Results 12,541-12,560 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is not a matter for promised legislation or the programme for Government but if the Deputy wants to put down a Topical Issue matter or a special notice question to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, I am sure he would be happy to come into the Chamber and answer her questions.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We will do that once it is finalised. We are happy to give the party leaders a briefing through the stakeholders group in the meantime. It cannot be finalised until mid-January because the legislation that would have to be enacted in the event of a no deal Brexit would be at European and domestic levels. We have to clarify what would be done at European level-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is a fair point. This is the Legislature that will have to enact that legislation and we will be happy to share it once it has been finalised. We can give party leaders a briefing informally before that but it cannot be finalised until we know what European legislation will be brought in because some of this will be done by EU directive and regulation and some will have to be done...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am aware of the case and I have met with John's former partner. Unfortunately, issuing a temporary or full passport would not solve the problem. He would not be allowed to leave the UAE. It is not a question of having a passport or not, it is a question of whether the UAE authorities would allow him to leave and at present they will not. I have written to Sheikh Khalifa about it and may...

Death of former Members: Expressions of Sympathy (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Please do.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: If if had been possible to take hundreds or thousands of extra staff into the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection during a period of high unemployment, what we would do with them now? Would we let them go? It makes sense to provide public services through the public sector and, on occasion, to augment services with a private provider.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is not true.

Death of former Members: Expressions of Sympathy (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am grateful for this opportunity to offer my condolences and pay tribute two people who served this country with honour and distinction. They both helped us as a country to come to terms with our history and in doing so enabled us to build a better future. Paddy Harte was an architect of peace and reconciliation on our island, building bridges across communities. His lasting...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We think the Deputy's Bill is too extreme and designed more for publicity than policy as is so often-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I did not say that. As is so often the case with things brought forward by People Before Profit and Solidarity-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----it is too extreme.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Some landlords are abusive and bad but most landlords are just people renting out a property that they own, providing somewhere for people to live and we should not demonise landlords-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----because we need people to rent out their properties. A reason that we are facing the problem we currently face is lack of supply. People are not willing to enter the rental market any more to rent out properties or people are selling up because they do not want to be landlords any more. We have to bear that in mind and balance the rights of tenants with the rights of landlords....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The legislation affects a property one bought ten or 20 years ago to accommodate one's kid in college, and states that one cannot live in a house that one owns-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and that one cannot accommodate one's own family in a house that one owns.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: If one is forced to sell the property and needs the money for some other reason, perhaps to pay medical bills for a relative, the fact that one cannot sell it is too extreme.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We will do four things. We will legislate for a rent register so that people know the rents being paid by others in their area; we will extend the notices to quit so that people have more time to find a new home to live in or rent; we will properly define in law what substantial renovation is or is not; and we will strengthen the powers of enforcement for the Residential Tenancies Board.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I guarantee that the left wing forces in this House will vote against those protections.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Will Solidarity-People Before Profit vote for our Bill or not? The Deputies will not say.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We have gone from a situation in Ireland where, only five or six years ago, we were in the middle of an economic and unemployment crisis. Some 15% of people were unemployed and people were being forced to emigrate again. We have net migration now, with more Irish citizens coming home than are leaving, and unemployment at approximately 5%. We will soon reach full employment, the point at...