Results 16,401-16,420 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: After the fact is after it had already started and was under way, from the opening statements. We should point out the former Commissioner disputes some of this. That is also part of the tribunal. She has a story to tell, which I am sure she will tell in due course. What seems to be suggested here in the House today, certainly by Deputy McDonald and just now by Deputy Ryan, is that the...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to check the record. I honestly do not recall specifically mentioning the cross-examination. If it is the case that I specifically referred to the cross-examination and said the Tánaiste did not know until after the cross-examination, then I am happy to correct the record in that regard, if that is what I said.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: If that is what I said, I am happy to correct the record in that regard.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The information I was given by the Department of Justice and Equality was that neither the Department nor the Tánaiste were aware until after the fact. That briefing did not specify what "after the fact" meant. We now understand----

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We now understand "after the fact" to have meant after the opening statements, after the commission had already started its work and was under way.

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I appreciate the Deputy's concern about the duration of mine and the Government's honeymoon. I do not think there has been a honeymoon at all but I appreciate the Deputy's interest and concern in that regard. Homelessness is something the Government feels very deeply about and it is a matter we have prioritised. Since 2012 or so, the funding put into services for people who are homeless...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is important to point out as a matter of fact that all parties had legal representation at the commission - not the Tánaiste individually, but the Department of Justice and Equality, An Garda Síochána and, of course, Sergeant McCabe, who had separate legal counsel, separate legal representation, dealing with the issue in accordance with the rules and laws that govern...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have no difficulty with that being done but I will have to check whether it is possible. There is nothing here to hide and there is no one here whom I or the Government is trying to protect. All we are interested in is the truth, and the best way we can get to the truth is to allow the tribunal to do its work. I ask anyone in this House or anywhere else who has information, and whose...

Leaders’ Questions (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: All I can do at this stage is restate and remind the House of what I said previously, first, that the Tánaiste had no hand, act or part in the legal strategy pursued by the former Garda Commissioner. There is an attempt in some way to suggest in this House and other places that the State or State entities were acting in collusion or all acting together. That is not the case. The Garda...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committee Meetings (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Cabinet Committee D covers housing, climate action, infrastructure investment and delivery, the National Planning Framework and the Ten Year Capital Plan. Among other issues, this Committee is providing political oversight of our efforts to tackle the challenges in housing and homelessness and our transition to a sustainable, low-carbon economy. The next meeting of Cabinet Committee D is...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts Data (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department liaises closely with the Office of Government Procurement (OGP) on all matters related to public procurement and monitors all areas of expenditure on an ongoing basis to ensure that value for money is being achieved. There are currently 21 external contracts in place for goods and services provided to my Department, as set out in the table. My Department has availed of OGP...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together. There are seven staff working in the Strategic Communications Unit of my Department: - One Director (equivalent to Assistant Secretary); - Three Assistant Principal Officers; - One Higher Executive Officer (equivalent); - One Administrative Officer; and - One Clerical Officer. My Department is currently finalising the assignment of three...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: My Department's budget for 2018 has decreased by 2% compared to 2017. €5 million has been allocated to the Strategic Communications Unit of my Department for 2018. My Department does not delegate salary budgets to individual divisions/units. The salaries of the staff in the Strategic Communications Unit will be met from my Department's 2018 administrative salary budget. All...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 101 to 105, inclusive, together. As part of the planning process in setting up the Strategic Communications Unit the Director and a member of staff in the Strategic Communications met with their counterparts in the UK and the Netherlands to learn at first hand how both countries went about the streamlining and optimisation of government communications,...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: EU Summits (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 106 to 108, inclusive, together. I attended the European Social Summit for Fair Jobs and Growth in Gothenburg, Sweden, on 17 November. I was accompanied by the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, and the Minister for European Affairs, Helen McEntee. EU Heads of State and Government were joined by social partners and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Strategic Communications Unit (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 109 and 110 together. The costs associated with the Strategic Communications Unit, since its establishment in 2017, will be met from my Department's Budget. No monies have been sought from other Departments to fund the Unit. But it is intended that the Unit will drive savings across all Departments overtime through efficiencies generated by: -...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (21 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In response to Deputy Martin, a big part of our message now in the United States is a little different from the one we would have had in the past. There is a view in the United States, shared by some in the Administration there, that is hostile to free trade, that takes a different view of trade than did previous administrations. One of the points we make very strongly is that trade goes...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (21 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We have broken that down by state and are trying to break it down by district. We need to make the point more strongly in our visits to the United States, that trade, investment and jobs, go both ways and make everyone better off in the round especially because the climate in the United States is different now, people are more sceptical about the benefits of global free trade. US tax...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (21 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Part of what we offer more so than almost any other country is tax certainty. Corporation profit tax is going down in the UK under the Conservatives and in France under Macron and in the US under Trump. Under a Corbyn or Melenchon government or perhaps a left wing Sanders government in the United States, however, it might go the other way. We are offering people certainty because there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (21 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is almost consensus.