Results 12,101-12,120 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: He sought information, facts and figures before presenting the information to the Government.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: When I found out about it in November, around the same time as the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, I responded in the same way as others in this House, first, with disbelief in struggling to believe how the price had gone up again.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Second, we did the appropriate thing which a Government should do, which was to reject it-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and to say, "Go back, negotiate with the companies, get the figure down, find out if we can reduce some of the specifications in the hospital to reduce the cost and find out if retendering was an option."

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: All of those options were considered.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Retendering would have delayed the project and probably saved nothing.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Reducing the specifications of the project would have been a mistake because this is a 100-year project.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Negotiations were carried out with the companies to bring the figure down as much as was possible.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is the figure that was presented to the Cabinet in December and approved by it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Listening to the Deputy's contributions in this Chamber and her advice on making agreements or managing industrial relations, one would be mistaken for thinking that somehow she was successful in this area. She and her party hold the world record for failing to come to an agreement and form a coalition in Northern Ireland. There is no advice that she can give us on negotiations,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and she has no credibility given her own record of being a commentator and a bystander in Northern Ireland when she should be involved in forming a coalition government there. To repeat what I said earlier, and I mean it sincerely, this dispute can be resolved. The Government wants it to be resolved. We understand the grievances that nurses and midwives feel about their pay and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We have had a system for resolving industrial relations disputes for 20 or 30 years now, including the time of the last nursing strike that went on for nine days in 1999. That is something I do not want to see repeated. Under that system, we deal with these disputes through the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court as the final arbiter in such disputes. That is the best way...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The offer to engage in talks at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, was sincere. Whether it was made through a public statement or directly or indirectly should not matter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It was a sincere offer to engage in talks, and that offer stands. The only way this dispute will be resolved is through engagement and through talks.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The offer to engage in talks at the WRC stands, and the Government is willing-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----to do that, with the HSE and others. The Government is also open to the possibility of a Labour Court intervention. Of course we have had consultations with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and others about the possibility of an intervention. However, everyone feels that an intervention can only happen at the right time, when there is adequate space and adequate agreement so...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On my own behalf and on behalf of the Government, we profoundly regret the disruption that has been caused to patients, users of our disability services and people with mental health problems who have been adversely affected by the strike action today and last week. We will do all that we can once this dispute is resolved to catch up on the lost work that was done, as we did last year when a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In terms of the resolution of this dispute, I believe it can be resolved. I spent a little bit of time reading about the last major nurses' dispute which happened in 1999. Deputy Micheál Martin was in government himself at the time and he may remember better than I can.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It went on for nine days and was ultimately resolved in the Labour Court at huge inconvenience to patients. I do not want that to happen again. I certainly would not like to see a repeat of 1999 when a strike went on for nine days. I believe it can be resolved. That requires engagement and the Government is open for engagement through the WRC. However, it can only be resolved in a way...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The EU section of my Department assists me in my role as a member of the European Council, and in my other EU and international engagements. It also advises me on EU policy matters and works to ensure a coherent whole of Government approach. The section provides advice and briefing relating to my EU related engagements, including meetings of the European Council and other EU summits,...