give about €500 million of that €1.8 billion back to people so that they can have more money in their pockets. That is the right thing to do, in my view. I am happy to answer the Deputy's questions-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----but I cannot accept Fianna Fáil trying to put on a mask of economic prudence and economic competence. Last time Fianna Fáil was in Government it quadrupled the national debt and we have reduced it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It left us with a deficit of 10% of GDP and we have brought about a budget surplus. The figures today show that there are 80,000 more people at work than a year ago, with employment increasing twice as fast as a year ago. We are now heading for full employment.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am not shooting the messenger. The messenger has no credibility.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. First, the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council, IFAC, is an independent body which the Government set up because we thought there should be an independent fiscal advisory council in the State. It was set up as part of the response to the financial and economic crisis which the Deputy's own party had a very large hand in creating in the first place and mishandling thereafter....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Employment is now expanding at twice the rate of this time last year. Unemployment has fallen to a 14 year low, and long-term unemployment has fallen to 1.7%.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: These figures are much better than we expected. Employment is now growing in Ireland at twice the rate it was growing this time last year, and this is evidence of an economy that is doing well and is being well managed. That increase in employment, with more people working than we thought and people earning more than they did in previous years, will have a positive impact on the public finances.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We will have a budget surplus this year and will reduce our debt. The Deputy's party quadrupled it, and we will continue to reduce it. We will establish a rainy day fund, and provided that these good economic numbers continue and we are not blown off course by a hard Brexit, which is a real risk, we will be in a very good position to put together a budget in September.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (21 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In 2018 my Department paid €14,205 to Deloitte Ireland LLP for expenses incurred by a witness following receipt of a direction by Judge Brian Cregan, Sole Member of the Commission of Investigation established concerning the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, under section 24 of the Commissions of Investigation Act 2004. This payment was in respect of a service provided by the company...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. Like him, I met some of the families waiting on approval of this medicine. As people in this House know, it is not a political decision as to whether a particular medicine should be approved for reimbursement. Under the Health (Pricing and Supply of Medical Goods) Act 2013, this House decided that decision should be made by the Health Service...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I said before in the House, I have an open mind on the question of including a right to housing in our Constitution, although I am also very aware from research by the Mercy Law Resource Centre and others that there are approximately 83 countries in the world that either have a statutory right to housing or a constitutional right to such housing. All of them have issues with homelessness...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Housing is a significant concern for citizens and families across the State, be they people on the housing list waiting for social housing, people who want to buy their first home or a new home and are struggling to do so or people who are facing very high rents that take up a large proportion of their income. It has very much been the priority of Government to get on top of these issues...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We both agree that this is a real problem. We need to tackle high rents. Where we disagree is that the Deputy thinks there is only one way to reduce rents while I and this Government appreciate that we must do it in a number of different ways. "Yes", we need more social housing. We added 9,000 units to the social housing stock last year because when we have more social housing, we are able...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have that particular legislation in front of me but I will examine it again during the week to see if we can work with the Deputy's party to progress it. However, in the past year alone we have passed three new laws that deal with the issue of insurance and another Bill is currently working its way through the Houses. We are certainly not new to the game when it comes...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Maureen O'Sullivan for raising this important issue. I very much agree with her that the cost of new medicines is extremely high. That is the case across the world. Notwithstanding that, so far this year - it is only May - the HSE has approved 23 new medicines for use in this country and is considering a number of other applications. One of the most effective things we can...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I broadly agree with the Deputy. In my conversations with the Minister for Health I will advise him that the Deputy has raised these issues. He will follow up directly with her.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----the pessimistic scenario, the core scenario and the most optimistic one. The cost-benefit analysis does not include many things which I think are very important.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: These include smart farming, the potential positive impact it will have on rural isolation, e-health, e-government, and home working.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: None of those is taken into account by the cost-benefit analysis, and even then it is still positive. It should be born in mind that this was undertaken independently by PwC. Yesterday the Deputy cast aspersions on KPMG-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 May 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----a company with thousands of employees and today he is casting aspersions on PwC. I think that is wrong.