Results 12,681-12,700 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It has not been submitted to the Government yet. I am not quite sure of the status of the report. I am advised that the draft report, with options, is due to be submitted to the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, in January. I imagine that we will have the report in January 2019. After the Minister has had a chance to review it, it will come to Cabinet with a view to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that seven and a half hours have been set aside for debate tonight. That is a large block of time and I hope that will be sufficient for us to pass the legislation through the Dáil today. I encourage any Deputies making contributions on this legislation to be pithy and to not repeat arguments they have already made. That is unnecessary and only causes us to take more time...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That led to bad legislation being enacted. Now we have the other extreme. Legislation is being held up in this House and in the other House. As a consequence, all sorts of other legislation is backing up behind it and that is very frustrating.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is a matter for the Business Committee.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: For the benefit of the parliamentary reporter, I think the Deputy said "tyre app".

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thought he said "tie rack".

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I was not quite sure what use a tie rack would be to the Road Safety Authority. If this person has an innovative piece of technology that can help us with tyres, and bald tyres can be a cause for collisions and for injuries-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----if there is something that can be done to help, I am sure we can arrange to put him in contact with the RSA. If Deputy Mattie McGrath passes on the details, I will make sure that happens.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot withdraw something I believe to be true.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. It is an issue in which I have a real, personal interest. The national maternity strategy, which was produced when I was Minister for Health, provides for us to co-locate all our maternity hospitals adjacent to or on the campus of adult hospitals. This is the best way to provide modern maternity care. If a pregnancy goes wrong, all the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am glad everyone in the House agrees with the principle of co-location, but saying one agrees with something and wanting or demanding something are very different from delivering it. As someone who has spent a good bit of time in government, I understand this more and more. We are not starting from scratch. We have the Coombe, the Rotunda and Holles Street, voluntary hospitals that have...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is a very important issue, and I share the Deputy's concern that people in some families turn to moneylenders at this time of year in order to pay for Christmas and then find themselves in the spring having to pay back massive loans, much greater sums than the money they borrowed because of the high interest rates charged. The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection has a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I launched it when I was Minister for Social Protection. When last I checked, about 100 credit unions around the country were offering the loan-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----but it was difficult to get some credit unions to sign up.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly remind the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, of the matter and we will be proactive in encouraging credit unions to take part in the scheme. It is important to point out in addition that the Christmas bonus is being paid last week and this week. For the first time in a very long time it is being paid at 100% of the weekly payment....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will recall that concerns were expressed in the run-up to the papal visit that people would be thrown out of hotels and find themselves on the streets unable to find hotel or bed and breakfast accommodation during that period, but that did not happen. It did not happen because we had dealt with the issue and we will deal with this issue also. The Deputy will know from previous...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is in Northern Ireland where Sinn Féin is supposed to be in government. Deputy McDonald comes into the House to make out once again that her party has a monopoly of compassion.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy does not. If she really did care about homeless people, she would get busy in dealing with homelessness in Derry where there is a Sinn Féin MP and Sinn Féin is the largest party in the council. It should be at Stormont. According to Simon Communities, there are 200,000 people homeless in Northern Ireland. Sinn Féin does not want to do what I suggest because it...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy wants to weaponise homeless and vulnerable people to score political points for her party, which is just disreputable.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (5 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is my understanding that the Deputy already does not have confidence. As I believe he voted to demonstrate it, I do not know what he means when he talks about continuing to have confidence. He has already made the decision not to have confidence, but I do have confidence in the Minister. I have confidence in all of the Ministers who serve with me around the Cabinet table and I also have...