Results 12,341-12,360 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: The children's hospital may be located in Dublin but it is a children's hospital for all of Ireland and sick children from Kerry who need specialist care will get that specialist care in that hospital. It will be one of the best in the world, with over 300 beds, individual rooms, rooms for parents to stay overnight, five MRI machines and 15 theatres. It is going to be a hospital of enormous...

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

Leo Varadkar: The CervicalCheck tribunal Bill is one of only six Bills on the priority list and our intention is to have it in the House and enacted before the summer recess. I am told that setting up a tribunal of this nature, which is different from previous tribunals in the sense that it will have to assess liability and not just the level of compensation paid, is novel and it will be difficult to do,...

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

Leo Varadkar: An bhliain seo.

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

Leo Varadkar: I recall that when the Deputy raised the issue previously, I made inquiries of the HSE and the Department of Health about it. I put across our very strong instruction from Government that a slide should be provided without undue delay. I understand there can be delays at different points before a slide can be sent to a laboratory, and the solicitor has to indicate which laboratory they want...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I am very sorry to hear about that gentleman and his experience. I am aware that Deputy Wallace raised the matter in the House previously. I doubt that any Deputy has not in some way been affected by suicide or does not know someone who has taken his or her own life. We all know the enormous grief this causes and the effect it has on families and friends. It is a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to state that medicines - antidepressants, anxiolytics and anti-psychotics - have a role to play in the treatment of mental illness. I know the Deputy is not disputing that and does not disagree with it. When these medicines are prescribed, it is by general practitioners or psychiatrists. I am sure that in the vast majority of cases when these medicines are prescribed,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Government acknowledges and is aware of the fact that two of the three unions that represent nurses have voted to strike. They have done so by a large margin - 95% - which indicates the depth of feeling among nurses and midwives about their terms, conditions and pay. The Government understands that, and we will engage with all three unions that represent the nurses and midwives with a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I care deeply and profoundly about patients. I am a medical doctor by training, I worked in the public health service - and never in the private health service - for seven years, I have been a Minister for Health, and I am the leader of the Government. I care deeply, therefore, about how strike action may impact on our patients. I care about patients and how they might be affected, and I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I very much agree with the Deputy's initial remarks. We had a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. I remember it well. During the Troubles and prior to 1992 when the Single Market came into effect, I remember very well crossing the Border as a child and in my early teens. There were customs checks. I remember the 24-hour rule and I remember seeing soldiers, and I never want...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The Government of the United Kingdom - and the United Kingdom - has given the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland a commitment that Brexit, which is its policy, will not result in a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. We have come up with the solution. We have it in the withdrawal agreement plus the backstop. That is how we avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: As a Government, we very much regret the vote that occurred last night in Westminster to reject the withdrawal agreement and the associated joint political declaration. A no-deal exit would be very bad for Ireland, for the United Kingdom and for all of the European Union. A no-deal scenario would leave us with no guarantee of there not being a hard border between Northern Ireland and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure exactly what the Deputy is driving at. The Tánaiste was referring to checks on goods moving from the UK to Ireland. That is what the backstop provides for. The backstop and the withdrawal agreement provide for checks on the movement of goods between Britain and Ireland at the ports at Dublin, Dublin Airport and Rosslare and also at the ports in Northern Ireland. That is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: On the budget, I mentioned already how the budget was planned with Brexit in mind. All the economic analysis we have so far from Copenhagen Economics and the ESRI, for example, indicate that there would be a slowdown in economic growth, but not that we would enter recession. Some people feel that is a little optimistic. The projection from the ESRI, Copenhagen Economics and others is that...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 94 and 95 together. There are currently 212.7 whole time equivalent staff working in my Department. Given the nature of the work and size of the organisation, the Department has no staff in a professional or technical grade. My Department does not collect or collate this personal data except where the Department funds training undertaken by staff or...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Exports Data (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The data requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. It shows the top 15 trading partners covering approximately 87% of total trade. Table A: Exports of Goods by country 2017-2018 and percentage share of total trade Country Value €000 2017 Tonnes 2017 Value €000 Jan - Nov 2018 Tonnes Jan - Nov 2018 % of total Value of Exports 2017 % of total Value of Exports Jan...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Imports Data (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The data requested by the Deputy is set out in the following table. It shows the top 15 trading partners covering approximately 87% of total trade. Table A: Imports of Goods by country 2017-2018 and percentage share of total trade Country Value €000 2017 Tonnes 2017 Value €000 Jan – Nov 2018 Tonnes Jan – Nov 2018 % of total Value of Imports 2017 % of total...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Exports Data (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The data requested by the Deputy is not available. The trade of Irish owned enterprises cannot be separately identified in the data as the country of ownership of trading enterprises is not currently available.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Small and Medium Enterprises Data (16 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: The exact data requested by the Deputy is not available. Table A shows the most recent year data is available for exports of goods by SMEs is 2016. There is no breakdown by country available. Table A : Goods exports by enterprise size 2016 Enterprise size Value €million % of total Number of enterprises % of total Micro 6,917 6 5,007 59 Small 7,507 6 2,143 25 Medium...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (15 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: Regarding the vote that will happen in Westminster tonight, the sequence is that any initial response will come from the EU institutions in Brussels. We will co-ordinate with Brussels and I imagine any initial response will come from there, and perhaps from us thereafter, but more likely tomorrow than today. In terms of the SCU staff, some have transferred to other Departments, some have...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (15 Jan 2019)

Leo Varadkar: I would never have thought a personal crusade would mean appointing an adviser. Perhaps that was the Deputy's approach to Government but it is not mine.