Results 13,921-13,940 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----is to take the total amount we spend and divide it by the number of people in the country. It is a very simple and common-sense calculation - how much we spend divided by the number of people in the country per head or per capita, whatever term one wants to use. The same thing applies to debt. When we take our national debt and divide it by the number of people in the country we have...

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What are the real economic needs of the Irish people?

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is jobs. Unemployment is now one third of what it was seven years ago. It is 5.3%. Long-term unemployment is down to 2%. We are approaching full employment. What do we want as well as jobs? We want good jobs.

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We want jobs that pay well. Wages are increasing again. Poverty and deprivation are falling. Income inequality is narrowing.

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: All of these things are going in the right direction. There is one thing I agree with the Deputy on. We need to invest in our public infrastructure in the years ahead. That is why we have precommitted to increasing capital spending next year.There will be a €1.5 billion increase in capital spending next year.

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have not had an opportunity to read the statement from the Relatives for Justice. I had an opportunity to hear Mr. Travers on the radio this morning. My sympathies go to anyone and any family affected by the Troubles, that awful period of our history and those decades during which various organisations wrought appalling violence on people north and south of the Border. As the Deputy...

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The incoming Commissioner has the confidence of the public. The Garda representative associations that have commented on this have been broadly supportive. The main Opposition party has been broadly supportive. The sense I have from gardaí on the ground is that they welcome this appointment and this change. The general sense I have from the majority of the public is that they welcome...

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----before he has even taken up office. When it comes to the issues of truth and reconciliation, everyone has a part to play. Yesterday I expressed in the Dáil the Government's strong view that there should be a public inquiry into Pat Finnucane's murder. The Tánaiste has met members of the family and will do so again. Truth and reconciliation require that everyone plays...

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----Sinn Féin and all the people associated with Sinn Féin as much as it does to anyone else.

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The issue of capitation will, of course, be considered in the context of the forthcoming budget. There is a programme for Government commitment to increase capitation, so it is something we intend to do. I appreciate that capitation has been cut back in recent years and, unlike many things, has not been restored. It goes towards the running costs of schools and I would be very much in...

Leaders' Questions (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is not fair to describe it as rhetoric. I gave the Deputy a list of facts. People, as I often say, are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts. Yes, it is the case that our population is increasing. This is one of the reasons why the education budget must increase too. Notwithstanding that, we have been able to hire an extra 5,000 teachers over two years and invest more...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: British-Irish Council (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 78, 80 and 81 together. I attended the 30th British Irish Council (BIC) Summit in Guernsey on Friday 22 June, hosted by Chief Minister Gavin St. Pier. I was accompanied by Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD. The discussion at the summit covered key political developments for Administrations since the last summit...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: 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 28/29 June. Given their significance, matters relating to Brexit and other EU issues are frequently discussed by the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Electric Vehicles (27 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department is located in one building - Government Buildings on Merrion Street - which is managed by the Office of Public Works. There are no e-car charging points provided in Government Buildings. No property is owned, part-owned or under the control of my Department.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will do my best, as always. A land use plan is a good idea and we will certainly give it some consideration. The Government and its Departments only have a certain amount of bandwidth to produce any number of plans in any given year but it is certainly something to which I am happy to give consideration. To an extent, the national planning framework does this but certainly not to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Burren is a beautiful place, but I am not sure we should turn the entire western seaboard and all of the counties along it into a national park like the Burren. I really do not think that would be welcomed in those counties for obvious reasons. People want to protect their environment but they also want economic opportunities, they want jobs, they want their children to be able to stay...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are road safety aspects.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I may have to disappoint the Deputies a little. The latest weather forecast indicates that it is going to rain on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of next week. It may well be the case that the anticipated drought and dry weather-related fodder crisis may not materialise on this occasion. Damage to biodiversity is not a stand-alone strategic risk in its own right in the current...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I apologise.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Howlin for letting me answer his question; at least he gives me a chance to answer. I have no particular concerns regarding the V4 group, but I thank the Deputy for alerting me to that. I will make sure to check that out on Thursday and Friday. We also want to have a trade deal with the UK, but if the UK persists with its red-line issues, such as leaving the customs union...