Results 14,461-14,480 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I have not yet given any consideration to establishing a special committee to consider the report of the Citizens' Assembly on climate change. I am open to the idea, but I imagine that Deputy Hildegarde Naughton's committee would be able to do that work. I am, however, open to the suggestion of establising a special committee if Members believe there should be a discrete committee. As the...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I had thought participation in sport was increasing. I know a sports monitor is produced every year and at least for a while it had been increasing by approximately 1% a year, but perhaps young people drop off from it as they hit teenage years, which is definitely a big problem particularly among girls who have relatively high participation rates when they are young but in their teenage...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Connolly who was very kind to compliment me on my Irish. I am doing my best although I have a long way to go. It is fine when one is prepared, knows what the questions will be and what one will say. I find it very hard to speak on the hoof however and as yet lack the confidence to do a dynamic interview in Irish without knowing the questions in advance. Certainly, I will...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will revert to Deputy Connolly on the issue of the action plan. I have not yet seen a draft, which leads me to believe that the plan may not be as advanced as it should be. I usually see drafts a couple of weeks or months before a document is published or goes to Cabinet. I will raise the matter with the Minister of State, Deputy Joe McHugh, when I see him tomorrow. I am encouraged by...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I was trying to work that out earlier.

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The same applies to Cabinet meetings, but nobody seems to mind.

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On the last point, I would be happy to consider that. I believe it should continue for the duration of this Oireachtas. It is an issue of huge importance and interest to the public. One of the things that is positive when it comes to mental health is that the stigma about talking about it has largely gone away. People are willing to talk about mental health in a way that was not the case...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is to be a joined-up policy, is there not?

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is to be published, is it not?

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I hear what the Senator is saying. I know from my constituency clinic and service that it is difficult to enable children in my constituency to get access to CAMHS quickly. I cannot commit here and now to the establishment of a task force. Obviously, I would have to discuss it with the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly. If I knew that it would work, of...

Working Group of Committee Chairmen: Matters of Public Policy: Discussion with Taoiseach (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It does, and on what authority they have. I know we will be meeting in the next few weeks. We might be able to flesh it out a bit more then.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Personnel Data (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure the Deputy that the Defence Forces are fully aware of the importance of providing robust supports for personnel who require them, whatever the reason. A range of medical and non-medical services are provided to ensure that Defence Forces personnel are medically fit to undertake the duties assigned to them and to treat any medical condition that may arise. As a matter of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Medical Services (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can assure the Deputy that the health and safety of the men and women of the Defence Forces is a high priority for me. Given the robust nature of military life and the unique physical and psychological demands it places on individuals, it is necessary that the members of the Defence Forces are physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenges of all military operations. The State has...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces Representative Organisations (10 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Conciliation and Arbitration scheme for members of the Permanent Defence Force provides a formal mechanism for the Permanent Defence Force Representative Associations, that is PDFORRA and RACO, to engage with the Official side. Having regard to commitments made under pay agreements, members of the Permanent Defence Force can make representations in relation to their pay and conditions...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to re-establish the Executive and the Assembly in Northern Ireland. Obviously there is the DUP-Sinn Féin dynamic. There is a real trust issue there. There is mistrust between those two parties which is making it extremely difficult to come to an agreement. I am not sure what the two Governments can do to engender trust between the DUP and Sinn Féin but we will certainly do...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There has not been a formal telephone call or meeting between the two of us in about six weeks, nor has there been a request for one in either direction. A meeting is under consideration for next week, if we are both able to be in Sofia at the same time. I will also travel to Romania on the way to Bulgaria to meet the Romanian President as part of the contacts we are building up in the EU...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I again wish to place on the record the fact that I try to answer as many questions as I possibly can in the time allowed. However, I think any reasonable person would agree that it takes longer to answer a question than it does to ask it, so there is a substantial imbalance in the time allowed to ask questions and the time provided to answer them. I must admit that I do not always know the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----there are approximately ten or 12 in the Northern Ireland section, ten or 12 in the EU section, and a smaller number - six or seven - in the international section. I explained the €2.5 million in contracts yesterday. There are two streams as to how Government will operate campaigns. There are those that are directed by Government, matters we think people know about such as,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It made sense to proceed with that and other matters, such as Healthy Ireland, another cross-Government campaign to which this Administration is very committed. We do not need a survey to tell us that people need to know more about the benefits of good health or that they would benefit from good health. However, there are areas of information deficits, and part of the citizens' survey,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----financial matters and the economy. In the context of the way I structure the work of my advisers, each holds several portfolios. For example, my chief of staff, who is also one of my policy advisers, covers areas involving the economy, finance and infrastructure. It is a case of getting the balance right. The role of the Taoiseach is to drive Government, drive the implementation...