Results 11,921-11,940 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: That legislation is enacted. As CE supervisors are not public servants, however, they are not covered by the legislation. It is, therefore, up to the employer in each case to decide whether it should be applied. I see no reason the employer should not, but it is up to the employer to make the decision.

Death of Former Members: Expressions of Sympathy (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Inniu, déanaimid comhbhrón agus tugaimid ómós do bheirt Bhall den Teach seo a d'fhreastal anseo le honóir agus le gradam. Bhí fuath go smior agus go buan ag Brendan McGahon agus Seymour Crawford don bhforéigean agus bhí siad tiomanta go gcuirfí an síocháin i réim san oileán seo. Mar Bhaill de Tionól Parlaiminteach na...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The overall allocation for capital spending has not changed. It is still €7.3 billion. We only made the decision this week to reallocate some spending from Departments to others. Many of those departmental Estimates have yet to go through the House. They will go through the House and will be accurate at the time but they may yet change again. Out of a budget of €60 billion...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As far as the Government is concerned, we will seek election to the UN Security Council for the 2021 to 2022 term. We have the support of almost all the Oireachtas in this regard. As a country, we have served on the Security Council in the past. I believe we have made a valuable contribution to the UN and the Security Council and we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure the Deputy meant the way that came across. We are not paying for any votes. That is not at all what is happening. I have a thick skin but I hope that our hard-working diplomats in the UN and around the world do not take that the way the Deputy said it. Perhaps it is not the way she meant it. In terms of philosophy, I do not see a conflict between being involved in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is the issue and I acknowledge the anxiety, concern and worry for tens of thousands of women who are waiting for results of their smear tests. When the programme was working efficiently, people would get a result in four to six weeks whereas it is now taking four to six months. I acknowledge that is a big problem and we are doing all that we can, working with the HSE and CervicalCheck,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It certainly will not mean that the backlog and the waiting times for women worrying about smear tests will get any shorter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It would be the same as Northern Ireland and walking away from responsibilities.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It would mean not taking accountability and leaving the control of a health service in the hands of civil servants. Sinn Féin removed itself from responsibility in Northern Ireland and the department of health in Northern Ireland where it could have done things right and shown us how things should be done. Sinn Féin now wants to remove the health service in Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not accept that. The budget was agreed by this House and the Government in October. The Government did not know the full cost of the overrun, or how it would be profiled, until November and we did not decide what change we would make until the Cabinet meeting this week. The Revised Estimates were done in December. The budget was in October, the extent of the overrun was known in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is of consequence.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is done through virement, just as occurred many times when Deputy Howlin was Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in amounts of €50 million, €100 million and €20 million, and money was regularly moved from one year to the next. I remember him doing it and I thank him for doing it. It was very helpful on the sports campus project.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Money was moved from capital to current expenditure and from one Department to another. It is done throughout the course of the year and that is exactly what we have done on this occasion. As I said yesterday, this is not an issue of taxpayers' money being wasted. This money has not even been spent yet. The issue is a serious underestimate in the cost of building the project and we accept...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have got this right, by and large. The children's hospital is an exception but we will get it right too.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have reflected a lot on CervicalCheck, how it was handled, the extent to which it was handled well, and the extent to which we in government might have handled it better. I still reflect on it and on how we will handle these ongoing issues in the future. The truth, which I remember well, is that during the period in question, the Government was under a huge amount of pressure to act...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is curious to hear Sinn Féin now quoting Mr. Tony O'Brien, the former director general of the HSE, as part of an attack on the current Minister for Health. Sinn Féin's last motion of no confidence, if I remember correctly, expressed no confidence in the former director general of the HSE, Mr. O'Brien-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----whom Sinn Féin thought a few months ago was unfit for office. Now it is using his words as an attempt to pursue the next head. It shows the entire approach of Sinn Féin to the health service. It really does not care about patients or the health service whatsoever; its approach is just a stick to beat the Government with. It is just a constant, ongoing political attack. ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The other matter to which I turn Deputy Pearse Doherty's attention is the situation in Northern Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is an area where his party was in government for over ten years. The last health Minister, until two years ago, was the Deputy's party leader in the North, Ms Michelle O'Neill. Many of the same problems are faced in Northern Ireland, including overcrowding in hospitals, unacceptable waiting times, overruns on budgets and a reform plan that is not being implemented, the Bengoa plan. A...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The health service in Northern Ireland has no minister because the Sinn Féin health minister resigned over a heating initiative.