Results 1,461-1,480 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----every adult over 70 and people with medium incomes or less will have free GP care.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: That is a huge step forward.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: For the first time in the history of our State, that will be the case. The reason the Deputy has lost control again, and is shouting and interrupting me, is he does not want to hear the facts.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Let me give the Deputy another fact. He advocates for the National Health Service system, which is the system his party ran in Northern Ireland for a long time when it comes to health, but does he know that Irishmen and Irishwomen live two years longer than is the case in Britain? Does he know, for example-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----that when you adjust for disability and life years, Ireland outperforms Northern Ireland, England, Wales and Scotland?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Does he know, for example, that waiting lists in Ireland, high as they are, are 66% lower than in Northern Ireland, where the Deputy's party ran the health service for most of 20 years, and 84% lower than in England? Why does he want to adopt systems we know do not work?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Of course we need to do more for people facing homelessness. It is important to bear in mind that while 12,000 people in emergency accommodation provided by the State are homeless, they are not the same people. We are lifting people out of homelessness all the time. It is important to bear that in mind, too. Of course, there is more we need to do, but the summer economic statement is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We would not be talking about full employment. We would be talking about how we would find money to pay jobseeker's benefit. We would not be talking about record levels of trade and investment. We would be talking about a budget deficit, how we are going to borrow the money to close that deficit at what the interest rate would be, and how we would curtail spending and increase taxes to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The situation is as simple as this. If we had followed Sinn Féin's economic policies for the past 12 years, we would have higher levels of unemployment, lower incomes, higher taxes, less money to spend on pensions and welfare-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and less money to invest in public services and infrastructure. As a result of that, we would have more homelessness, bigger problems in the health service and, rather than having more citizens coming home every year, which has been the case for the past three years, we would have more citizens leaving the State. The Deputy mentioned the challenges in health and housing and I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. At approximately 4.30 p.m., the Government will publish the summer economic statement which sets out, as the Deputy said, the fiscal parameters for budget 2024, that is, the budget package for next year, which will be announced in October. I am satisfied that it provides the kind of multibilllion euro response required to help families with the cost of living, providing...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Consultations (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach has incurred no expenditure on consultancy services to date in 2023.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Staff from the Department of the Taoiseach were invited to participate, alongside staff from across the Civil and Public Service, in the Dublin Pride parade on 24th June 2023. For staff attending, flags and t-shirts were purchased at a total cost of €145.35.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cross-Border Co-operation (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As provided for in the Programme for Government, we are progressing the Shared Island initiative, to benefit the whole island by working with all communities and traditions for a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. The Government has so far allocated almost €250m from the Shared Island Fund for all-island projects. With this resourcing we are moving ahead with...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Policies (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Since 27 June 2020, the Department of the Taoiseach has been working with Government Departments to progress key national priorities set out in the Programme for Government through the work programmes of the Cabinet Committees established: ·implementation of the Housing for All plan, including recent extra measures to make it cheaper to build and refurbish homes, speed up home building...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Disadvantaged Status (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In Spring 2023, a Child Poverty and Well-Being Programme Office was established in the Department of the Taoiseach. Government decided that the Programme Office will focus on six priority areas. These are: 1.Income assistance and joblessness 2.Early learning and childcare 3.Reducing the cost of education 4.Family homelessness 5.Consolidating and integrating public health, family...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Funding (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The table below details expenditure by my Department on advertising from 2013 to the 30th June 2023. Since 2020, under the estimates processes, a specific allocation had been provided to the Department of the Taoiseach for COVID-19 Public Communications. Total Advertising expenditure RTE Advertising expenditure 2013 €68,128 ...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Sports Funding (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach does not provide nor operate any such funding or grant schemes.

Pre-European Council Meeting: Statements (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will participate in the June meeting of the European Council in Brussels tomorrow and Friday. The agenda will cover Ukraine, economic issues, security and defence, migration, and external relations. In his remarks later, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will deal with external relations issues other than Ukraine and China. At our meeting, Heads of State and Government will discuss...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Child Poverty (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Regarding the report of the Joint Committee on Autism, I thank its members, including its Chair, Senator Carrigy. I intend to meet him one to one in the next couple of weeks to sit down, go through all of the recommendations and identify which ones we can make progress on quickly. The “no wrong door” principle is a good one. How...