Results 12,741-12,760 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As Deputy McLoughlin will know, there has been an increase in Garda numbers in recent years. An additional 199 new members have joined An Garda Síochána in recent weeks, bringing the number in 2018 to 800. This means that the Garda force now stands at a figure above 14,000 for the first time since 2012.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As the Ceann Comhairle will appreciate, I do not know anything about the individual case, unfortunately. However, I know of similar cases in my constituency of parents who are getting on in years, have a son or daughter who is in his or her 30s or 40s and are concerned about what will happen to their daughter or son when they pass on. They are increasingly concerned about their ability to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: To go back to the important issue raised, disability, I acknowledge the work of the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, in getting over the line some reforms regarding medical cards. Somebody in receipt of a disability allowance is now able to earn up to €427 per week without losing the medical card. That...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputies will know, it is not my practice to schedule meetings based on requests made across the floor of the House. Any Deputy who wants a meeting with me, in my capacity as Taoiseach or constituency Deputy, knows exactly how to seek a meeting. Deputies do so all the time.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In the past couple of years, as all Deputies in this House will acknowledge, there has been an enormous increase in the provision for children with special educational needs. We have more special needs assistants now than there are gardaí. There has been a considerable increase in the number in recent years. New ASD units have been established throughout the country. There are more...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Bill is due to move to Committee Stage in two weeks and the legislation on decision making will be addressed in the next session. As the Deputy will acknowledge, the Government controls neither this House nor the Upper House, so it is no longer possible for us to give assurances on how long it will take legislation to pass through the Houses. There is an effective filibuster in this...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is one thing I would say------

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure the Deputy that there are Garda checkpoints all over the country. I passed through one on the south quays just outside the Guinness brewery the other day. If there is anywhere where a checkpoint could cause a tailback, it is on such a busy road, yet there are checkpoints in those areas too for very good reasons. Neither I nor the Ministers, Deputies Flanagan and Ross, order...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We should not forget that the purpose of the Road Traffic (Amendment) Act 2018 is to save lives. It used to be the case that 600 or 700 people died on the roads every year. The figure is now between 100 and 200, which is still 100 or 200 too many. We have both met the families of people who were killed on the road. The Deputy knows how the loss of a loved one on the road hurts a whole...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps the appropriate course of action for me would be to communicate with the Minister, Deputy Zappone, and ask her to provide Deputy Connolly with an updated position. I have no wish to insult Deputy Connolly or anger her any further by giving a different response to that. What I will do – I am committing to doing this – is ask the Minister, Deputy Zappone, to provide an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. It is a very important issue, one in which the Deputy has taken a deep and genuine interest. It was not a question that I anticipated would come up today so unfortunately I do not have an up-to-date note on this particular matter and I have not had a chance to speak to the Minister for Children and Family Affairs, Deputy Zappone, about it. I know there is absolutely no...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct when she says that we have been in office for more than seven years. However, she did not mention that we spent the first five of those years putting this country back on track. Perhaps she would like people to forget, or not to know, that we spent five years getting the public finances back in order, reversing some of the awful cuts that were made in previous years to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Each of the bodies is very different and for each of thelm a service level agreement is put in place with the HSE. That body receives a particular amount of money in order to honour the service level set out in the service level agreement. That is the way it is done. It is similar to a contract, for example.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We are approaching Christmas time and the holiday season and people are looking forward to the Christmas holidays and spending time with their families, perhaps at home near the warmth of the fire. Of course, when one thinks about that, one's thoughts inevitably turn to those who are less fortunate, those who do not have a home to go to, those without shelter who are exposed to the cold....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In Ireland, we provide our health and social care through a number of different mechanisms. Sometimes it is provided directly by the State through the HSE while at other times, it is provided through a section 38 body, which is a voluntary body. St. Vincent's University Hospital, which is not too far from here, would be an obvious example where the staff are considered to be public servants...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I have said before, these bodies are all very different. Some section 39 bodies are very small, may only receive €10,000 or €20,000 from the HSE and may have only one employee or a part-time employee. Other section 39 bodies are very large, have a large number of staff and provide a large number of services. Sometimes they have very little other income, other than what they...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department, as outlined in the Strategy Statement, provides assistance to the Taoiseach and the Government, including the Independent Members of Government, through the Government Secretariat, the Parliamentary Liaison Unit, the Programme for Government Office and the Cabinet Committee structure, to ensure Government business is managed to the highest standards. The Chief Strategist for...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: British-Irish Council (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 and 15 together. I attended the 31st British Irish Council (BIC) Summit in the Isle of Man on Friday 9 November, hosted by Chief Minister Howard Quale. I was accompanied by the Minister for Natural Resources, Community Affairs and Digital Development, Sean Canney TD. The discussion at the summit covered political developments for Administrations...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In keeping with the spirit of the Official Languages Act, my Department is committed to developing and maintaining a culture that encourages the use of Irish both within the Department and with our customers. To that end, my Department's Irish Language Scheme 2016 - 2019 contains a number of commitments designed to ensure that any customers of the Department of the Taoiseach who wish to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (4 Dec 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In communicating the work of Government, it is important to provide information to citizens in a manner in which they wish to receive it, which includes the medium of video. The following is the breakdown of costs which have been processed by my Department relating to video production from June 2017 to November 2018. Note that amounts represent payments fully processed through the finance...