Results 15,441-15,460 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It includes the universities. It is not the case that the European Investment Bank has nothing to do with the Government.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: A governor of the EIB is appointed by the Government, and EIB is also-----
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----capitalised by the Government. In terms of the identity piece, I do not know the details on that but I understand that it may relate to an attempt to pull together the different ways in which we market Ireland abroad. Tourism Ireland, the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Bord Bia all have different messages.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It might make sense, particularly in the run up to the St. Patrick's Day period and all of the business that Ministers and others will undertake during that period, that we try to have a common brand or picture of Ireland. Other countries have done it. New Zealand has done it very successfully, without having seven or eight different agencies telling a different story about the country but...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----message. I advise Deputies, if they want to move beyond point-scoring, to have a look at what New Zealand did in terms of creating a common identity.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: If the Deputy would like I can arrange that.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Seanad Reform (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3, 4 and 5 together. As I outlined in my recent speech to Seanad Éireann, I have decided that an implementation group on Seanad reform should be established with an eight month mandate to consider the Manning report and develop specific proposals to legislate for Seanad reform. I propose that the implementation group comprise Members of the Oireachtas...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Seanad Reform (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: On the issue of the chairmanship, the chair has not been nominated as yet. The matter is still under consideration. I am not entirely sure if it necessarily falls to me to appoint a chair. It is possible that the committee could elect its own chair, but-----
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: My Department is structured around seven main work areas. The breakdown of the staff currently assigned to each of these is as follows: 24.3 staff are assigned to the international, EU and Northern Ireland division. They are the staff who mainly deal with Brexit but obviously they are very much supported by and work very closely with the hundreds of staff who work for the Department of...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: There are 15. Staffing is complete. I cannot tell Deputies exactly who does what out of those various staff-----
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----but the director, John Concannon, obviously directs the work of the unit.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: They do not engage in any political advertising. They have been very clear on that. The Deputy opposite may be particularly interested to know that the last time a national development plan was launched and communicated to the public - it is important that we do tell the public what we as a Government are doing - was in 2007. At that time, the then Government made a decision to set aside a...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: -----the content of the 2007 plan, including for advertising. Interestingly enough, a body called the strategic communication group was established to monitor it all. It was certainly not my idea. I got it from-----
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I learned from the masters of political communication. That is a strength, not a weakness.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: In the area of corporate affairs, there are 27.4 staff. There are 8.1 staff assigned to information and records management. There is no marketing unit at present. The staff of my Department includes services staff and those who are assigned to the private offices, constituency offices, the press office and also internal audit. I think I have enough staff. The staff complement of the...
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: There was. There were ads for many things.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I imagine that my Department did so. My Department is organising the strategic communications for the Government.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It did; I know it did. I must say there were ads for many other things and it is not unusual for Government agencies and Departments to take out advertising.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: I was not sure what to make of the film, a Cheann Comhairle.
- Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff Data (20 Feb 2018)
Leo Varadkar: It was good but it was hard to warm to the heroine at all.