Results 14,781-14,800 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It does not appear to me that this is sensitive information or confidential information. It may be the case that the PR executive or the lobbyist claimed it was, but that is part of what lobbyists do. They often take information that is publicly available or easily available and present it as being confidential in some way.

Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and Broadcasting Authority of Ireland act and make their decisions independently. The Minister has clearly stated all previous decisions were based solely on the advice provided by his officials. He has reiterated that he had adhered to that approach in this case as well. What he said was that he would follow the advice of his officials....

Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, will make a statement to the House this afternoon on the matter referred to in The Irish Timesin respect of the proposed acquisition of the Celtic Media group by INM. I have not seen the affidavit and do not think anyone in this House has. As it is a matter before the courts and sub judice, it would not be appropriate for me to comment on...

Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister, Deputy Denis Naughten, contacted me and my staff last night to inform us that the story would appear in the newspapers today and I have spoken to him since. I still do not have all the facts and nobody does. None of us has seen the affidavit.

Leaders' Questions (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The matter is before the courts. It is fair to say it would have been better if this conversation had not happened, but I am satisfied that the Minister did not give any confidential information. There seems to be a misunderstanding of the nature of the process. It is not secret. Guidelines on it are publicly available on the Department's website and the same guidelines were subject to a...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Bioenergy Strategy (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government recognises the contribution that the bioeconomy can make in promoting the more efficient use of renewable resources and supporting sustainable economic development and employment in rural Ireland. In order to fully realise this potential, an Interdepartmental Group, bringing together the departments involved in the bioeconomy and chaired by my Department, was established in...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On 1stMarch last, I requested that the Secretary General of my Department conduct a review into the operations of the SCU. The report from this review was accepted by Government on 27thMarch last and published on the same date. This is now being implemented. In accordance with the report, there will be a managed reversion to the more traditional GIS model, with a transition period until July...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (18 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 68 to 73, inclusive, together. A number of the planned media arrangements for Project Ireland 2040 had been paused pending the outcome of the review into the operation of the Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) by the Secretary General of my Department.This included additional media content partnership arrangements and national and regional radio campaigns....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There should be fewer questions and more time to answer them.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Leaving party politics aside, when one has three minutes in which to answer 17 questions, one will only be able to answer two or three of them.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: To give an example, Questions Nos. 6 to 9, inclusive, were grouped together. Those questions were to ask the Taoiseach when Cabinet committee B will next meet and when it last met. It is fair to group those questions together but there still was not sufficient time to answer them because they were omnibus questions.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can try to answer the rest of the questions.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 17, inclusive, together. I travelled to Berlin on 20 March for a bilateral meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel as part of my strategic engagement with our European partners. We discussed preparations for the March European Council, including Brexit, trade, Economic and Monetary Union, EMU, and the tax challenges of digitalisation. I also took the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will cover as many as I can. I will begin with Deputy Howlin's questions on the roadmap to pensions reform that has been agreed and published by Government. I am committed to this. I started this work as Minister for Social Protection and I am keen to drive it through to completion if I have the opportunity to continue in my current office. We have run into some difficulty getting it...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I wish I could.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The forecast is looking good for the next few days anyway. I am looking forward to it. It is going to be a good weekend. Notwithstanding speculation in newspapers, the Government's overall budget policy remains unchanged. It is to be prudent first of all and to continue to reduce the deficit. We still have a deficit so we will continue to reduce it and also the debt. While our debt...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is ours as well.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Great minds think alike sometimes. It is a good proposal because we do not want to go back to the mistakes of the past whereby, in a downturn or slowdown, public spending was reigned in and people were asked to pay more taxes at the worst time for them.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In terms of what is available to allocate in the budget, it is important to state most of what may appear as so-called fiscal space is already allocated. We have already announced that capital expenditure will increase by €1.5 billion next year. That means extra money for housing and health care, such as the children's hospital. The cost of that really falls into next year. There...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: ----- increase in the number of students in school, and after a number of very difficult years, the number of prefabs has been reduced to 1,325. That contrasts significantly with the position in 2008, when there were more children in prefabs but fewer children in school. At that time, there was a much worse situation than currently. With regard to the capital allocation for education,...