Results 12,321-12,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I shall read it again but that was my reading of it. In a no-deal scenario obviously we have a big problem. As I have said before, it is not enough for people to say that a hard border can be avoided simply by saying that nobody wants one-----

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and simply by saying that it can be achieved merely through political will and good intentions.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: To maintain the absence of a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland we have to have an agreement on customs and regulation. We have to be in the same customs territory or customs union, whatever one wants to call it, and we have to have alignment on regulations.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is precisely why we have negotiated the withdrawal agreement.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy would have to ask the Tánaiste but that is what he told me he was getting at.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: That is why we negotiated the withdrawal agreement and the backstop. I do not see much room for negotiation beyond that. What has to happen now-----

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will tell the Deputies then what. What happens now is exactly what Prime Minister May said would happen. She will now engage with senior politicians in Westminster to see if they can come up with a set of proposals that would allow us to ratify the withdrawal agreement. That is where the issue lies. We have to hear from the UK what its proposals are to resolve this problem and avoid no...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I acknowledge that all Deputies welcomed my visit to Africa. It was a real privilege to have the opportunity to visit Africa and represent the country there. It was the first official visit by a Taoiseach, I believe, in more than ten years and reflects our increasing and deepening engagement with Africa, through the European Union and the UN; bilaterally; through our Defence Forces, which...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Communications (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 23, inclusive, together. Prime Minister May and I are in regular contact, both directly and through our offices. Our last contact was just before I went to Africa. Our most recent meeting was in Brussels on the morning of the European Council meeting of 13 December. We discussed the state of play with Brexit and in particular what she hoped to...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct. I will raise that with my office when I get back. There are 12 questions here which could be broken into two groups, one about Africa, which is in the past, and the other about future meetings.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I take the Deputy's point. I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 16, inclusive, together. I travelled to Mali and Ethiopia from 6 to 11 January to see at first hand the work being done by our Defence Forces, by Irish Aid and by our diplomatic and other representatives. My visit also allowed me to get the perspective of African leaders on Ireland's contribution to the deepening partnership...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: In the context of the arts, the House will be aware that the Government gave a commitment to double our spending on arts and culture over a seven-year period. That roughly equates to an increase of 10% or 10.5% every year. We exceeded that in the budget for 2019. There will be a 12% increase in funding for arts, culture and heritage. That is a combination of current and capital funding....

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 16, inclusive, together because almost all of them relate exclusively to my recent visit to Africa.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will take the first one and leave the second and third questions to the Ministers, Deputies Flanagan and Regina Doherty. The Government is very aware of the impact of increasing insurance costs on individuals, households and businesses, including marts. We have had a long-standing engagement with the industry, the Central Bank and the Courts Service on this issue. That was initially...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. Cabinet committee B last met on 22 October 2018. While the date of the next meeting of the committee has yet to be finalised, it will likely that it will take place in early 2019. Cabinet committee B covers social policy and public services, including education, children, social inclusion, the Irish language, arts and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. This is still a work in progress and no Government decision has been made yet. However, there are two things I can say. I appreciate that there is a feeling out there that because people's house values have increased to such an extent in the past couple of years, they will see a corresponding increase in their property tax rates. That will not happen. We will reform...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to speak with the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, or Minister of State, Deputy Catherine Byrne, to get an update on the matter. The Deputy's point is well made. We will achieve nothing if all we are do is encourage people to cross the Border to buy alcohol in Northern Ireland. That does nothing for their health and it damages retailers in counties south of the Border. That...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps the best comfort I can provide is twofold. First, we will work with the European Union to ensure we are part of any agreement with the UK on ongoing co-operation on health. Second, and perhaps most important, I note that our investment in the National Treatment Purchase Fund and in reducing waiting times for operations and procedures is working. At the end of July 2017, 10,000...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think so.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will be aware that the operations are being paid for by the Government, which is to say by the Irish taxpayer and not by Deputy Healy-Rae.