Results 14,821-14,840 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: ------and discovered that only a small fraction of that €417 million has been spent by the local authorities. The reason I have been given for it not being spent is that local authorities have not been able to get out on the roads to repair them because of the bad weather. Now that the weather is getting warmer and the sun is starting to come out, I expect local authorities to begin...

Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thought I had covered that in my answer but I am happy to reply again. The ODCE has a staff complement of 36 and, in addition to that, there are seven gardaí. Four positions are being recruited for. There is no request for further staff in addition to those four who are being recruited. As part of the white-collar crime package, which the former Minister, Deputy Fitzgerald, and I...

Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can give a commitment to the Deputy that I will speak to the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment with a view to giving consideration to legislation in this area. It might be something the Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment could consider.

Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I do not know the answers to the questions she raises either, which is why it is important that we allow the director and the ODCE to do their work. The matter is before the courts. Anyone has the right to challenge a decision in the courts if that person has a locus standi. With regard to resources, 36 staff are in place in the Office of the Director of Corporate...

Leaders' Questions (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. To answer it, given recent revelations we will have to consider legislation in this area to protect sources. I am not aware of any legislation being drafted currently by the Government and I have not seen any by the Opposition in the form of Private Members' Bills in the past two years, but perhaps the time has come for the Government...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 to104, inclusive, and 107, 108 and 117 together. On 27 March 2018, the Government noted the comprehensive Review of the Operation of the Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) completed by the Secretary General to the Government, and accepted its recommendations. Having taken a wide range of issues into consideration, as set out in the Review report, the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Allowances (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not receive an allowance in respect of my role as Minister for Defence. I am in receipt of one office holder allowance - in respect of my role as Taoiseach.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: National Security Committee (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Having regard to the confidential nature of the National Security Committee, it would not be appropriate to disclose information about the dates of individual meetings or about its proceedings. The Committee is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government and comprises representatives at the highest level of the Departments of Justice & Equality, Defence and Foreign Affairs...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Training (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 110 and 111 together. No training has been delivered in my Department on the use of social media and no media training on the use of social media has been provided to me or officials in my Department. My Department did, however, recently run a training session on Mobile Journalism which was attended by officials from other Government Departments. Company...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee F last met on 8 February and was attended by Ministers and Senior Officials from the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform; Foreign Affairs and Trade; Justice and Equality; Health; Communications, Climate Action and Environment; Transport, Tourism and Sport; Housing, Planning and Local Government; and Defence. Also in attendance were key personnel from...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not engaged any social media consultants. A company was engaged in January of this year to provide mobile journalism training to press officers from Government Departments. This training concentrated on the effective use of mobile photo, video and audio recording equipment. Company Details Amount Glen Mulcahy T/A Titanium Media Mobile Journalism Training (January 2018)...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has awarded no contracts to the company in question.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Project Ireland 2040 Expenditure (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The campaign for Project Ireland 2040 all events and activities had an indicative budget of €1.5 million. Of this indicative budget, to date, the Department has committed to spending almost €500,000 on this campaign. The following table sets out the the overall indicative budget and the spend to date in each category: Project Ireland 2040 Media Budget Breakdown (ex VAT) ...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: During the period in question, just one consultancy company was engaged by my Department. The details are set out in the table below: Year Company Details Amount 2015 RA Consulting Design & Implementation of a Staff Consultation Initiative €9,298.80 My Department has not had a requirement for this specific type of consultancy since 2015 because my Department participates...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Law Reform Commission (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: My Department has not enacted or published any legislation which originated in work carried out by the Law Reform Commission in the past 10 years.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: State Visits (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Since 2014 my Department has assisted with five State Visits to Ireland. The President of the Republic of Mozambique visited in June 2014, the President of the Federal Republic of Germany visited in July 2015, the President of Cyprus visited in October 2016, the President of the Republic of Croatia visited in April 2017 and President of the Italian Republic visited in February 2018. The...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff Data (17 Apr 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There are no temporary Clerical Officers or temporary Clerical Assistants employed by my Department.

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised) (29 Mar 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the opportunity to appear before the select committee as it considers the 2018 Estimates for Votes 1 to 6, inclusive. The committee has been supplied with a detailed briefing document on the various Votes. I will briefly outline the work of my Department and its proposed 2018 Estimate, as well as outlining the proposed 2018 Estimate allocations for the President’s...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised) (29 Mar 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Are you taking the questions in groups, Chairman?

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2018
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 4 - Central Statistics Office (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Office of the Chief State Solicitor (Revised) (29 Mar 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Doherty's question is how can he take seriously that homelessness is a Government priority. Deputy Doherty can take us seriously is several ways on that point. First, a new Department has been dedicated mainly to housing, planning and local government. This change involved taking functions out of that Department and moving them to another Department so that the new Department could...