Results 14,321-14,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Questions on Promised Legislation (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That decision was made back in 2008. I think I had only been a Member of the Dáil for one year at that stage and was not in government. The Minister, Deputy Harris, was not even a Member of the Dáil. The people who were making decisions at the time have told me it was not down to cost; it was down to capacity and the fact that Irish labs were not accredited. Obviously that is...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: They may well be safe but when it comes to any medicine that is bought online, one cannot always be sure it is what it says it is. Obviously, there are legal consequences as well. I think we all agree that it would be safer if they were legal and available here in Ireland. There are two aspects to this conversation that perhaps have not got the recognition or notice they deserve....

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy will be aware that we have a rare disease strategy. I think it was published by the then Minister for Health, James Reilly, a few years ago. One of the recommendations in that was to establish the National Rare Diseases Office, which I had the pleasure of opening during my time as Minister for Health. If one takes rare diseases on their own, they are rare but when one adds them...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister has met the patients affected and their families. He has committed to giving the Deputy an update on the status of approval for Kuvan specifically and also to give an update on funding for the rare diseases office. As a broader issue, the Government acknowledges we have a problem here in that the process by which we approve drugs generally may be inappropriate for orphan drugs...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I know that people will vote on Friday, no matter how they decide to vote, in accordance with their conscience and will do what they believe is right based on the information available to them. I also know, however, that many people have been influenced by hearing some of those individual stories such as Kate and Elaine's or stories about young couples who were forced to travel to Liverpool...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I want to add to what I said earlier by acknowledging the role of smaller parties and indeed Independents in this campaign, whether it is the Green Party, the Social Democrats or others, as well as parties of the left. As regards my constituency colleague, Deputy Coppinger, I want to particularly recognise her early role in putting this matter on the political agenda and raising it in this...

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Micheál Martin made a very good suggestion in appealing to employers to facilitate staff who want to participate in the referendum. I hope there will be a big turnout. In the referendum in 1983, only 55% of people voted. I hope more people will take part in the upcoming referendum, an important exercise in democracy. I very much appeal to employers to allow their staff to make...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We estimate that three women today will order abortion pills online. Three women today will receive them in the post and three women today will take them. No matter what the result is on Friday, or rather, on Saturday when we count the votes, that will continue. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald is correct that these pills did not exist in 1983 but they are around for a number of years now, or are...

Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is really what we need to change in the period ahead.

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I echo the comments of Deputy Martin. When this debate around the referendum started some months ago, I expressed my hope that the debate would be respectful and would never be personalised. With a few exceptions the debate has been broadly respectful of opinions on both sides. In almost all cases, it has not been personalised and that has been welcome. It is very different from the...

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I also thank them for showing leadership within their own parties on this issue, which is not always the easiest thing to do. I have often heard people describe this as the Government's proposal in debates on television and radio. It is a proposal being put forward by the Government, but it is much more than that. It has wide cross-party support and arose from recommendations from an...

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----and Deputy Lisa Chambers, people from my party such as Senator Catherine Noone and Deputy Kate O'Connell, people from the Labour Party and from Sinn Féin, and others. Therefore, while it is a Government proposal it has cross-party support, if not universal support. It had its origins in the Citizens' Assembly-----

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----which was established almost two years ago by my forebear, the former Taoiseach, Deputy Enda Kenny. The assembly took into account the views of 100 citizens who sat through all of the evidence for weeks on end and did not come to their recommendations lightly.

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is a good example of new politics working.

Leaders' Questions (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We listened to citizens, co-operated on an all-party basis and then put a proposal to the people. I confirm what Deputy Martin said. Head 4 in the general scheme refers specifically to viability. It says that terminations will not occur on the grounds of health or risk to the life of the mother if the child can survive outside of the womb. In such cases, doctors will perform an early...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I last met with Prime Minister Viktor Orbán on the 4 January 2018 and reported extensively on this meeting in the Dáil on the 31 January 2018. I have not met with him formally since then, although we both attended the Informal EU Summit and High Level Conference on the Sahel in Brussels in February, the March European Council and the EU-Western Balkans Summit in Sofia last week.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (23 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 80 together. My Department has no contracts with the company in question. The National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) is the only body under the remit of my Department, and it has no contracts with the company in question either.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Estimates Process (22 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is probably only a few hundred thousand left of the original allocation to the SCU apart from what has been allocated or committed already. Deputy Howlin is right to identify that point. The budget was originally to be €5 million but it has been cut in half because the unit is being wound down and will cease to exist in approximately two months' time. Behaviour and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Estimates Process (22 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is now intended to consult the other party leaders on those questions in the next few weeks.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Estimates Process (22 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is a survey that is designed to assess citizens' awareness of Departments and agencies, and what they do, their satisfaction with them and what improvements they would like to see. I look forward to the input of party leaders in suggesting additional questions or amending some of the questions. The outcome will be published for everyone to see. It will be repeated over time to see if...