Results 13,241-13,260 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We will be doing four things. We will work with the European institutions to implement a ban and restrictions on single-use plastics. That legislation is being developed at a European level, and we very much support it and want to be part of it. Legislation is going through these Houses to prohibit microbeads. We are also carrying out an examination of the practicalities of imposing a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The most recent note I have on this is dated 18 September, which I have already read into the record of the House. When I last inquired of the Minister a month ago, the problem seemed to relate to finding a supplier or pharmacy in Ireland which would be willing and capable of providing the product and ensuring it was up to standard in pharmaceutical regulations, safety and so on.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will ask the Minister, Deputy Harris, to provide the Taoiseach with an up-to-date response.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is a very sensitive issue, which we all hope to handle as sensitively as we can. The Minister, Deputy Zappone, will make a statement outlining the approach adopted by Government this morning. Since 1 p.m., she has been trying to contact people to inform them of the Government decision and the plan for how we go forward. In order that it be done sensibly, I would rather not start...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government is committed to the national maternity hospital relocation project. We want to see it go to tender, if not this year certainly next year and we want to see it go to construction next year. It involves the development of a new maternity hospital on the campus of St. Vincent's at Elm Park and also improvements to that hospital. The new hospital will be funded by the State and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As it is still a matter under discussion involving the Department of Health, the national maternity hospital and St. Vincent's Healthcare Group, I am not in a position to give commitments until we know what the outcome will be. We have a good precedent in the national children's hospital, which I was involved in and which the Minister, Deputy Harris, has also been involved in. We took Our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----Temple Street Children's University Hospital, which had an association with a religious body in the Mater Hospital, and the National Children's Hospital in Tallaght, which had an association with the Church of Ireland, and have taken them together and put them on a site that is publicly owned and which will be under a statutory board. We have a good example already of how we have taken...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Once again, it is important that we remind ourselves of the purpose of Caranua. It was established to provide practical and financial support to survivors of residential institutions. It has already provided support in the region of €100 million to survivors and former residents of those institutions to help them with their lives. It is certainly not designed to abuse anyone; it is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On the mother and baby home in Tuam, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, will make a statement at 3 p.m. It is fair to say that the she has put an enormous amount of work into studying this matter over the past two years. The Cabinet accepted her recommendations today. I would like to give the Minister the opportunity to outline her recommendations in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The HSE service plan for 2019 is only currently being drafted and is not finalised. As Head of the Government, I want to ensure that the extra €1 billion of taxpayers' money we are putting into the health service next year, or at least as much of it as possible, gets to the patients. That means additional home care packages, new medicine, new equipment and new buildings. I would...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for her words of condolence to the family, friends, constituents and party of Seymour Crawford, who is being buried this afternoon in Monaghan. I had the opportunity to visit the house yesterday. Many of us served with Seymour for a period. He truly was a wonderful public representative, a gentle giant and a good friend to many of us. There will be an opportunity at a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will answer the Deputy's question with a straight answer. The Government accepts we have a problem in recruiting and retaining consultants in our public hospital system. What is being done about it? We have a three-year pay agreement, which involves pay increases and pay restoration for consultants, including two pay increases next year and an increment. We have negotiated with ICTU an...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----the number of outpatient appointments-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----happening and the number of procedures being done.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Unfortunately there is no direct link between spending-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and staffing on the one hand, and outcome and activity on the other.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We potentially need a new approach that links pay to outcomes, as is the case, for example, in the NHS and other systems.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We also need to be realistic that there are hospitals that get applications and those that do not.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government appreciates and understands that we have enormous challenges in our health service particularly when it comes to access, overcrowding in our emergency departments, the fact that many patients have to wait far too long to see a specialist or far too long for the operation or procedure they need. There are other truths as well. When we ask 14,000 of our patients, as we do...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Oct 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That of course is of no comfort to anyone who is waiting but it does mean that over the summer approximately 1,000 fewer people were waiting on trolleys than was the case for the summer of last year. If we consider waiting times, yes, there are far too many people on waiting lists but the most important point is how long they wait. People now wait on average fewer than six months for an...