Results 11,501-11,520 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy raises an important issue. Cruise tourism is growing all the time and can be very valuable to the local economy, whether in Dublin or in Kerry. I know that cruise ships even go into Foynes and from there to Kerry. We want to support it but since it is a commercial enterprise, we cannot subsidise it or provide grant aid. Any proposition has to be commercial. With regard to...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct that the matter was discussed at the Cabinet meeting today, and it was also discussed last week at the Labour Employer Economic Forum with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation. We acknowledge that there is an issue with bogus self-employment in some sectors but it is worth pointing out that the most recent labour force...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Tá brón orm, ach níl aon eolas agam faoin ábhar sin. I will ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, to provide a more detailed reply for the Deputy.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I accept that we need to make sure there will be adequate information available before people go to the polls. We have eight weeks in which to do so. The policy paper was approved by the Cabinet last week and there will be a public information campaign to explain what is being proposed. Needless to say, even though it is not a referendum in the constitutional sense, we will be applying the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Point taken. We need to make sure people will understand what they are being asked. Eight weeks is enough time, but we will get on with that work quite soon.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is, of course, a matter for the Business Committee but I would like to comment, if I may. This is about restoring the status quo ante. It is about restoring an arrangement that existed-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I know. We want to restore the status quo anteto what existed from the 1960s until 2016, which was reciprocal rights. At the moment, vessels from the Republic of Ireland can travel north, into Northern Irish waters and fish within the six-mile limit but vessels from Northern Ireland cannot do the reverse.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is not right. We should not have a hard border on the land or in the sea. In terms of basic fairness, we should have reciprocal rights.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As I understand it, what the Minister, Deputy Ross, said he cannot countenance is a two-year to four-year closure of the Luas green line. I agree with him. I think that would be unacceptable.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Second, I think we should have a discussion about where the tunnel goes. The current proposal, as I understand it, is to leave the machine in the ground somewhere around Ranelagh. We should have that discussion about whether it would make sense to go west or east from there, perhaps to UCD, perhaps to Sandyford. As the Deputy points out, the option of going to Sandyford solves the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for his question. First, to pick up on a theme mentioned earlier, I do not think we can meet our obligations when it comes to reducing emissions, taking climate action or satisfying the demands of young people who want us to do more around climate change without a metro but just like a carbon tax, a metro on its own does not solve the problem. It only deals with one part...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In addition to the loans, the information, the seminars and the training, grants have also been issued by Enterprise Ireland, InterTradeIreland-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have that exact figure in front of me, but it has been a whole package of things. This has been done already. We may never see a no-deal Brexit and yet we have done all these things just in case it happens. In terms of the fire protections, as the Deputy described them, he will be aware of the €200 million rescue and restructure fund for business. I have explained how...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is worth pointing out that we are doing a lot already. We have already made low-cost loans available to businesses. The Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Deputy Humphreys, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Deputy Creed, and the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, will launch the next of those loans on Wednesday, the future growth loan, which will enable...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Not endless, but substantial. We have put loans in place, as well as hosting seminars and producing information. That process is ongoing. I am not sure where the figure of €200 million comes from. Neither the Tánaiste nor I are familiar with such a limit, but we believe the Deputy might be referring to the rescue and restructure element of it, which is only one element of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I was misquoted. I thank the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know where the Deputy gets her information but carbon emissions in British Columbia are down by 9% since they introduced their carbon charge regime. Carbon tax does not reduce emissions overnight. That is not the point. The point is that over time, it tips the balance in favour of investment in green technologies and heating systems and in electrical vehicles over those that are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is getting the all-party committee mixed up with the Government and the Fine Gael Party.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Mar 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Never allow the facts to get in the way of a good political charge. I have published no carbon tax plan. The all-party committee is working on the issue and I hope it will be able to report this week. I also hope we will all give its report a good reading and a fair hearing before coming out against it. The Deputy will recall that the Government took the decision not to increase carbon...