Results 15,141-15,160 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I answered that. What I said in the first section of my initial answer is that the report is not ready yet. It is the same group of people who are doing the report who are dealing with the emergencies, and it has not been prepared yet.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The events of last week overtook that but it will be ready. I have asked the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Projection to continue to work together to review the guidance. From practical experience of having been through this in the past couple of weeks, it is not as simple as offering a blanket instruction to...
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----but also the 15 people working in that unit, are having allegations made against them and are having their reputations questioned but yet no evidence whatsoever is presented to back that up. All there is to it is a series of claims about an agency with which the Government did not even have a direct contract. That is the truth of it.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: At the outset, I join Deputy Howlin in showing my appreciation, respect and gratitude to our emergency services and the work they have done in the past several days. I was in the ambulance base in Wexford on Friday and met that paramedic, and he told me the story of how he trekked across the snow.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Sorry?
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I probably-----
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I probably did not, because it was the last thing on my mind.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Upsetting the egos of politicians really has not been on my mind for the last couple of days.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I have been far too busy dealing with a national emergency and matters of state such as Brexit to organise invitations to Deputies personally in order that they felt included but I do genuinely apologise to the Deputy if his dignity was offended-----
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----in any way by not being invited along to an ambulance base in his own constituency, a few metres from where his office is.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Before somebody answers a charge one is actually supposed to present some evidence to back up the charge and then the person can respond to it.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If the Deputy has any evidence of that effect I ask her to present it. She quoted some correspondence between Media Force and an unknown media organisation. What she did not say was that was an email that predated the establishment of the SCU. She implies it came from the SCU.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: What she did not say is it related to Creative Ireland, which was an arts campaign - and a relatively uncontroversial arts campaign - that had no connection with Project Ireland 2040. If that is not spin and innuendo what is spin and innuendo? To present something that predated the SCU that was about a different campaign as somehow being the same as Project Ireland 2040 and as somehow being...
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----and to make allegations about a fourth party, a subcontractor, and somehow imply that what was done by a subcontractor must have been done by officials in my Department is pure spin. That is pure conjecture. It is also a slur, in my opinion.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I would really rue the day when I was respected by Deputy McDonald. We see what she means by respect-----
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----when she speaks about a public servant in that way. It is not that long ago that Deputy McDonald stood up in this Chamber and accused any number of people of having Ansbacher accounts and offshore accounts and they did not have them. She has yet to apologise for having done that. Once again, she has stood up here in this Chamber and maligned people who are not in this Chamber and I...
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I understand in relation to this matter a complaint has been made to the Standards in Public Office Commission. It is chaired by a High Court judge. It is independent. It is the guardian of the standards Acts, the ethics Acts and also the electoral Acts. That is the best body in my view to carry out any independent investigation. I am happy to answer any case that needs to be answered if...
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: In relation to committees, I believe there are three committees looking for me to go before them. The committee I will go before is the one on finance, public expenditure and reform and Taoiseach. That is the one for my Department which, of course, covers the Estimates. I understand the kind of thing that is going on here, which is try to inflict political damage on me and on the...
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: To state some facts, the budget for mental health this year is approximately €900 million. It has increased by €150 million or €200 million in recent years. One can argue about how much the increase was but it was certainly a lot more than €5 million. It was probably closer to €35 million.
- Leaders' Questions (6 Mar 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Therefore, I am not sure whether Deputy McDonald's assertions count as fake news or spin but they are certainly untrue. The €5 million budget came out of my Department's administrative allocation. My Department is one of the few Departments that had their budgets reduced for 2018, and I imagine that €5 million budget will be reduced further, if not eliminated altogether,...