Results 12,221-12,240 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think that correcting a factual inaccuracy should cause such laughter and controversy. It was a factual error.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy must be aware at this stage that back in 2013 Ministers in the then Government decided that they would not accept any pay restoration and have not done so. I am not sure that is true of Sinn Féin TDs by the way. There is a way by which Government intervenes to resolve industrial relations disputes. It is done through the Workplace Relations Commission and if that fails, it...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and just promise everything to everyone, every interest group, and promise it now. The buck does stop with me and that is why I have to be honest with people. There are parameters under which we can come to a solution and there are solutions that are beyond those parameters. It has to be something that we can afford as taxpayers----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and it has to be something that takes into account that there are other people working in the health sector and there are other public servants, and we cannot afford a special deal for everyone, so we have to bear in mind things that do matter. Can taxpayers afford it? What will the impact be on other public servants-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and their claims, which Deputy McDonald has said nothing about today, and also how can we make sure that we are fair to patients?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to put on the record of the House once again that we have a pay deal already not just with nurses and midwives but with all public servants, and that pay deal runs until 2020. It provides for pay increases of approximately 7% over that period, full pay restoration for anyone earning under €80,000, increments,and special increases for the low paid and those recruited...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Labour Court is a Government body and it is part of the State's industrial relations machinery. If there is a recommendation, Government will look at it with that in mind. It would be very unusual for a Government to reject a Labour Court recommendation. I have seen unions doing it. I am not sure I have ever seen Government bodies doing it-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----or if they have, it has been a rare occasion. No Taoiseach and no Government could commit to a recommendation they have yet to see. The Labour Court does not make its recommendations on the basis of it being mandatory on both sides. That is not the way our industrial relations machinery works. The Deputy is incorrect to say that the resolution of the Garda dispute did not have a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. Before I begin, I wish to offer my condolences and those of the Government to the family and friends of the people who lost their lives on the roads in the week gone by, particularly the four young men in Donegal who lost their lives on Sunday last. I know that Míchael, Sean, Daniel and John were very much loved in their communities. Their deaths will be mourned...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Process (29 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not sent any legislation, including heads of bills, to EU institutions before their publication for the period outlined by the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy again. I should clarify that I was informed of this through my adviser, who was informed by the Minister for Health. That was a few weeks ago. I understand there are some tests that need to be repeated and that the patients will be informed individually by letter. I believe some have been informed already but I do not know for sure so I will ask the Minister to provide...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I have no difficulty in asking the Minister for Health to provide answers to these questions. I do not believe they are unreasonable. I will ask the Minister to provide the answers to the Deputy but obviously not in a way that would compromise anyone's medical information. I am sure the Deputy is not asking for that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The information I have is that the interviews are not yet concluded. There are 26 or more yet to be carried out.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: My information note is dated 22 January. Although it may be out of date, the information I have is that the interviews have not yet concluded. The information I have is that the discovery of records is complete and the files have been delivered, although that does not preclude the possibility that further records may be found, as happens on occasion, particularly with historical records....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Government very much values and appreciates the work of carers, family carers in particular, in looking after their loved ones. As a Government, we are determined to support them. Those are not just words, as we have demonstrated in the past couple of years. We fully restored the carer support grant which was cut by another Government some years ago. The carer's allowance and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am advised that the current average number of weeks to award carer's allowance and carer's benefit currently stand at 17 weeks and 14 weeks, respectively. However, the vast majority of applicants do not wait that long. Some 70% of carer's allowance applications and 90% of carer's benefit applications are decided in less than 12 weeks. However, I fully appreciate that the delay can be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: We will make it available when we have it. As the Deputy is aware, in the procurement process for any project there are a number of steps along the way. A project must have planning permission; it must then to go to tender and be built. We may find other projects have been delayed for reasons beyond our control. For example, sometimes a project will not receive planning permission, which...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I very much share the distress and disappointment of former residents of the mother and baby homes that we do not yet have a final report from the commission which we should not forget was established by the Oireachtas. None of us believed at the time that it would take as long as it has for the commission to do its work and issue its report. The commission is independent. The whole point...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The rationale behind the decision by the Minister, Deputy Harris, to offer a free out-of-cycle smear test back in May or June was to respond to the anxiety of many women that their smear tests may have been misread. It was done in good faith and for good reasons. It was never intended to be a permanent offering - it was only ever intended to last for a few months....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will answer the Deputy's question if he allows me to. I was made aware by the Minister, Deputy Harris, a few weeks ago that there was a backlog, that this was creating problems and, as a result of that, some tests had expired and would have to be repeated.