Results 15,401-15,420 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: What was Deputy O'Reilly's question on legislation?
- Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I have not seen that legislation and do not think anyone else has either.I am unaware of its having been published. However, I will give it full consideration when it is published, as the Government does for any legislation put forward in good faith,-----
- Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----in order to examine it for constitutionality, effectiveness and unintended adverse consequences. Once the legislation is available, the Government will examine it.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I am afraid I am unable to answer the Deputy's question because I do not have information on that specific project to hand.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If, when asking a question on Leaders' Questions in future, the Deputy gives us 24 or 48 hours' notice, I will endeavour to get the relevant information in order that we can give him a detailed reply, which I would like to be able to do.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: In terms of the bigger picture, I am advised that €3 billion has been provided in the capital budget for Irish Water between now and 2021 and, on foot of Project Ireland 2040, our national development plan approved by Cabinet last Friday, an additional commitment of an extra €5 billion for Irish Water is to be provided from 2021 to 2027. There is €8 billion for Irish...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Once it is announced, I am sure the Deputy will hear all about it. The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government has just passed me a note to say that he will look at it and get back to the Deputy before the end of the week with an update.
- Questions on Promised Legislation (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Finance will be speaking on this matter later today. The Deputy will be aware that it is already the law that loans can only be sold on to a company that is regulated or has an agent that is regulated. We are considering whether we need to amend the law to strengthen regulation in this area. Under the relationship framework that exists between the commercial banks and the...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Welfare fraud is very real. It is a real problem in this country and in every western society. Even if we take the lowest estimate of the scale of welfare fraud in this country, it is about €40 million a year. That is a lot of money in my view. Let us not forget that people who engage in welfare fraud are not the poor and vulnerable. They are people who are pretending to be poor...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: They are people who are working, not paying their taxes on that work, and also claiming welfare at the same time. I do not believe that is defensible or acceptable. There are people who are pretending to have a disability they do not have or pretending to care for someone for whom they are not caring. People are claiming to be somebody they are not to claim pensions for people who are...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It is absolutely the work of this Government-----
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----to prevent and crack down on welfare fraud in any way we can. One only needs to look at the court reports every other day to see the detail of some of those cases and what people have been doing to defraud our system. The reason we cracked down on welfare fraud is not ideological. The reason is that fraud is wrong, whether it is tax fraud or welfare fraud, and we act against it. In...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I am very disappointed to hear politicians on the left continuously equivocating on this issue and not condemning welfare fraud. I note that the Deputy did not do so on this occasion. Tackling unemployment is one of the areas in which everyone acknowledges we have seen a real turnaround in recent years. Unemployment peaked at 15% and is now down at approximately 6%. Long-term unemployment...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Colombia is where the refugees are.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I said that even the lowest estimate is €40 million. I note the Deputy has not refuted that.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: The figure of €500 million was what it said on the tin, that is fraud and control. Fraud and control. They are two different things.
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: On the whole issue of JobPath, we must look at the counterfactual analysis. People who are long-term unemployed can be referred down a number of different routes. They can have assistance through the Intreo service provided by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection; they can be assisted through JobPath, which is outsourced to two companies; or they can be referred to...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It is important to note how the companies are paid. They get a registration fee per client referred to them but after that they only get paid if the person gets a full-time job and sustains it. The incentive is there for the companies not just to get people into any old job, but to get them into full-time jobs which they can sustain for more than 13 weeks. The longer the person keeps that...
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: Where would we be today if the policies of the hard left had been followed in this country?
- Leaders' Questions (21 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: There would be mass unemployment and mass emigration.