Results 15,681-15,700 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Official Engagements (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: If the difference between us is process rather than substance, fair enough. If the Deputy has any substantial criticism of anything I said to the European Parliament, he might have mentioned it. However, he did not.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: We have a labour and skills shortage but we are dealing with that by expanding the number of apprentices very considerably. We are seeing skilled construction workers migrating into the country again because they are paid better here than in other countries. Whether local authorities want to take people on as direct employees is entirely a matter for them and they can do so if they wish....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Official Engagements (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 18, inclusive, together. I was honoured to be the first EU Head of Government to be invited to take part in the European Parliament debate series on the future of Europe. My speech to the European Parliament took place in Strasbourg on 17 January. In my intervention, I spoke about the achievements of the European Union, the benefits for Ireland of EU...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Beginning with the sectoral analyses with regard to Brexit, last week I listed the documents and studies that have been published already. I think there have been 20 or 30 and more are forthcoming. We need to acknowledge that they are largely speculative. We do not actually know what the new relationship between the UK and the EU is going to be or whether there will be a different...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said to the Deputy previously, I am not involved in buying any ads or doing any market research, and I have not seen any market research either for that matter

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Said what?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said, I disengaged from any personal involvement in the operations of the communications unit some months ago-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Certainly if any market research has been done, I have not seen it myself but I have absolutely no difficulty with it being published. In respect of the matters raised by Deputy Boyd Barrett, there is a labour and skills shortage across the construction sector which is causing difficulties. It is driving up tender prices and making it harder for us to accelerate house building to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Obviously, the ten-year infrastructure investment plan has not yet been agreed. It will be published when it has been agreed. As Deputy Donnelly will be aware, the Government is very committed to the A5 and N2 upgrades. Deputies will be aware that the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, is very committed to the Ulster Canal project. Approval is now in place for the North-South interconnector,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It came from different groups, including the fishermen who use the Narrow Water.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: No, it is not new at all.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I had a little involvement with the project when I served as Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport. There were objections from the fishing industry in the area and, more recently, those who operate a ferry service there.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This project has certainly not been ruled out. I think it is a very attractive project but it would require support from the Executive in Northern Ireland when it is up and running. The Government will be supportive of it when it gets to that point.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Funding has been released to allow progress to be made with the north-west gateway project between Derry and Donegal. A great deal of low-key co-operation is happening under the radar. Maybe that is sometimes the best type of co-operation that happens between North and South. On the health side, some patients are now attending the new hospital in Enniskillen, which is helping us with our...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps it was different in the past.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government's position on Palestine is clear. We support the establishment of a Palestinian state. No such state exists at present. The Palestinian territories are occupied by Israel. We have taken a decision not to recognise a state that does not yet exist. It is very much our view that Jerusalem and the state of Jerusalem should be settled as part of a final stated agreement between...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Priorities (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, together. The Department of the Taoiseach recently published its revised statement of strategy, which reflects the priorities for the period ahead and the changes that have taken place since my appointment as Taoiseach. The establishment of a new configuration of Cabinet committees encompasses the Government's national priorities for...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I shall address the first matter on Irish unity. I reiterate the Government is committed to the Good Friday Agreement and we see ourselves as - and are - co-guarantors of that agreement. We should not forget that when the Good Friday Agreement was approved, it was approved by 97% of people voting in a referendum in this State and more than 70% of people voting in a referendum in Northern...

Order of Business (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It is neither my function nor that of the Minister for Health to determine where ambulances are located. Rather, it is a matter for the National Ambulance Service, which has received a budget increase every year in recent years. It is for that service to decide where it is best to locate new ambulances. However, it is important to bear in mind that it now uses a dynamic deployment system...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (6 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together. Cabinet committees are used to ensure a whole-of-Government, co-ordinated approach on issues, as necessary. They often allow for more in-depth examination of issues in advance of consideration by the full Cabinet. Cabinet committee C assists the Government in its ongoing consideration of Brexit and other EU issues. It is...