Results 14,281-14,300 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Maybe an extra hour could be found tomorrow.

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am informed by one of my colleagues that demountable homes are prefabricated homes, which is what they are called in Fingal and they can be constructed on site. I am told it is an option for local authorities. Ultimately it is for local authorities to come forward with those proposals. A sum of €6 billion is allocated in Project Ireland 2040 for investment in social housing over...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I cannot comment in great detail about the precise situation in the Deputy's county as I am not fully briefed on it. The Deputy might elaborate on demountable homes. It is not a term I am familiar with, but perhaps one with which I should be. In terms of the broader picture, across Ireland 18,000 homes have commenced construction in the past year. That is a significant...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am happy to give it consideration. The Citizens' Assembly and the Constitutional Convention before it looked at many issues. As such, it is not the case that an assembly could not look at more than one issue in future. It is certainly something the Minister for Education and Skills and I will consider, along with the Government. The Constitutional Convention made other recommendations,...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I join Deputy Brendan Howlin in recognising the success the experiments of the Constitutional Convention and the Citizens' Assembly have been. When we served in government together, the convention was included in the programme for Government agreed to in 2011. None of us really knew how it would work out, but we can now stand over the fact that the assemblies were representative of the...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, will meet party spokespeople tomorrow to discuss this. He only got the result of the referendum on Saturday and approval from Cabinet this morning. He is acting quickly in this regard and will meet the spokespeople tomorrow to discuss a way forward. The Deputy's analysis is correct. There will be a lacuna, a gap period, between the point at which...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The people's decision was loud and clear. We in this Government and this House have heard what they had to say; we want a modern Constitution for a modern people, a Constitution that says we trust women and respect their decisions and choices when it comes to their own healthcare. It is now our responsibility as a Government and Parliament to give effect to the will of the people. The...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is something we will need to talk about on a cross-party basis. We need to be honest and clear about this. It would be the same people working on that legislation. It would be the same Parliament and the same Oireachtas time that would be used up. It would be the same health committee that would have to sit in session and the legislation would have to go to the Seanad as well. The...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There were two scenarios - the referendum being carried or it not being carried. If it had not been carried, obviously there would be no legislation at all. Now that it has been carried, legislation can be introduced. A lot of work was put into the general scheme that was published in March. The planning at the time will make it much easier for the Department of Health and the Attorney...

Leaders' Questions (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The people have indeed spoken in what was a great act of democracy. A very clear majority, more than two thirds of Irish people, voted to amend our Constitution, to remove the eighth amendment and to put a new clause into our Constitution;13 new words that enable us to legislate for abortion in Ireland so that it is legal, safe and, it is to be hoped, rare. It was a resounding result and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: A number of engagements are being planned with my EU and international counterparts over the coming months. Yesterday, I hosted a meeting with the Prime Minister of South Korea, Lee Nak-yeon, here in Dublin and last week, I hosted the Belgian Prime Minister, Charles Michel. I met with Prime Minister May the previous week, when we were both in Sofia for the EU-Western Balkans Summit. I have...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Since 1 January 2018 I have chaired eight Cabinet Committee meetings. In January I chaired meetings of Cabinet Committee A (Economy) and Cabinet Committee G (Justice and Equality); in February Cabinet Committee C (European Union, including Brexit), Cabinet Committee D (Infrastructure) and Cabinet Committee F (National Security); in March Cabinet Committee B (Social Policy and Public...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Programme for Government Implementation (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government recently approved its second Programme for a Partnership Government Annual Report which provides a comprehensive update on the progress since May 2017. The report will be laid before the Oireachtas in the near future.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Programme for Government Initiatives (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In addition to delegation orders that assign responsibility for specific statutory functions, I have also assigned Ministers of State specific responsibilities to progress and implement Programme for Government commitments. Following the appointment of Ministers of State a set of policy priorities was agreed between myself as Taoiseach, Cabinet Ministers and the Ministers of State. On...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Transport (29 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Responsibility for Ministerial transport rests with the Department of Justice and Equality. Since 2011 each Minister now uses their own personal car and can avail of two civilian drivers. As Taoiseach, I am provided with Garda transport and drivers for security reasons. No Minister of State assigned to my Department is provided with Garda transport.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think anybody could describe the members of that group as having been roped into the Government. They almost all vote against us. They are Independents and they take different views on things.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important there would always be lines of communication between the Government and different groups in the Parliament. As the Deputy knows, there is a very strong line of communication between the Government and Fianna Fáil.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister of State with responsibility for defence, Deputy Kehoe, has a role in my Department. I have delegated almost all functions relating to defence to him. The role of the Minister of State, Deputy Breen, within the Department relates to data protection.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The current practice is that all Ministers get advance copies of memos. They are put on eCabinet or provided in writing in advance. The exception is if a memo is secret and on occasion there are secret memos or a memo that is commercially sensitive, for example, an IDA grant or contract that is brought to the table or brought underarm as people describe it. That is done on a case-by-case...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In the meantime, the Minister of State, Deputy Halligan, is taking on the role of de-facto Whip of the Independent Alliance and he is now representing the Independent Alliance on the Business Committee. Previously that function had been carried out by Deputy Canney. There is no written or formal agreement with Deputy Canney but he is continuing to support the Government and we assist him as...