Results 14,161-14,180 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: There is no legislation promised in this area, but I will certainly ask the Ministers, Deputies Regina Doherty and Finian McGrath, to provide a reply to that question.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: A process exists by which new drugs are approved in Ireland. It is a process that was set out in an Act of the Oireachtas. It does not involve a Government or ministerial decision, but rather an analysis by the National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics and a final decision by the HSE national drugs committee. I will certainly let the Minister for Health know that Deputy Michael Healy-Rae has...
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I do not have the up-to-date figures for the helpline but those I saw from a few days ago indicated that well over three quarters, if not 80% or 90%, of calls have been returned. By returned, I do not mean answered - I mean that the people involved have been contacted and had their questions answered.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If Deputy Mattie McGrath wants to pass on the details of that case to me or to the Minister for Health, we will certainly make sure that the person gets a reply.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: That is a good question. I am not sure I have the answer. I will check up on the position. There are legal challenges obviously. They are with the High Court and it will make its decision in its own time. However, I hope it will be done as expeditiously as possible. We will continue to prepare the legislation in the meantime based on the timeline we set out. There has been no delay in...
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, has prepared draft heads of a Bill to reinstate a transport support allowance but it has not yet gone through Cabinet. Once it does, he will engage with the all-party committee. We still intend to legislate this year.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I do not know.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: All I said when we set up the inquiry, the terms of reference of which were agreed on an all-party basis, was that we should let it do its work and respect its independence. I do not think that is contemptuous or contemptible.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If we set it up, we should allow it to do its work and who should respect its independence. The first report of the inquiry, which deals with term of reference (d) regarding information provided to women about screening and the issue of consent, was published earlier today There is also a progress report in which Dr. Scally updates us and the public on the progress he is making regarding...
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The 25th anniversary of decriminalisation will be marked on 24 June. We are working on a motion, which I hope all parties can agree, to recognise the wrongs that were done. There is a complication in that it is not always possible to distinguish one conviction from another. In some cases, the convictions involve minors and it is not necessarily possible in all cases to distinguish whether...
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It is not covered in the programme for Government and there is no legislation promised in respect of it. However, 16 questions relating to European affairs are due to be dealt with during Question Time so I am sure I will be answering the Deputy's query then.
- Order of Business (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: We are dealing with questions on promised legislation.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: People are constantly commenting on commissions and tribunals. I would be very happy if it was all out of order.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I would be very happy if the commissions of investigation and tribunals were all out of order.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I might ask to have a ruling from the Chair at some point. We constantly have tribunals and commissions of investigation discussed in the House when they are ongoing. A ruling on that from the Chair would be helpful.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: A Minister's Department may have a huge number of agencies under its remit. It is only reasonable when preparing an answer to a question about an agency under one's remit that one might check with the agency and allow it to contribute to the reply. That is something every Minister does every day. Ministers have done that since the foundation of the State.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If one is asked a question about a hospital or a school, there is a good chance one will check with the hospital or the school for the answer to the question. With regard to the NAMA surplus, I recall the debates about establishing NAMA very well. Many Members said that NAMA would end up with a large deficit. It was suggested there would be a deficit of up to €10 billion. I...
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I may be wrong on that point but most people argued at the time that NAMA would not break even and that there would be a deficit.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I have to be honest that I was one of the people at the time who thought there would be a NAMA deficit.
- Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (12 Jun 2018)
Leo Varadkar: However, there will not be a NAMA deficit.