Results 15,481-15,500 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am very much aware of quite a lot of people around the country, in the city but certainly not just in the city, who bought apartments and houses that are now in need of substantial repair. Obviously, those people bought those homes in good faith - they are not all homes and quite a lot of them are buy-to-let properties but in many ways that is beside the point. People who bought those...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, informed the Cabinet last week that this might be coming down the tracks as an issue. We were not given any details as none are yet available and there was no Cabinet decision on the matter. It was solely for information. The Bill being sponsored by the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, is at an advanced point and is being taken up by the Minister...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: One person's loosening of financial regulation could be another person's relaxation of financial regulation. From calls for 97% mortgages to be offered by the State to people who have been refused mortgages-----

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to calls now for the loosening of financial regulation, it is strange to hear that coming from a Labour Party and a centre-left party.

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is calling for looser financial regulation and 97% mortgages for people who have been refused loans. Regulation has to be dynamic and I am aware that the SSM is considering the way split mortgages are classified. Perhaps a decision will be made to change those regulations. If we are going to loosen financial regulations, make credit more available and bring back 97% mortgages, we should...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy is correct. Distressed mortgage holders are under enough stress so we should not add to that unnecessarily by causing them undue concern. As I said, PTSB has not sold any of these loans. It has not identified a prospective buyer. It is an assumption by some people that that buyer will be an unregulated so-called vulture fund. That may not be the case. It may turn out to be a...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As it is Deputy McDonald's first occasion here in her new role as president of Sinn Féin, I take this opportunity to congratulate her on her election to that office. I know what it feels like to be elected to the leadership of a party one has worked in for decades, and I congratulate her. Becoming president of her party must be a very proud moment for her, her family and her...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to acknowledge that there is a range of protections already in place for mortgage holders and borrowers. For example, even if a loan is sold on, the full contractual rights are retained and follow on to the new owner. The Consumer Protection (Regulation of Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2015 was designed to protect borrowers whose loans are sold on to unregulated entities....

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: That is something we are willing to discuss with the party opposite and take into consideration. There is also a code of conduct on mortgage arrears which remains in place after the sale of any loans to the bank. The code says that the lender may only commence legal proceedings for repossession of a borrower's primary residence where the lender has made every reasonable effort under the...

Leaders' Questions (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Micheál Martin and the Fianna Fáil Party for raising this issue. I know there is considerable concern about it at the moment. It is important to put some facts on the table before we begin this discussion. First, Permanent TSB has not yet sold any of these loans. It has not yet put them on the market and it has not found a buyer. There is an assumption that the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Websites (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The gov.iewebsite is not coordinated by my Department. The gov.iewebsite is managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). It is planned that later in the year Government Department websites will begin migration to gov.ie.Once my Department has been migrated to gov.ie, taoiseach.gov.ie will no longer be maintained. Merrionstreet.ie will continue in its role as...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Properties (20 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The properties occupied by my Department and the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) - the only body under the aegis of my Department - are provided and managed by the Office of Public Works. No property is owned, part-owned or under the control of either my Department or NESDO.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The full alignment refers to Northern Ireland and it does not refer to the entire United Kingdom. I suspect that when Mr. Johnson was making his speech, he had the United Kingdom and perhaps only England in mind rather than Northern Ireland. Maintaining full alignment in the backstop in paragraphs 49 and 50 only refers to-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It only refers to Northern Ireland from our perspective. Even when it refers to both ways, it is between Northern Ireland and Britain; it is alignment between Northern Ireland and the European Union, of which Ireland is part, and alignment between Northern Ireland and Britain. It is a reference to Northern Ireland and not the entire United Kingdom. On the Luas cross city project, it is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: On Brexit, while I do not like to state the obvious, sometimes it may be necessary to do so. Brexit is not our policy. We opposed it at the time and we are still opposed to it. It is a decision of the British people and their Government and it is not under the control of this Government, any future Government or the House to tell the British Government and people what to do. However, we...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Sinn Féin just did if Deputy Martin wants to check the blacks.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: In terms of the Copenhagen Economics report, it does not quite say what Deputy Martin Kenny indicated it says. It tells us that Brexit will be bad for Ireland and the economy. I do not believe we needed another report to tell us that but this report helps to quantify the issue. It does not say there will be a new recession or economic crisis or that anyone's pay will be cut. What it says...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am in the hands of Deputies.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The questions come so quickly, I do not have time to write all of them down but I take a note of as many as I can. To respond to some of the questions on housing, the Minister seated beside me, the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has indicated that if there are particularly sensitive individual cases specifically involving pregnant women, there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Programme for Government Review (14 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No, nor did she tell me about any of the other speeches.