Results 13,621-13,640 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Properties (25 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department does not own any properties or land in County Meath or elsewhere. Properties occupied by my Department and the National Economic and Social Development Office - the only body under the aegis of my Department - are located in Dublin and are provided and managed by the Office of Public Works.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (25 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is currently engaging with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform on its 2019 Estimate provision. Any expenditure savings will be identified as part of that process and announced by the Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform at Budget time.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: European Council Meetings (25 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I was honoured to be the first EU leader to meet with Pedro Sánchez following his appointment as Prime Minister of Spain, when I visited Madrid on 14 June. We discussed a range of issues across the EU agenda, including Brexit, migration and the EU budget, as well as foreign policy issues, and bilateral relations. The Prime Minister assured me of his strong support in relation to our...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Communications (25 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I and the staff working in my Department have been assigned Departmental email accounts which are used for official business. These accounts are only accessible through my Department's secure network and, in some circumstances, remotely using officially supplied and appropriately secured mobile devices such as laptop computers or mobile telephones. My Department's ICT Policy stipulates...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It depends on how one defines "membership".

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Obviously when the United Kingdom leaves the European Union, Northern Ireland will leave with it. That is a statement of fact, as everyone knows. The draft backstop, as published in March, means that, to all intents and purposes, Northern Ireland will stay in the customs union and the Single Market. Even at that, it is not as straightforward as that. It is the full regulatory alignment...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: First, there is no backsliding on the backstop from us. In terms of the transition period, we want it to run until the end of 2020, which means that no changes would take effect until January 2021. There will be changes, however, under our central case scenario which is based on a successful negotiation of a withdrawal agreement with a transition period and a backstop. It will still be the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Today we approved recruitment in 2019 of 270 additional customs staff, 116 additional sanitary and phytosanitary control staff, 51 additional staff for the HSE's environmental health service and 14 professional property staff, given the infrastructural needs. I should emphasise however that these are for the ports and airports including Dublin Port, Dublin Airport and Rosslare. They are not...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The backstop was published in March.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It has been there in black and white for everyone to read since March.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It says that the common commercial policy, the rules of the customs union and the rules of the Single Market will continue to apply in Northern Ireland unless and until there is a new agreement that makes it unnecessary and that it would apply to the extent that is necessary to avoid a hard border and to continue to protect the all-island economy as it now works. I do not have it front of me,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and other advice that we did not follow. For example, the IMF took the view that we would help to resolve our unemployment crisis by cutting the minimum wage. That was done by Fianna Fáil and the Greens in office and we decided to reverse that when Fine Gael and the Labour Party came into office. Fine Gael has increased the minimum wage three times since, with a further increase...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 10, inclusive, together. I had a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister May on the margins of the European Council in Brussels on 28 June. We discussed the current political situation in Northern Ireland, whereupon I emphasised the Government's commitment to the Good Friday Agreement and we reaffirmed the determination of both Governments to secure...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The outcome has to give us what was agreed to last December and must become law, namely, a legally binding and operable backstop in the withdrawal agreement. Without it, there cannot be a withdrawal agreement, as everyone should understand at this stage. In essence, dedramatisation is about trying to move away from language such as "a border in the Irish Sea". People can misinterpret...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together. I had a very positive meeting with Ms Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, in Government Buildings on 25 June. I also hosted a dinner to mark her visit to Ireland on the evening of 26 June. Our exchanges covered the economic outlook, international trade and gender equality issues. On the economic outlook, we discussed the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The answer to Deputy Joan Burton's question is that we did not specifically ask the IMF to advise us on health reform or housing. I will consider it as it is always useful to have an external view from an international body on how one is doing. Generally, we use the OECD for that, but we could potentially ask the IMF to do it. I am a little taken aback that a centre-left politician would...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said earlier, it is not advisable for me at this stage in the negotiations to give a running commentary on how things are going but briefings are available to party leaders and, of course, they are available through the co-ordination group headed by the Tánaiste. I welcome the fact some parties have been attending the group regularly. Suffice to say, a lot of briefings have been...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The backstop is no secret. The backstop, or at least the draft backstop, was published back in March so anyone can see in black and white what that means. It means applying the rules of the customs union and the rules of the Single Market to the extent they applied to the all-island economy. I should not need to elaborate on it. The EU published our draft of the backstop back in March....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. Cabinet committee C assists the Government in its ongoing consideration of Brexit. It also covers other EU and international issues and supports my participation as a member of the European Council. It last met on Thursday, 21 June in advance of the European Council on 28 and 29 June. This was the third such meeting of this...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I know this is a very stressful and worrying time for people with spinal muscular atrophy and their families. I know the day-to-day challenges these people and these patients face in dealing with a progressive and life-limiting illness. It is important to say that this is not a political decision. Deputies should note this if they do not know it and I hope they do not tell anyone...