Results 17,281-17,300 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Several things are happening, including the provision of better infrastructure to allow all parts of the country to share in our recovery and prosperity. Next week - perhaps even this week - the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, Deputy Ross, will open the Gort-Tuam motorway. I expect to see much more investment in infrastructure outlined in the ten-year plan, particularly in the...

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Up to 300 additional farms are connected every week. The number of premises served has increased from 52% on the day this Government came to office only 14 months ago to 67%. It will be 77% at the end of the year. One statistic the Deputy may be interested in is the extent to which employment is increasing in all parts of the country. There is a perception that there is not an increase...

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Since 2011 and the change of Government, it will not surprise anyone that there has been a 17% increase in employment in Dublin. After that comes Louth with 14%, Carlow, 13%, Wexford, 13%, Meath, 12%, Monaghan, 11%, Galway city, 11%, Laois, 11%, and Kilkenny, 11%. That is further evidence that 70% of all new jobs created are now created outside Dublin.

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: A working group has been established to examine the matter. The Ministers for Housing, Planning and Local Government and Finance are involved and the group will take into account the content of the Thornhill report with a view to reporting itself sometime next year. The assurance I gave people yesterday was on foot of a question I was asked in London. In answering that question, I...

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I cannot answer those questions for the Deputy today. The budget is still under negotiation and discussion and there are many moving parts to it, as with any budget. It is not possible at this stage to indicate the exact tax measures. The term "hidden fiscal space" refers to savings and things that had to be paid for in 2017 which might not have to paid for in 2018. It includes things...

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy wishes. I do not mind what she calls it.

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am not sure what pre-budget dinner the Deputy is referring to but I was not at it anyway.

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy referred to a judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union saying pilots in Belgium have recourse to Belgian law. Obviously, that does not require legislation in this country. The point of the judgment was that the pilots can access the courts in the country they work from and reside in. That does not require legislation here as our laws do not apply in Belgium. In...

Order of Business (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have the answer to hand but I will ask the Minister, Deputy Naughten, to communicate directly with Deputy McDonald.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I think there is a difference between not listening and not agreeing. I am listening, although that is not necessarily the same thing as agreeing. As I have already said, we have, on a number of occasions, considered the balance of property rights and the public interest. Property rights in Ireland are not exclusive; they are not without limitation and are limited by the public interest....

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The priority list agreed by Government today creates indicative timelines for future referendums. The referendums very much flow from the Citizens' Assembly. The Citizens' Assembly did make a recommendation regarding economic, social and cultural rights, and I understand that this, as well as a proposal on housing, has been referred for further consideration to the Department of Finance....

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is absolutely our intention to use local authorities more into the future than we have done in the past. As the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, has just informed me, the number of houses built by local authorities this year will be 2,400. That is four times as many as they built two years ago. I appreciate that is coming from a very low base but to increase the number of local authority...

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----private and social housing elements to it. The Deputy will see a lot more of that in the period ahead. To give Deputy Wallace some other information, 15,000 new houses were completed in 2016, which was an increase of 18% on the previous year.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Furthermore, there has been a 40% increase in both planning applications and commencement notices-----

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: -----year on year. Not that long ago, people were saying that no student accommodation, new hotels or commercial property was being built. We are now seeing hotels, student accommodation and commercial property being built all over the place.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Next up - it is starting already - is a significant increase in the building of homes, which I believe we will see happen over the next few months and into next year.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am a practitioner and an observer.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Even though their politics are totally different, Deputy McDonald reminds me more and more of Marine Le Pen because she always goes back to her script. She delivers a scripted question and when I give her an answer and ask her a question, she goes straight back to the script again.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I do not think that is the kind of leadership we need in this country.

Leaders' Questions (26 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: When it comes to this policy matter, and almost any policy matter, the role of the Government is to listen to everyone. Of course we will listen to entities that can provide finance. Of course we will listen to builders who have experience in building homes. As politicians, our constituents are the people to whom we listen the most. Everyone on this side of the House is aware that a large...