Results 14,481-14,500 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 11, inclusive, together. On the afternoon of 30 April, I travelled to Northern Ireland following my attendance at the fourth plenary meeting of the all-island civic dialogue in Dundalk. I had a number of different engagements during my visit, which was part of my efforts and those of the Government to stay engaged with all parts of society in...

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

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 to 4, inclusive, together. There are currently 207.5 whole-time equivalent staff working in my Department. This compares with 203.5 whole-time equivalent staff on 31 December 2017. My Department is structured around seven main work areas. The breakdown of posts currently in each of these areas is as follows: 29 posts in the international, EU and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The intention is to do exactly what Deputy Martin advocates, namely put in place a strategic plan approved by the Government. Our new target is to publish it before the summer recess. The idea behind this is to expand our embassy and agency presence around the world according to a plan rather than in the ad hocway it has happened in more recent years. Draft versions of the document exist...

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are currently two consultant rheumatologists who care for children with juvenile chronic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and similar conditions. They have been relieved of their duties to look after adult patients in order that they can now concentrate full-time on paediatric patients. The Deputy is quite correct. The international guidelines suggest that we should have six full-time...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Plans to double Ireland’s global footprint by 2025 are advancing. As I have previously stated, that does not necessarily mean a doubling of agencies, embassies, staff or budget – though we are and will be expanding these where appropriate. It means taking the steps necessary to double our impact around the world. The exercise will enhance Ireland’s visibility globally,...

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Work by the OPW on Burnfoot is ongoing. It is hoped that we can make a decision on that in the near future. Just last week, Minister of State Moran and I announced almost €250 million of investment in flood relief works over the next three years, covering 118 projects. Burnfoot is not one of those projects but it can be added to the list. I understand the work is still ongoing.

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I stand over my letter and remarks thanking the HSE and indeed the head of the HSE for the work done during Storm Ophelia and Storm Emma. People in the health service from top to bottom and all the way across did an exemplary job. There are no proposals for Tony O'Brien to have any public service role after he retires from his current position.

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are plans to mark 60 years of service by the Irish Defence Forces in peacekeeping operations around the world. I do not know the detail of them. It is a unique matter of great pride for Ireland that during those 60 years there was not one day on which a member of the Irish Defence Forces was not serving on a UN peacekeeping mission.

Questions on Promised Legislation (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No legislation is promised.

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I strongly disagree with the Deputy. He seems to be assuming that the referendum is over and that the proposition will be defeated. I believe that the referendum and campaign are ongoing. I was on the doors in Clonsilla in my constituency as part of a cross-party canvass, listening to people, hearing their views and answering some of their questions. I believe that this referendum will...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Viability, the point at which a baby is viable outside of the womb, is a clinical judgment. It is not as simple as just saying a certain number of weeks so that has to be a clinical judgement for the doctors concerned taking into account the gestation, the size of the foetus and the weight. Taking those three things into account, the two doctors - there must be two doctors, both of whom are...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I was not aware that Dublin City Council had a role in regulating which posters may be put up and which may not. My local authority in Fingal requires that permission be obtained if one wants to put up a poster advertising a public meeting or such an event outside election time. I had thought it was different during election and referendum campaigns, however, and that all local authorities...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: First, I join with others in welcoming the decision taken by Facebook not to allow advertisements relating to the referendum that are paid for by foreign bodies or foreign entities. That is a welcome measure on its part. While Google has gone a bit further and is not accepting advertisements to do with the referendum altogether, I think Facebook has made the right decision to not accept...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I said yesterday that I do not believe it is right for any politician or party leader to seek to appoint him or herself as the spokesperson for all the people affected, whether it is the 209 women who are part of this audit, their families or the many hundreds of thousands of women who are concerned about the accuracy of their smear tests. I do not think it is right for any politician to...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On the questions which Deputy Micheál Martin asked earlier, which I tried to answer between interruptions, the case against the laboratories is something that we very much have under consideration. If there is not a case against the State and the case is against the laboratory-----

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----a third party or a private body, that creates a difficulty for us, as the State cannot settle or extinguish a case against a third party.

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is something that we are examining now to see what options are available to us.

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The most egregious aspect of this whole affair is that important information about women's health was withheld from them, and that was absolutely wrong. We all know that the audit did not commence until these women had already been diagnosed with cancer and were being treated, so providing them with that information would not have impacted on their treatment. However, they should have been...

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Legal Services Regulatory Authority. These are new laws.

Leaders' Questions (9 May 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is a legislative process which must be undergone and everybody understands that . Legislation must go through the Houses, be enacted and then be commenced. Often a law is enacted and it takes a couple of months, or even longer, for it to be commenced into law.