Results 14,141-14,160 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Questions - Ceisteanna: Electoral Reform (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Following consideration of the Online Advertising and Social Media (Transparency) Bill 2017, the Government established an interdepartmental group to consider the substantive issues arising from recent experiences in other democratic countries having particular regard to the use of social media by external, anonymous or hidden third parties. In carrying out its assessment, the group is...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Electoral Reform (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I recognise Deputy Farrell for tabling this important and topical question. He referred to the work that the Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, is doing on updating the electoral register. There have been improvements to the electoral register in recent years but it remains quite out of date, as we know from canvassing and knocking on doors. Proposals are being developed on online...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Electoral Reform (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----but, as we have learned from issues affecting Visa, Ulster Bank and other entities, those systems can also go horrendously wrong. It might be easier to hack an electoral register or even influence the result of an election if it was all held on a central database. We must consider all of these matters. We are right to be concerned about external interference in elections. It is now...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Absolutely.

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Referring back to the December 2017 agreement, it is of course a political agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU, and in that political agreement the UK guarantees there will be no hard border, with no physical infrastructure, customs or controls. I believe this will be honoured and achieved. I used the term "bullet-proof" to describe the agreement at the time but I also used...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----which achieves exactly what we want to achieve.

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I should say that there is no such thing as a negotiating council. We do not have negotiations at the Council. When we enter Article 50 format, the UK is not there; it is the EU member states' heads of government among ourselves. The negotiations happen bilaterally between the task force, the TF50, and the United Kingdom. I have heard people talking about European Council meetings in June...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----or the budget Council, as if late at night a meeting or deal would be cobbled together.

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is not how this will work because it is not like that. The negotiations do not happen at the Council. The UK is not-----

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----in the room. These negotiations happen bilaterally-----

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and I think Deputy Enda Kenny made that point extremely well when he spoke yesterday. Perhaps another former Taoiseach saw it differently, but there will not be a last-minute, 2 a.m. deal in the run-up to Hallowe'en in October because that is not how this is structured. The negotiations happen between the task force and the UK, not at the Council meeting itself. I have always said...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----something better is found to replace it in the context of the new EU-UK agreement. The EU 27 will decide at the June Council meeting whether or not real and meaningful progress has been made. As things stand, I must say it has not. What was produced last week from London was a small step in the right direction: it was welcome but as I said earlier it is at best a partial solution to...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Once it exists, it is of course our intention to recognise it as part of a two-state solution. I will briefly remark on the fact that last Friday saw Pride in Tel Aviv, with 250,000 people from diverse communities, many of them lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual, attending Pride celebrations across Tel Aviv through the main streets and on to the beach. We should not defy the fact...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Brexit Issues (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 8 to 16, inclusive, together. I met British Prime Minister May on the margins of the EU-western Balkans summit in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 17 May. We discussed current developments on Brexit and the ongoing efforts to assist the parties in Northern Ireland to re-establish the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. Prime Minister May told me in Sofia that...

Questions - Ceisteanna: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I mentioned, at the EU summit in Sofia and Bulgaria last week we discussed the events that had taken place in Gaza and the appalling number of deaths and serious injuries that happened there. As Europe, we called for an independent and transparent investigation into the events and stressed the need to reduce tensions across the region. Almost 2 million people now live in Gaza and they...

Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That matter is currently being examined by the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Jim Daly, to ensure there is full transparency around charges in order that people know what they are for and that they only apply for additional or extra services and activities, and not for those that would be expected from a nursing home. This is an issue of concern to many elderly people...

Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The insurance Bill was approved by Cabinet last week and will shortly be published by the Minister of State at the Department of Finance, Deputy Michael D'Arcy.

Questions - Ceisteanna: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 7, inclusive, together. I travelled to Sofia, Bulgaria, where I participated in an informal EU Summit on the evening of 16 May, and the EU-western Balkans Summit on 17 May. The informal summit on 16 May was chaired by President Donald Tusk, as part of the series of discussions on the future of Europe under his "Leaders' Agenda". The focus this time was...

Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: At this rate it is going to be a long five weeks.

Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is no legislation promised on this matter but I will make inquiries with the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Deputy Regina Doherty, and ask her to furnish the Deputy with a detailed reply.