Results 1,481-1,500 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In response to Deputy Haughey's question, Xavier Bettel, the Luxembourgish Prime Minister, is a very good friend to Ireland and has very good connections to Ireland. As the Deputy mentioned, he learned his English in Malahide as a student. I am not sure if the Deputy would have met him back then. Perhaps he did in Gibney's or somewhere else. Of course, Mr. Bettel has made previous...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Child Poverty (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: In spring 2023 a child poverty and well-being programme office was established in the Department of the Taoiseach. The programme office will focus on six areas: income assistance and joblessness; early learning and childcare; reducing the cost of education; family homelessness; consolidating and integrating public health, family and parental assistance, and well-being services; and enhancing...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: On the Narrow Water Bridge, €2 million has been provided for the completion of the tender process for the bridge from the shared island fund. Louth County Council commenced the tender process in April and is due to conclude in October so hopefully it will be awarded this year or early next year. The Government will be appraised of the outcome of the tender and project costs. We will...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 2 and 3 together. I met with the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel, in Government Buildings on 13 June as part of his visit to Dublin to celebrate Luxembourg’s national day. Luxembourg and Ireland enjoy excellent bilateral relations. In my meeting with Prime Minister Bettel I thanked him for his Government’s decision to open a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: If it is okay, I will come back to the Deputy with a further reply. I am not exactly sure where that legislation is and whether there is still time to consider amendments or not.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will come back to the Deputy with a further reply, if that is okay.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know it would be a matter of concern to people as they head off for their summer holidays, or are travelling for business or family reasons, that we could have activity at our airports disrupted by drone activity. I understand that, as the Deputy said, the equipment has been procured by the DAA. There is a regulatory issue still to be...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: A shared island dialogue was held on 16 June at Dublin City University on the role of education in connecting communities across the island of Ireland. Some 150 education, civil society and political representatives from North and South participated in the event. The dialogue considered achievements and shortcomings of educations systems in bringing communities together over the last 25...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will certainly make inquiries with the HSE about the matter. We have approved a budget for the HSE to recruit an additional 6,000 staff this year. That is on top of the 20,000 additional staff who had been hired since the Government came into office. I do not know exactly why the radiology department in Mullingar has not been allocated staff from 6,000. I will make inquiries and come...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of endometriosis, which has received much more public attention in recent years. That is a very good thing because it is a disease that is often unrecognised and under-diagnosed for many different reasons. We are making significant efforts to improve gynaecological services in general. I might prepare a note for the Deputy on that. I do not want to...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Which fund is it?

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is unfortunate that the Kerry-Tyrone match will not be televised either on RTÉ or on TG4 this weekend. I appreciate that not all matches can be televised but I would have anticipated that the biggest matches and those that command the most interest should be. I understand that Ms Forbes has resigned as a director of GAAGO, but I do not know if there was any conflict of interest.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Government has not made any decision on pay increases for senior civil servants or the CEOs of State companies. That is not to say that requests are not made. People at all levels will look for pay increases, particularly when general pay is rising across the economy and the cost of living is also rising. Any decision we make will be subject to recommendations from an independent...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely support that. I had a chance to meet Dr. Ní Shúilleabháin a few weeks ago when she presented the report to me in my office. 1 o’clock I would be very keen that the Oireachtas committee would take a look at the report and do as other Oireachtas committees did, that is, break it down into recommendations that we can act on, and then the Government will...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy knows, both today and tomorrow, RTÉ executives and board members will be before committees. I see no reason why they should not put any information in respect of that payment in the public domain as soon as possible. I do not understand why it should take four weeks for the Grant Thornton report to be completed. However, there may be good reasons that I just do not know...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy very much for her question. We already have legislation protecting workers from victimisation in the context of trade union activity. We are developing new legislation to put into our Irish law the EU directive on collective bargaining and national minimum wages. I will not be writing to any Russian oligarchs, quite frankly,. I certainly will not be writing to one...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: My apologies, but I do not have a response to that question. I will come back to the Deputy by way of correspondence.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We still have not finalised the regional health areas. It is intended that they will be established next year. There will always be different opinions as to where the boundaries are drawn. We had that with the hospital groups, and we will certainly have it with the regional health areas. The intention is never to suck resources into the biggest hospital in the area; it is to make sure...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The Minister for Health is keen to engage with community pharmacists about fees and about what additional services they might be willing to provide in return for improved fees. That is a conversation they are up for. They did a very good job on the vaccine programme and have risen to many challenges that we have asked them to rise to. I cannot give the Deputy a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (28 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. This matter falls under the responsibility of the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan. I will ask him to prepare a detailed reply for Deputy Crowe.