Results 12,561-12,580 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: We have the staff now. There are many staff in our Intreo offices around the country. When unemployment was three times what it is now, the Department and Government did not have the staff. That is why JobPath was brought in as an additional provider to provide these services to assist people to get into employment. The context is now changing and we need to use those models in other...

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

Leo Varadkar: We are trying to avoid a scenario in which the UK, including Northern Ireland, crashes out of the EU. That means ratifying the withdrawal agreement which the EU and the UK Government agreed. Twenty-eight Governments have signed up to that agreement. The best thing the Deputy can do to avoid that scenario occurring, and to avoid disruption to businesses and the loss of jobs, particularly in...

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

Leo Varadkar: The second best thing Deputy McDonald can do is bring together the institutions that were established under the Good Friday Agreement.

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

Leo Varadkar: These are the things that Deputy McDonald can do.

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

Leo Varadkar: Rather than asking me and the Government I lead about our preparations for-----

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

Leo Varadkar: -----hypothetical scenarios, the best thing the Deputy can do is to do what she can do – take her party’s seats in Westminster, vote for the withdrawal agreement, get the Assembly meeting again and establish an Executive in Northern Ireland.

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

Leo Varadkar: I have no doubt that all Members are able to make a distinction between their personal interests and the public interest and that applies as much to people who are members of trade unions who might vote on employment legislation, employers who might vote on employment legislation and all of us here who are taxpayers voting on tax legislation. Members are able to make the distinction between...

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

Leo Varadkar: Firms across the country are preparing for Brexit. Some 85% of Enterprise Ireland firms have a Brexit plan already. That is important because Enterprise Ireland firms are the firms that are doing the exporting.

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

Leo Varadkar: Some 85% of them have a Brexit plan in place already. Generally speaking, IDA firms know what they are doing. They are the multinationals which invest here in Ireland. We need to improve preparedness, however, particularly among small and medium enterprises, SMEs, that export to the United Kingdom. Seminars are available. They are happening all over the country and assist businesses to...

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

Leo Varadkar: Rosslare will need infrastructural investment, as will Dublin Port and Dublin Airport.

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

Leo Varadkar: We will publish what we can.

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

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy correctly quoted what I said in December on the joint report and on the agreement we struck between the EU and the UK last December. I also said that we had to be vigilant and that we would be. We have been. I also said that the next step was to turn that joint report we agreed last December into a legally binding withdrawal agreement. For months and months I heard critics in...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. He is correct to say Brexit, particularly a no-deal Brexit, will be damaging for our economy. However, it is worth noting the ESRI projections released this morning. The ESRI states:The Irish economy looks set to register another exceptional performance in 2018; employment is growing at 3 per cent with taxation receipts across most headings also experiencing better than...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I intend to attend scheduled meetings, formal and informal, of the European Council in the coming six months, which currently include, 13 and 14 December, 21 and 22 March and on 20 and 21 June 2019, along with the scheduled informal taking place in Sibiu, Romania on the 9 May. EU regional engagements may also arise and I will give full consideration to attendance at these in due course. I...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Parliamentary Questions Data (12 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department answered 1,656 oral and 1,442 written Parliamentary Questions from December 2015 to November 2018. All questions were answered directly. One member of staff has the role of Parliamentary Question coordinator amongst other duties, and staff from across my Department are involved in processing replies to Parliamentary Questions in addition to their routine duties. Answers to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (11 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----if we do not widen tax bands every year, whether it is indexed to inflation or wages, we end up having more people paying more tax. That is why it is the right thing to do to increase tax credits every year. That is why it is the right thing to do to widen the index bands.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (11 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: People are being quite contradictory in what they are saying-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (11 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----in that if we want to avoid a situation whereby people end up worse off on this index we must increase tax credits every year and we must widen the tax bands.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (11 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Parties that oppose that policy, which is my party's policy, are actually the ones that want to make people worse off.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (11 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have run out of time. I am happy to add more time.