Results 1,681-1,700 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It was 161 so far this year.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am cognisant of the Ombudsman's report published today. Coming up with a solution that works is not straightforward, but I agree this has been going on far too long. A lot of work has been done by various Ministers, Departments and working groups. However, I accept it has been going on far too long. As a consequence of that, I will be convening a meeting in the next few weeks of all the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. We have had schemes of that nature in the past. We had the temporary wage subsidy scheme and the employment wage subsidy scheme. Those schemes were valuable at a particular point during the pandemic. They were also extremely expensive and cost billions of euros. There was a great deal of criticism of companies availing of the schemes at the time. Let us not forget...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for asking a very important question. I acknowledge that she has raised this matter before. It was not among the questions I anticipated today, so I will not be able to give a comprehensive answer. I can say, as the Deputy has mentioned already, that when it comes to public records, work is advanced now on developing a central repository to hold those records. When it...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Again, I will be happy to come back to the Deputy later in the week with a more comprehensive response. I appreciate that she has raised this issue before. There is a distinction between public and records. Public records are owned by the State; they are in our possession. Private records are not owned or in the possession of the State. People have rights in the context of private...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: It is disappointing that the Deputy is trying to exploit this issue. This is really bad news.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Some 650 jobs have been lost in County Meath. This will impact on thousands of people. It is disappointing that the Deputy is taking this approach to it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Let me answer the question. The announcement of the 650 temporary layoffs did come as a surprise. It probably came as a surprise to the management locally as well. They were due to meet the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Coveney, next week. There was no indication that this was going to happen in the way it did, all of a sudden. The fact that the mine was under...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Government will work with the company to see what we can do to get the mine reopened and Tara Deep advanced in order that we can secure the future of the mine for decades ahead. It is not the case that just by being aware of a problem, the Government can save every job and business in the country. The price of zinc has gone down. It has gone way down. What happens when the price of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----the Government cannot-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----intervene on matters like that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for her remarks and her question. What has happened here is not the general impact of inflation, but the cost of energy. The cost of energy for the company has gone up, the value of its product, zinc, has gone down, and the company is now losing a lot of money. As a result of that, it has chosen to close the mine for a temporary period. We will be working very hard with...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I join the Deputy in expressing my sadness at the news Christy Dignam has passed. He was a legend, a real, great Dub and somebody who will be sorely missed in this city, across the country and by the wider music community. I thank the Deputy for raising the important and serious news that 650 staff have, in effect, been put on leave without pay essentially, or temporary redundancy, for...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cross-Border Co-operation (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I will have to get back to the Deputy on that.

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cross-Border Co-operation (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies. I start by joining with Deputy Conway-Walsh in her remarks commending the work of Noeline Blackwell who is retiring shortly from the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre. She is somebody I have worked with in various different formats. She is a very pleasant person but is also somebody who has really made a big difference for the better in Irish life. I congratulate her on her...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cross-Border Co-operation (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----we would be asking for help from others and the homeless figures would be much greater.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the issue of the western rail corridor. I am not sure it is classified as a shovel-ready project. A new railway requires a railway order. Perhaps that is not the case because it is an old railway, but I am not sure it is as simple as saying it is shovel ready. I would say a lot would have to be done before it went to tender, let alone put a shovel in the ground....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: All those things are requirements and I am sure there will be a growing requirement for all those things. In respect of wastewater in Shannon Vale, I am not sure why Cork County Council did not apply for funding but I will make inquiries in that regard. Those funds are in place precisely to solve the kinds of problems Deputy O'Sullivan articulated so well. There may be good reasons the...

Visit of South African Delegation (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I join the Leas-Cheann Comhairle in offering a céad míle fáilte, or a hundred thousand welcomes, to our guests from South Africa on behalf of the Government. I have had the privilege to visit their country just once, when I was a board member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, and had a chance to visit Pretoria, Johannesburg and Pilanesberg, but I have never been to the Cape,...

Ceisteanna (Atógáil) - Questions (Resumed): Cross-Border Co-operation (13 Jun 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Tógfaidh mé ceisteanna ó Uimh. 20 go dtí Uimh. 26 le céile. The all-island women's forum, established by the National Women's Council of Ireland in 2021, is a very welcome contribution to the shared island initiative. The forum aims to respond to the under-representation of women and further develop women's role in peacebuilding and civic society. Its work has...