Results 1,101-1,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 15, inclusive, together. On 9 August, I visited Belfast for political, business and civic engagements, which included meetings with the five main parties in Northern Ireland. In those meetings, we discussed the window of opportunity this autumn for forming the Executive and getting the Assembly back in place and I listened carefully to each of their...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. PEACEPLUS is a really good programme. If you calculate how much money is being made available, which is over €1 billion, you can see that it is more than the previous INTERREG and PEACE programmes combined, so that is very positive. It benefits 12 counties, not just the six counties of Northern Ireland, but also the six Border counties,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 11, inclusive, together. The national risk assessment has been prepared since 2014 and provides an opportunity to identify and discuss significant risks which may arise for Ireland. The experience of the past number of years has brought home the importance of work in the area of risk management and preparedness. By promoting an open and inclusive...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank Deputies for their questions. Deputy Smith touched on the risk of terrorism, which remains a live risk and, I am afraid, not one we can be complacent about. Essentially, we have documented three categories of risk. The first is an attack from a loyalist or republican paramilitary organisation; the second is a domestic attack, perhaps from our own far right, far left or some...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There is international engagement. Deputy Ó Murchú will have seen from the operation that took place off the coast of Wexford only last week that the authorities are in touch with each other. I may have picked him up wrong, but I think the point the Deputy is making is that any change in our laws will impact elsewhere. That is evident in Portugal and the Netherlands. Germany is...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Programmes (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their questions. I will start with Deputy Brendan Smith, who asked the first question. He made the case in particular for making sure that the voices of disadvantaged young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, both North and South, from the Border area should be part of the dialogue. I think that is the case but I will double-check that it is with the unit, which...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There has been a big increase in demand for driving tests. Some of that is related to a snap-back in demand since Covid but most of it is down to a rising population, more people working and more people driving to college and education as the Deputy pointed out in his contribution. I know from the Minister of State, Deputy Chambers, that more driver testers have been hired. It is expected...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I definitely think the system needs to be more efficient. The RTB is very slow to deal with complaints, whether for a renter or a landlord. Of course decisions can only be enforced by the courts and that creates a further delay. We definitely need to improve the efficiency and resourcing of the RTB and that is happening. Then of course there is the appointment of more...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I agree it is not about money or surpluses. It is not about money at all. It is about the ability to recruit and retain the skilled staff that we need and, second, making sure that referrals are appropriate. Often waiting lists are longest where waiting lists are not triaged properly. Appropriate referrals are very important too, and then also the use of new technologies and new systems....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We need to continue to invest in road access to and from County Kerry not just because it is such an important tourism county but also because it is increasingly attracting investment from overseas. There has been a lot of investment in recent years. I look forward to formally opening the Macroom Ballyvourney bypass in a few weeks' time which will improve access to Kerry considerably, and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as a cheist. Níl mé cinnte faoin bhfreagra ach cuirfidh mé ceist ar an Aire agus tiocfaidh mé ar ais chuig an Teachta.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy asked me about support for the Irish language and the Irish language strategy.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to come back. I am sorry, I did miss that part of the Deputy's question. We do not have a proposal at the moment to have any additional Cabinet sub-committees. The Cabinet sub-committees that we have tend to take groups of Departments rather than a sub-division of a Department. It is something we will give some thought to.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Programmes (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6 together. Through the Government's shared island initiative, we are engaging with all communities to build consensus around a shared future and delivering benefits for the whole island. The Government has so far allocated almost €250 million from the shared island fund, moving forward with our commitments and objectives in this area in the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I want to acknowledge that we have a real problem finding home carers across the country at the moment. It is not a matter of money; it is a matter of finding staff and finding people willing to do the work. We have expanded the number of hours very considerably in recent years. We are taking two actions. One is a package of improvements to pay terms and conditions to encourage more...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and I acknowledge once again his advocacy of older people in our society and his interest, in particular, in elder abuse. Deputy Michael Collins raised the matter of Aperee Living in Belgooly specifically earlier and I gave a comprehensive reply to him. As Deputy O’Dowd rightly pointed out, the company has a number of facilities...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I know the Minister of State is prioritising this issue. In the context of her budget for next year, she is developing proposals for how we can reimburse parents who have no other option but to go privately. However, we need to get that right. We need to make sure there is adequate capacity in the private sector. We do not really have a clear read on that at the moment. There is some...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We have a massive school building programme under way across the country. It is evident in my constituency and in Deputy Ward's but there is a lot more we need to do, especially in rapidly growing parts of the city and country, including Dublin West and Dublin Mid-West. I will make inquiries with the Minister on that project and get back to the Deputy with a more detailed reply.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware of the document the Deputy has. I have not read it and, therefore, it is difficult for me to comment on it. I can say that community safety partnerships are a big part of the reforms that we are making at the moment. They are a particular priority of the Minister, Deputy McEntee. They acknowledge that policing and public safety is about a lot more than policing. A...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (4 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Out of respect to the citizens' assembly, we should allow it to complete its work. The citizens have not voted yet and they have not made any recommendations yet. That will happen in the next couple of weeks. We should allow them to complete their work without pre-empting what their recommendations may be. The general procedure that we have taken in politics and in our political system...