Results 13,661-13,680 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I reassure people - press photographers, individual citizens and protestors - that there are no Government proposals whatsoever to do so. I also hope that in his supplementary question Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett will affirm his view that peaceful protest is the type of protest we should have and that protests should happen in accordance with the law and that he will take the opportunity to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----including racist abuse and name calling. I hope Deputy Boyd Barrett will take this opportunity to condemn anyone who seeks to identify and intimidate online the members of the Garda Síochána. That is not the kind of behaviour that should happen in a decent society or a healthy democracy. Gardaí are people who put their safety on the line to defend our democracy, to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy can be assured that Brexit is very much at the top of the Government's agenda. We had a detailed discussion on Brexit contingency planning and Brexit planning at our Cabinet meeting this morning. As the Deputy served well and successfully in government for a period, he knows that if it was as simple as turning up at an EU summit to sort it all out, I would have done that a long...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is much briefing going on.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Whatever people may say about me and the Government, I can guarantee the Deputy it is not coming from Government Buildings or from the European Commission.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Not that long ago I read in one newspaper that the French President, Emmanuel Macron, was so impressed by the meeting he had with the British Prime Minister in the Riviera that he changed his position and France would suddenly do a deal with the UK. I read another story several days later saying much the same about Germany. I am forever reading this stuff. I can absolutely guarantee the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I assure the Deputy that I have no rabbits to pull out of the hat and I have no quick fixes. This is not a problem that will be solved by an announcement, by some sort of quick-fix measure or by changing one law or one piece of legislation. That is just not the case. To every complex problem there is an easy and simple solution that probably does not work. A rent freeze is probably one of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We have to bear in mind what a rent freeze might do. On the face of it, a rent freeze sounds like a good idea, but we should think about the unintended consequences of that kind of a measure.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: For example, we should think about what it would do to supply. Would more people be willing to rent out a property? Would more businesses be willing to build properties for rent-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----if they were put in a situation whereby Sinn Féin decided the rent charged rather than themselves? Would people be willing to move from property to property? People who live in rent controlled cities say that if one has a rent controlled apartment, one should hang on to it and not move. That means less churn and fewer people moving. What often happens with these kinds of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What might seem like a solution on the face of it, a simple, easy answer, might actually do harm to many people.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I note that many of the protests are taking place in the central Dublin city area. Sinn Féin and left-wing councillors dominate Dublin City Council, so I assume that if Sinn Féin and left-wing-dominated councils are not compulsorily purchasing properties in Dublin city centre, they have a reason for not doing so.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Labour Court's determinations apply to the employers. In this case the employer is not the State. The way these organisations work is that they receive grant aid from the Government. They also have their own income streams. They have a decision to make as to how they should spend the money they are given. Some organisations have provided for pay restoration for staff, while others...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On behalf of the Government and everyone on this side of the House, I acknowledge the extent to which we share the concerns of everyone in the country and the Opposition about the impact the housing shortage and homelessness crisis are having on people across Ireland. It is something about which we all know from our constituency clinics, the increased workload and the increased numbers of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy and welcome him back. I hope he had a nice summer. I want, of course, to start by joining him in acknowledging the really valuable and important work that is done in section 39 organisations, whether it is hospices around the country, like St. Francis Hospice, which is very near to where I live, whether it is disability organisations around the country or whether it is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What the Deputy may call waffle and nonsense, other people would call facts. The fact is they are section 39 organisations. They are section 39 organisations in the Health Act, an Act the Deputy brought into this House. They are not publicly owned bodies. These are private organisations that receive grant funding from the Government to provide a particular public service. That is the way...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: State Legal Services (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 89 and 90 together. Section 29 of the Civil Service Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2005 vests in the Director of Public Prosecutions the power to appoint State Solicitors. Prior to this, the power of appointment of State Solicitors had been vested in the Attorney General by Section 6 of the Ministers and Secretaries Act, 1924. State Solicitors are appointed...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I met with Pope Francis during his visit to Dublin Castle on Saturday 25th August. The meeting provided an opportunity for both of us to discuss a number of issues, though regrettably not in any great depth because of the short duration of the meeting. I welcomed Pope Francis who thanked me for the warm welcome he had received on arrival. We spoke of the legacy of pain and suffering caused...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The next meeting of Cabinet Committee D has not yet been scheduled. As I have previously indicated to the House, the Committee works to ensure a coordinated approach to the delivery and ongoing development of policy across the areas of infrastructure investment and delivery, housing, and climate action. There is significant work underway across each of these areas. Cabinet...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Advisers Data (18 Sep 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Details of the politically appointed staff employed by my Department and acting in an advisory capacity are as follows: Name Role Commencement Date Cessation Date Brian Murphy  Chief of Staff 14 June 2017 n/a John Carroll Head of Policy and Programme Implementation  05 July 2017 n/a Patrick Geoghegan Special Adviser to the Taoiseach  14 June 2017 n/a Angela Flanagan...