Results 15,601-15,620 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Luas cross-city project was completed on time and under budget. It is a programme for Government commitment that has been fully honoured. It connects the existing Luas lines, as well as the Luas lines to the Maynooth line at Broombridge, thereby providing lots of travelling options for lots of people. There are evident problems with new signalling equipment, the size of the trams and...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It was raised 45 minutes ago. At least give me notice.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: A past master.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I addressed this issue in my answers to previous questions. The daft.ie report published today does not cover the majority of people who are renting and who are protected by the rent pressure zones and face increases of 4% or less. While the Government has heard the suggestions put forward by Deputy Boyd Barrett and his colleagues, which would essentially involve the Government intervening...

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: To respond to the original question asked by the leader of the Opposition, I have confirmed that September was five months ago. The report was, therefore, published between four and a half and five months ago. There are only five short-term proposals, the first being the restoration of mortgage interest relief, which is being done on the basis of an annual increase of 5%.

Order of Business (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The second proposal was to exclude landlords from the local property tax. The Government does not believe it would be fair to exempt landlords from the local property tax when everyone else has to pay it. Perhaps that is Fianna Fáil policy.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is not quite correct to say model 2 hospitals are being starved of funding. I may be wrong about this but I believe every hospital, be it a model 3 or model 2 hospital, saw its budget increase last year and the year before. Therefore, the Deputy's statement is probably incorrect. I would imagine that the Minister, Deputy Harris, can provide the numbers to back me up. I have never...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I am informed by the Minister for Health that funding has now been extended to Roscommon hospital to extend the period of service of its medical assessment unit from five days per week to seven days per week. I imagine there will be a lag period in making that happen as staff are recruited and rosters are changed but that is very much under way. The Deputy is absolutely correct. Model 2...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Rebuilding Ireland was never supposed to be a plan that would work in six months, nine months or one year. It is a multiannual plan to be funded in a five to six-year timeframe. The nature of a five or ten-year plan is such that it will not work after five or six months or one year. The Deputy asked why does the Government not just get building. That is exactly what we are doing. The...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We need to ensure that any changes that we make are evidence-based.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think anyone in this House doubts the scale of the challenge we face with regard to housing and homelessness. I certainly acknowledge the scale of the challenge that we face. We see some limited progress. The number of people sleeping rough in the past couple of weeks has gone down as a consequence of the additional bedrooms put in by the Minister, Deputy Murphy, before Christmas....

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I assume most of those questions were rhetorical and therefore do not require an answer. I imagine there are plenty of landlords in Sinn Féin; there are certainly plenty of people in Sinn Féin who own multiple properties, as we all know. So I think that is a pretty cheap shot.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The purpose of the rent-pressure zones was to protect people in existing tenancies from big increases in their rent that may cause them to lose their homes. The majority of people who now rent in Ireland are covered by the rent-pressure zones and are seeing rent increases of 4% or less. There are, of course, exceptions to that, for example, in the case of substantial refurbishment and other...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The rent pressure zones are relatively new. We will need a series of data over more than a year and a bit to assure ourselves whether they are working. Let us not forget why they exist. The rent pressure zones are there to ensure we limit rent increases for those who are renting already - more than half of the people who are renting are now covered by them - and are not seeing rent...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----subletting on to other people who then pay much higher rates. Alternatively very rigid rent controls could result in builders being unwilling to build, and landlords being unwilling to rent out their properties and instead selling them on. Well-meaning measures can sometimes be very contradictory.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy acknowledged, the report was published five or six months ago. I am aware of and familiar with it, but, obviously, if I am to answer questions on specific recommendations made in a report published five or six months ago, I would like to actually read over it once again and see exactly-----

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy has chosen to refer to a report published last September. I recall and I am familiar with it, but, obviously, if I am to be asked detailed questions about the recommendations made, I would like to have a opportunity to at least cast my eyes over the report again before speaking about it. In terms of substance and actions, I have already mentioned some of them. First, we have...

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to look at that report again. It was published some time ago.

Leaders' Questions (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I would have to see the recommendations and remind myself of them and then respond to the Deputy. In terms of the substantive issue, everyone in this House, and certainly the Government, is very aware of the impact that rising rents are having on many people. In some cases they risk driving people into homelessness. In many cases people are required to pay a huge portion of their post-tax...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (13 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 91 and 92 together. Staff in the Strategic Communications Unit in my Department have had several meetings with senior officials in the relevant Departments across Government to coordinate a comprehensive public information campaign for Project Ireland 2040 - the National Development Plan and the National Planning Framework. As with all cross-Government...