Results 12,981-13,000 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Troy is very well informed. The Bill was indeed brought to the Cabinet this morning. It was approved by it and will be published on Friday. With the co-operation of the House, we anticipate that it can be enacted by the end of this calendar year.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot do that. The different elements of the HSE will always request additional funding and the total amount requested will always exceed the total amount available. The amount available for improvements in health services in 2019 is more than €1 billion. There is an extra €1 billion available for health services next year. I agree with the Deputy that we should make sure...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Bruton, and I received the report yesterday. It has to go through due process, as I am sure the Deputy will appreciate. It is with the Attorney General. Parts of it may need to be redacted for commercial reasons and the people named in it have to be given an opportunity to comment or reply. We anticipate publishing it as soon as possible. I anticipate that happening...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I do not have any information on that matter, but I will ask the Department of Health to provide the Deputy with a reply.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I deal with requests for meetings in the normal way, but it is not my practice to commit to meetings on the floor of the House. That would be unfair to the very many people who request meetings in the normal way. It is within the power of the Attorney General, under the Coroners Act, to direct the holding of an inquest. However, it is not an untrammelled or discretionary power. There...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This relates to a campaign for a new inquest into the Stardust disaster. Once again I wish to express my condolences to the families and friends of those who died in that terrible tragedy. As the House will know there has already been an inquest and a full tribunal of inquiry into the Stardust tragedy. We must respect the fact that there are differences of opinion among families as to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Justice and Equality informs me that his Department is in regular contact with the Deputy's office about the Bill with the view to moving matters on. We certainly want to do that as quickly as we possibly can. When it comes to the Internet and the worldwide web, what I can say is that the era of self-regulation is over. Self-regulation has not worked for the Internet and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Anybody who thinks Sinn Féin cares about any person on low pay should know that it has been exposed time and again. The note I have indicates that any change will not take effect until 1 January. I will confirm that that is the case later today. It is a move away from unvouched to vouched expenses. At the same time in the Finance Bill we are clamping down left, right and centre on...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising these important matters related to the mental health of young people, teenagers and adolescents, as well as the impact of the Internet, online bullying and the effects of exposure to nefarious online activities on the mental health of young people. We are very much in the process of implementing the national suicide strategy Connecting for Life which I was...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Does she not see any hypocrisy in that? She comes in here, day after day, and accuses us of having some sort of special relationship with the super-rich and of having the wrong priorities. On the day of the Armistice, however, a particularly important day for Protestant and unionist people in this country, on the day we inaugurated our President, on the day we showed respect for our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is rank hypocrisy from Sinn Féin. We hear it far too often. We have already seen the leader of Sinn Féin exposed in her attitude to the Armistice and her attitude to our President and our Constitution. She chose to hobnob with the super-rich in America at a $400 a plate lunch rather than respect the war dead or respect our President. We see members of Sinn Féin trying...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to clarify the situation. The Revenue Commissioners have an ongoing review of concessionary flat-rate expenses. The review is to ensure that the expenses granted are still justified and are appropriate to modern-day employment and work practices. As a result, they said that certain flat-rate reductions for tax purposes may be withdrawn in certain sectors. This would not have an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: They are shortcomings, but they are also terrible situations and failings. I do not think we should play with words in dealing with these issues. I would prefer if the Deputy offered solutions, rather than that sort of glib rhetoric.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Whether something is a shortcoming or a failing should not be a matter for debate. We all acknowledge that these are terrible situations which people are in. With reference to children in emergency accommodation, the solution is housing supply. This year 8,000 additional homes will be added to the social housing stock, more than half of which were built by local authorities and housing...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is also big investment in the provision of permanent housing and family hubs. Deputy Micheál Martin will also be aware of what we are doing in the provision of speech and language therapy. We are trying to change the model because we know that providing additional money and staff has not worked when it comes to therapies. We are trying to change the model by investing in speech...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Today is International Children's Day, as Deputy Martin said. Therefore, it is only fair to recognise the progress we have made in recent years, not just the shortcomings. While it is right to acknowledge the shortcomings, it is wrong to ignore all the progress that has been made in recent years and in the last year. I will give some examples. Real progress has been made in terms of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Official Engagements (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I had a bilateral meeting with the President of the European Parliament, Antonio Tajani, in the margins of the European Council on 18 October. We discussed the state of play in the Brexit negotiations between the EU and the U.K. I thanked President Tajani for his ongoing strong solidarity in relation to our concerns and reiterated the need to ensure a legally operable and robust backstop in...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Northern Ireland (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I met the leader of the DUP Ms Arlene Foster on October 15. We discussed many issues including the current political situation in Northern Ireland and Brexit. I emphasised the Government’s full commitment to the Good Friday Agreement, and our continuing determination to secure the effective operation of all of its institutions. We discussed what could be done to get the institutions...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Official Engagements (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I visited Counties Cavan and Monaghan on Friday 12thof October when I had a number of different engagements. In the morning, I visited the Cavan County Museum in Ballyjamesduff, the new Autism Unit in Bailieborough Community School and Bailieborough Courthouse. In the afternoon, I visited Cootehill where I had the pleasure of turning the sod on the new Holy Family School. Finally, I spoke at...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: National Digital Strategy (20 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: A new overarching National Digital Strategy is currently in development. The Strategy will help Ireland to maximise the economic and societal benefits from ongoing digitalisation and its transformative effects. In 2013, Ireland’s previous National Digital Strategy was launched, and focused on Doing more with Digital. Five years on, the Government is seeking to develop a new National...