Results 12,161-12,180 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think the Deputy is a moron.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure the Deputy that I am not a moron either, but if she keeps asking me the same question, I will keep giving her the same answer. We have a mechanism under which we resolve industrial relations disputes, namely, the WRC and the Labour Court, which are State bodies and we are happy and willing to engage through that process.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: This dispute can be resolved but, as I explained previously, it can only be resolved in a way that is affordable for taxpayers and in a way that is fair to all other public servants with whom we also have a pay deal, and in a way that is fair and beneficial to patients. If those are the parameters, there is a very strong basis for engagement. It is important to set out again what the pay...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On the other side, the unions agreed there would be no strikes and there would be no cost increasing claims.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I am, of course, as is the Government, very aware that a strike by nurses and midwives belonging to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation is taking place today across the country. I profoundly regret and am sorry for the disruption and inconvenience that has been caused to patients. Appointments and operations are often cancelled...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (30 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: My Department does not directly engage in procurement of any major state infrastructure projects.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Those are just the facts.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: With regard to Deputy Burton's contribution, it is important that we bear in mind Cabinet collective responsibility.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Cabinet decision relating to the site of the national children's hospital was made with the full knowledge of the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----who is now the leader of Deputy Burton's party.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In fairness, there is a bit of that going around on all sides. To answer Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, the income thresholds relating to social housing are under review. I do not have a timeline for a decision from the Minister but they are under review and we acknowledge that as incomes rise, more people become ineligible for social housing, which is happening at a time when house...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not. The work is under way. A significant part of it is supply. I am sure everyone would agree that our objective is not to get more people on to the social housing list but to provide individuals with social housing so that they come off that list. Approximately 20% of our total housing stock should be public or social housing. It is currently only 10% or thereabouts. From here...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The houses would be owned by people too. Some 600,000 people own their houses. Another 300,000 have mortgages. This means that 900,000 homes are either owned outright or mortgaged. At least 20% of new homes need to be social or public housing units. We do not have the exact figures yet but we think between 18,000 and 20,000 new homes were built in Ireland last year. That is more than in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We will finish the Enniscorthy to New Ross road this year.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am pleased to see that the price for the N4 project was reasonable and in line with expectations. There are not overruns across the board. Many projects are costing approximately what we anticipated they would. Works will start on the new runway for Dublin Airport in the next couple of weeks. While that is not funded by the Exchequer, it is funded under Project Ireland 2040.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: These projects are happening. When it comes to any capital project, one really only knows what it will cost when the final tender comes in. It is a bit like putting a house on the market. One can estimate what it might cost to buy but it is only when it goes on the market and a final tender is made that one knows what it will really cost. I am not aware of any new public private...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----for the children's research centre. That includes VAT, so part of that is circulated.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The figure I have seen used, €1.73 billion, includes costs which are separate to the capital costs of building the hospital. I refer, for example, the cost of integrating the three hospitals into one. That is current expenditure. It also includes the electronic health record that we would have been doing in any event - for example, in maternity hospitals - even if we were not...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Legislative Programme (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will do my best. I was asked about the legislation at the start and we will have the legislation done on time. Some countries have no legislation done and I am not sure the British will have the legislation done on time but we will. The heads have been published and the Bill will be published on 22 February. If we can publish it any sooner than that, we certainly will do so. It is...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Legislative Programme (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and because we kept borrowing at a minimal level, we now have the capacity to borrow. This is exactly what I mean when I talk about breaking out of the boom and bust cycle. What we saw in the past was that-----