Results 13,961-13,980 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There has been no Government decision on it yet other than we will have plebiscites on directly elected mayors. We need to be realistic about timelines. I do not think it would be possible between October and May to pass all the legislation necessary to give effect to those new offices.

Order of Business (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Any of these things would need one or two years' lead-in and people will know that from when the office of the London mayor was established, it took a number of years to establish it properly.

Order of Business (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is no legislation promised on this but it is certainly a matter on which the Ministers for Finance and Health are working. Part of the problem is transparency. The Government is not hiding anything. It is difficult to follow the money in our health service. We know there are overruns in many areas, and we do not know exactly why. It is certainly not because of increased output. It...

Order of Business (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am.

Order of Business (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure that there was a question. It is absolutely the Government's position that there should be a public inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. I understand the UK Supreme Court is hearing a case on it now. I would be best not to comment on it but we do believe there should be an inquiry into the killing of Pat Finucane. The Tánaiste is due to meet the family again quite...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This will be a major feature of the summit in Brussels this week. What is required is that we do three things. The first is that we co-operate with the source countries and transit countries. The second is that we step up border security on the Balkan borders and in the Mediterranean. The third is that we engage in burden sharing. We do that already. We have agreed to take 4,000...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will double check so that I am sure, but I am informed that none of them was handed over to the Libyan coastguard and that they were taken to European countries. The Deputy ascribed comments to those various organisations. I am not sure that they said that about the Government. One or two might have but they certainly did not all say that. It is very much our position as a government...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is very much the point I will make at the summit of European prime ministers later this week. Reception centres, where they exist, should be run by the UNHCR or the IOM so that we can be assured human rights are upheld and standards are protected. At the same time, we need to ensure we never equivocate on human trafficking. No one should do anything to facilitate these people...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy asked if we will withdraw from our mission in the Mediterranean in Operation Sophia. We will not do so. I am very proud of the work that our Naval Service and Defence Forces are doing in the Mediterranean, rescuing migrants from the sea and training the Libyan coastguard to do what a coastguard should be able to do, namely, secure its seas and do its work, at least in its own...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue which I know is of grave interest to people living in Bantry and the Bantry Bay area. It is an area I know well. I have had the pleasure of visiting Bantry House and the chamber music festival and I know the harbour very well from my time as transport Minister, although I do have to admit to not being fully briefed on this particular...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: With a court process under way I am loath to comment in much detail and it is not possible for me to intervene in the actions of a court. What we have to do when it comes to all of these issues is to balance on the one hand the need to protect our environment and on the other ensuring we promote marine rural employment and marine rural industries. I am advised that the licence was the...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are just over 10,000 doctors working in our public health service. That is the highest number ever. I accept that demand is higher than ever as well, but it is not the case that the number of doctors working in our public health service is falling. In fact, it is increasing and is its highest point ever. Nursing numbers did go down considerably of foot of the cutbacks during the...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The HSE is overrunning its budget once again, as has been the case in almost every year that I have been in the Dáil, which is ten or 11 years at this stage. That is notwithstanding a substantial increase in the health budget, amounting to some €1.7 billion a year, since 2013. We are now spending more per head than almost any country in the world, and we have been spending more...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is not all about Dublin. It is important that we acknowledge the essential role of our other major airports both in their regions-----

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and in their counties as well. The Minister will bring legislation before this House after the summer which will give effect to the new EU regulatory regime. He will propose that the new runway project be subjected to the rigor of that regulatory examination. The delay occurred for two reasons. There was a need to get legal advice from the Attorney General and others as to whether...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----but we had advice that it needs to be done by primary legislation. There were also discussions as to what would be the appropriate body to be the noise regulator - whether it should be the Irish Aviation Authority, IAA, the CAR or Fingal County Council. It has been decided that it will be Fingal County Council. I do not know if the Minister has met with Fingal County Council officials...

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: What I would like to know from Fianna Fáil, the party that introduced the travel tax and did enormous damage-----

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to Irish aviation, to our airports and to tourism, is whether it will atone for those mistakes by now supporting the Government legislation-----

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and allowing us to fast-track it through the Dáil in the autumn.

Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue for our economy and for Ireland's connectivity around the world. The Government is 100% behind the DAA and its plans for a new parallel runway, the new north runway, at Dublin Airport. The project is contained in Project Ireland 2040, in black and white for anyone who needs to know where the Government stands on it. I would encourage...