Results 13,121-13,140 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Functions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. The international, European Union and Northern Ireland division of my Department covers work on all international, EU and British-Irish and Northern Ireland affairs within the Department, including Brexit matters. The division assists me in my international role, including as a member of the European Council, and in my other...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly commit to checking up on the matter. If someone requests his or her slides, I can understand why it might take a couple of weeks. I do not see why it should take a couple of months. I will ask my people to follow up on the matter to see the reason for the delay. I totally agree. It should not take that long.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My view is that large, wealthy tech companies should pay their fair share of tax and pay that tax where it is owed. We have a profound difficulty with the EU's current proposal for a digital tax because, rather than taxing profits, it taxes turnover or revenue. At present, companies, many of them big tech companies, record profits in Ireland and we gain from this in the form of a 12.5%...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The programme for Government does not talk about reducing poverty: the Government is reducing poverty. One needs only look at the CSO survey on income and living conditions to see that is the case. The budget recently agreed in this House, which the Deputy will probably vote against, further reduces poverty, as confirmed by the ESRI SWITCH model. This Government led by Fine Gael and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Education and Skills is currently in the Seanad so, on his behalf, I will update the House on this important issue. Our first priority, as always, is the safety of school students and, of course, staff. I want to acknowledge the co-operation of parents, school principals, staff, patrons and boards of management through this very challenging period. Structural...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have not seen that report so I do not know what recommendations they have made. I can say there are no proposals being considered by Government at this time to raise the salary cap in regard to State-owned banks. I point out, though, that there were essentially two bank bailouts that occurred in this country about ten years ago. One was the bailout of Anglo Irish Bank and Irish...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It costs €100 million every couple of miles. Cost is something we have to bear in mind. One thing I will not do is agree to the Green Party's proposal to divert money from transport projects in the rest of Ireland to Dublin.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As somebody who is from Dublin but is a Taoiseach for all of Ireland, I will not be diverting transport funding from the rest of Ireland to Dublin-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----because Virginia needs a bypass, Adare needs a bypass, we need to upgrade the motorways through Kildare, we need a ring road for Galway and we need to get Dunkettle started. I do not agree with the Green Party when its members say we should take transport funding away from the rest of Ireland and put it all into Dublin.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Castlebaldwin and Collooney have already been started.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am a big supporter of MetroLink, the Dublin metro project, which is essential. It is not the only part of what needs to be done to improve public transport in Dublin. We need to do the DART extension electrification as well. We also need to do BusConnects, and do it right. MetroLink will be a big part of the future of public transport in the city of Dublin. Starting in Swords, it will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----is that the Luas south line would have to be upgraded anyway. There is a limited capacity on the Luas. Even now, it is impossible to board at the Beechwood and Ranelagh stops. There will be massive additional development in Sandyford and also with the new town of Cherrywood. As it stands, the current Luas is already close to capacity and it needs to be upgraded to metro. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: When it comes to metro, Luas and BusConnects, the way it works is that there is a public consultation process. The NTA goes out with a design and anyone can make a submission. I have given it my views and I imagine the Deputy has done the same. It is not for me to ask them on the Deputy's behalf. He can make a submission himself and the National Transport Authority will come back with its...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am glad that we are in the presence of the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Bruton, as I do not need to commit to making him aware of what Deputy Lowry has mentioned. It is essential that Bord na Móna protect what are public assets – its buildings and bogs. I would not like to see a situation develop such as that that has occurred for...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Lowry for raising the important issue of the future of Bord na Móna and its impact on the economy and jobs in the midlands, in particular. He is correct to say that when Bord na Móna was established, part of the original vision of semi-State bodies was that the Government would step in to set up State-owned enterprise where the private sector dared not to go. Bord...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Quite clearly, I have committed to nothing. I said we are open to considering a review clause but I have set out clearly what that review clause could not contain. It could not contain an expiry date or the unilateral ability of the UK to resile from its commitments with regard to there being no hard border between Northern Ireland and the rest of Ireland. As I said before, to come to an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: One can still achieve all one's objectives in doing so. It is a very good thing that Deputy McDonald is not leading these negotiations. She holds the world record for failing to negotiate a coalition agreement in Northern Ireland, which now stands at more than two years. We can see from her performance here today that she is too extreme, uncompromising and bullying.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy McDonald would turn our friends into enemies within months. It is a very good thing that she is not handling these negotiations.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: When it comes to Brexit, we should always remember what we are trying to achieve. First, we are trying to achieve a withdrawal agreement so that there is an orderly departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. We want there to be a transition period so that businesses and individuals have two years or more to prepare for any permanent changes that might take place. That is very...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Nov 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The facts are that when Fianna Fáil was in government with the Green Party, it took a decision to reduce the number of hospital beds in the health care system. It did not do so because of austerity. It did it during the boom because it decided that there would be a shift towards day care and primary care services. As a result, it started to decrease the number of beds in acute...