Results 11,901-11,920 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Regarding the national broadband plan, the tender prices are in from the last remaining bidder. They have been evaluated by two external parties - an expert panel involving international expertise and an outside consulting firm - and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, which is the promoting Department. We are...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I again thank Senator McDowell and the Members of the Houses who participated in the group which produced a detailed report and which also provided us with draft legislation to move matters forward. The group recommended that the next Seanad should be elected in the same way as the current one. Another of its recommendations is that any changes should not apply to the next Seanad election...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet has not discussed it yet. It is on the agenda and we intend to discuss it. My view, which is not the view of Government because we have not discussed it at Cabinet yet, is that I have reservations about it on a number of levels. I referred to those reservations already in this Chamber. The first of them is that it would diminish the role of councillors and local authority...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: He certainly does but he is not elected by the nation. He is only elected by citizens resident in the State.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: He does.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take questions Nos. 3 to 5, inclusive, together. A Programme for a Partnership Government was agreed in May 2016 during the formation of Government. This is a five-year programme of work being undertaken for the duration of the current Dáil. The Government publishes an annual report each year, the second of which was approved by Cabinet in May 2018 and is published on...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Seanad Reform (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. The Seanad Reform Implementation Group chaired by Senator McDowell submitted their report to me on 20 December 2018. The report was also published online and copies of the report and draft Bill issued to all members of the Oireachtas. I am very grateful to Senator McDowell and all the members of the group for their work in producing...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: There is a scheme.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I may ask the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government to come back with more details, but there is a scheme whereby someone can get a loan to renovate a house and then rent it out to the local authority for social housing. I forget the name of it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On the other point, it is open to local authorities to purchase homes for social housing. In some parts of the country it is considerably less expensive for the local authority to buy a home than to build it. In general, however, I agree with the Deputy. We would prefer to see local authorities building houses from scratch or buying them from developers than bidding for second-hand homes,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I explained this in the Dáil yesterday and the Minister for Finance outlined exactly which projects are to be deferred. None of the projects raised by the Deputies is to be deferred. Those savings will happen through reprofiling within very large existing budgets.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I obviously cannot comment on the individual circumstances of the particular business the Deputy has mentioned. As a Government we have acknowledged the very high cost of insurance, particularly public liability insurance, for businesses and how it impacts on them. It is a private market, of course, and insurance policy premiums have to match the risk. The Minister of State, Deputy D'Arcy,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No, I did not say it would be abandoned. I am very committed to the A5 project. I was involved in it when I was Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport many years ago and I am very keen to see it start as soon as possible, connecting not just Derry and Donegal but also the Border counties, including the Deputy's county. The reason it is deferred is that the authorities in Northern...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I am not and I cannot say, but I am sure that the Minister of State with special responsibility for disability issues will know.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: If I recall correctly, there were entire political parties in this House against whom adverse findings were made by SIPOC for not presenting their accounts on time. We are not just talking about accounts. There are no plans for additional legislation in this area.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This is not a Government decision; it is a Revenue determination. A distinction is made between products that are designated and proven as oral medicines, to which a zero VAT rate applies, and foodstuffs where a higher rate applies.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is a Revenue determination and it is under review.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The funding was allocated in the budget and the HSE service plan in order to do it this year, although I appreciate that simply allocating the funding is not the same as making it happen. I am advised that the preparatory work for the switch is under way. Laboratory capacity planning is a key part of this and its finalisation is dependent on the conclusion of contractual arrangements with...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I did so in good faith. Having learned from that experience, I am not going to give a date unless I have an assurance from CervicalCheck that the date can be delivered. What I can say is that the funding is provided and is in the service plan and in the budget, and the policy decision to do it is made.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: No legislation is promised on this matter. The appointment of that board is not in the programme for Government and all the questions are for the Minister. I suggest that if the Deputy wants to ask questions of the Minister, he will have an opportunity to do so later today.