Results 1,361-1,380 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I have come across plenty of cases of people who were there for prolonged periods of time, such as three years or four years, just like the Deputy, but there is often a more complicated story behind it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know about the case Deputy has mentioned but there have been plenty of cases in my constituency where people who have been in emergency accommodation for two years or three years have turned down multiple offers of accommodation.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I do appreciate where the Deputy is coming from, but I really think she has got this wrong. She is making excuses for people who engage in animal cruelty and break the law. She is making excuses for hauliers and truckers who break our road safety laws and laws in other countries by driving their trucks without breaks.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is making excuses for them, and I think that is the wrong approach.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It does not matter if someone engages in animal cruelty - it is the Government's fault. It does not matter if a trucker does not take rest breaks - it is the Government's fault.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy should not make excuses for people who perpetrate cruelty against animals-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and she should not make excuses for truckers who breach our road safety rules. It is totally the wrong approach, Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We had a Cabinet meeting today. I think there were 67 items on the agenda. I can absolutely guarantee the Deputy that more of those items were about housing than about RTÉ and that we as a Government spend a lot more time concerned about the housing crisis than we do about RTÉ, important as that issue is. I am happy to reassure the Deputy of that. With regard to housing, this...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I strongly condemn any cruelty towards animals. The incidents in the clips shown by RTÉ were repugnant and have been widely condemned across the farming and dairy sectors. The Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine has sought the footage used in the programme to commence an investigation into these events. As Deputy Cairns rightly said, the reputation of the dairy and beef...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is clear the cost of the hospital was substantially underestimated back in 2015 or 2016 at around €600 million. That was seven years ago. It is not a revelation to anyone that the hospital will take a lot more than the original €600 million estimate which was an underestimate at the time. We know what it costs now to build a massive hospital of this scale and it is a lot...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: To answer the Deputy's questions again, the hospital will be complete and handed over to the Government next year.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We would anticipate patients using the hospital in the latter part of next year or early 2025. I am confident that those time lines will be correct. The budget allocated to the hospital is €1.433 billion. That is the budget allocated to it in 2018. It is going to cost more than €1.433 billion. Why do we not know how much more it will cost at this stage? First, the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The new children’s hospital will be an incredible state of the art hospital, one of the best in the world, and nobody will be sorry that it was built. When people see it and parents experience the treatments their children receive there, nobody will say it was not worth it. I guarantee the Deputy that. It will be Ireland’s first digital public hospital,...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Websites (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The situation described has not arisen in the Department of the Taoiseach.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Staff (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The persons employed in my Department as Special Advisers are detailed in the table below. Office of the Taoiseach Name Role Brian Murphy Chief of Staff (Taoiseach's Office) Philip O'Callaghan Deputy Chief of Staff (Taoiseach's Office) Clare Mungovan Special Adviser to the Taoiseach ...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: A comprehensive evaluation of how the country managed COVID-19 will provide an opportunity to learn lessons from our experiences in dealing with a pandemic. It will include a review of the whole-of-government response to the pandemic and how we might do better and be in a stronger position if another pandemic or other similar type event were to occur. It will include a consideration of the...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Covid-19 Pandemic (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of the Taoiseach has incurred expenditure of €31,095,788 on COVID-19 public information campaigns. This incorporated a wide range of campaigns to ensure maximum clarity for citizens, businesses and the wider community. The accompanying table shows a breakdown of the different campaigns over the period 2020-2022 for which there...

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Taoiseach's diary for quarter 2 of 2023 has been published and is available on the Department's website at www.gov.ie/en/collection/e0fb8-taoiseachs-diary/.

Written Answers — Department of Justice and Equality: Departmental Data (11 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Neither the Department of the Taoiseach, nor the National Economic and Social Development Office which is the only body under the aegis of my Department, operates a barter account.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic and Social Council (5 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 20, inclusive, together. The National Economic and Social Council advises me on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable, social and environmental development. The NESC is currently working in five main areas. The first is good jobs. The council is examining how good jobs could provide a mechanism to improve worker well-being, drive...