Results 15,881-15,900 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I understand that he means civilianisation, and it is absolutely the Government's commitment to increase Garda personnel to 21,000 by 2021, which will comprise 15,000 gardaí, 2,000 Garda Reserve members and 4,000 civilians. In budget 2018, we have allocated-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Civilianisation is done by hiring civilians and by transferring existing gardaí-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----to different roles. To answer the Deputy's question, we have money in the budget to hire 500 additional civilians this year, and obviously we would expect the Garda authorities to make more progress in transferring uniformed gardaí out of clerical roles and back to front-line roles.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is a very important issue and a matter of enormous concern to the six schools affected. The schools are located at four sites in Wicklow, Wexford, Meath and Carlow. They are all replacement schools. The existing schools are still available but we want people to be able to move into the new facilities as soon as possible. It will take a couple of weeks to sort this out. We will sort...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can absolutely give Deputy Howlin that assurance. The NDFA and the Department of Education and Skills are very much involved. We will do everything we can in the next couple of days to have this issue resolved in a matter of weeks so that the children and their teachers can move into these fabulous new school buildings. We have a statement from the Dutch Infrastructure Fund explaining...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: Meanwhile, it is offering assurance to people in all of those areas that where schools are being built-----

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: -----it will work as hard as it can to find a solution.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Government, the NDFA and the Department of Education and Skills will be deeply involved in that.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I had a chance to read the World Economic Forum report on inclusive economic development last night in advance of my visit to Davos today. As is always the case with a report, it is possible to pick out negatives and positives. However, this report is very positive about Ireland and it is worth recording some of the items it contains. In terms of inclusive economic development, Ireland...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: With respect, if the Deputy does not wish to be partisan, he will have to lead by example and not be partisan in the statements he makes and the questions he asks.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: He cannot be partisan at one moment and then accuse me of being partisan in my response. Whatever standard that we apply in this House in terms of partisanship should apply to everyone and not just to the Government. The number of people graduating from teaching programmes is stable and the percentage of people getting jobs in Ireland has increased. As I said, 5,000 more teachers are...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: This is in part down to the fact that so many younger teachers now have permanent posts. We need to examine encouraging retired teachers, of which there are so many now, to come back and substitute. In addition, there are real difficulties recruiting for certain subjects, particularly specialised subjects. The Minister is examining this aspect. However, as is the case in other areas of...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. My sympathy and concern goes to any patient suffering complications as a result of an operation or procedure they have had. I wish to put that on the record. I did not see the TV programme last night although I read some things about the issue in the newspapers in recent times. However, I am not an expert on it and I was not aware the...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: As I said, I was not aware this issue would be raised and I cannot answer for the Minister for Health directly. However, I will ask for replies to be provided to the Deputy on each of the four items she raised. If there are legal cases under way, the Deputy will appreciate that those cases are in the courts and, therefore, need to be heard in the courts and not adjudicated on here.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I absolutely expect that the HSE and the Department of Health will consider this matter based on evidence and not just evidence from this State. As is the norm in any kind of medical issue, one examines peer-reviewed international evidence as well as domestic evidence and take them together. In health care, one will always find evidence going one way and then evidence going the other way....

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: First, I believe that the school principal still holds the position of very high respect and regard in our society. I do not believe that has changed. School principals are still very much leaders of our communities. It is also the case that teachers hold the position of high respect and high regard in our communities. I do not believe that has changed. Compared to other countries,...

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy must read back what he said.

Leaders' Questions (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: People who are going in to teacher training are among the brightest and best still, notwithstanding the fact that applications have gone down. Applications for college courses are very cyclical. We see this all the time. When the private sector and the economy are going well lots more people gravitate towards courses such as information communication technology, business and architecture...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: White Paper on Defence (24 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: The 2015 White Paper on Defence sets the defence policy agenda over a ten year planning horizon and encompasses all work carried out by the Department of Defence, the Defence Forces and Civil Defence. It comprehends the Government’s policy on defence of the State from armed aggression, the defence contribution to domestic security, the defence contribution to international peace and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (23 Jan 2018)

Leo Varadkar: I can try to be brief.