Results 17,321-17,340 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Of course. The condolences of the House go to his family and friends at this time. It was the 16th farm fatality this year, something that concerns us all. Deputy Gerry Adams is absolutely right to express the concerns of the agrifood sector about Brexit. It was certainly the main talking point at the ploughing championships last year and I imagine it will be the main talking point this...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I would state again that no decisions on the budget or the welfare package have been made but obviously the priorities will be informed both by what is in the programme for Government and in the confidence and supply agreement with the main opposition parties. Therefore, what is in those will be prioritised but no decisions have been made. Regarding unemployment, the target is to reduce...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: No, a decision has not been taken because many of the details have yet to be finalised. There has been a great deal of discussion with NAMA by the Departments of Finance and Housing, Planning and Local Government. Any change in the remit of NAMA would require primary legislation, which would have to come before the Houses for debate, and consultation and discussion with the European...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I will come back to it.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As I understand it, the proposal for a constitutional amendment will be referred to the finance committee, where it can be given full and due consideration. I believe that is appropriate. I am sceptical of the claim that a constitutional right as exists in other countries provides some sort of flexibility when it comes to the fiscal rules. I would like to see that in writing from a...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It is the secret plan of those proposing the amendment to make everyone the same and put them in a box.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I will do my best. The bed capacity review is not yet complete and as such we do not have a figure on the number of acute hospital beds.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It will have to be completed before the capital plan so that it can inform what health investments may be required in the years ahead. The review is not just about beds, it is also about types of beds. There is an active debate in health policy circles on whether we need more acute hospital beds, or not. Some people say we do. They point to overcrowding and waiting lists as a reason for...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Yes, and as such it should need more beds than we do. These are the complexities that always need to be considered in health policy. We will need to examine what can be done in primary care rather than hospitals and how we can use our beds much more efficiently that we currently do. It is evident they are not being used as efficiently as they might be. On the return of the bedsit, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: In early July, the Government approved the establishment of Cabinet Committee B which will primarily cover the areas of Social Policy and Public Service Reform. The new committee met for the first time on Monday, 11 September. The committee provides a forum to ensure that relevant Departments work together to deliver on commitments in the programme for partnership Government in areas...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It used to be €1 billion.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We do not yet have a date yet fixed for the publication of the new national development plan, but it is intended to publish it before the end of the year - most likely in November or December. There will, of course, be additional capital allocations which will be assigned to Departments on budget day. They are additional allocations for the years 2019, 2020 and 2021. The existing capital...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There is, but that is for the national children's hospital, not the national maternity hospital. Deputies will know that while we have extended and renovated a lot of hospitals, no new hospital has been built from scratch since 1997. Next year I anticipate that we will have at least three new hospitals under construction - the national children's hospital, the new mental health and forensic...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committee Meetings (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. As I outlined to the House in July, the Government agreed to streamline the Cabinet committee structure and approved the establishment of new committees. Cabinet Committees A, B, C, D and E met last week. The next meeting of Cabinet Committee D has yet to be scheduled. Cabinet Committee D covers housing, climate action,...

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The Government engages with these private companies and facilitates them. One of the particular facilitations has been appointing broadband officers in local authorities to make sure that they get through the planning and compliance that they need.

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The contract is, as the Deputy knows, being handled by the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, and it has to go through all sorts of different compliance and other issues.

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We would certainly anticipate that being signed next year.

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I do not know much about Fianna Fáil spin doctors. I have not had the pleasure of working as closely with them as did the Deputy for five years so perhaps he can educate us. The proposal is that the national planning framework and the ten-year capital plan will be two parts of the same document - that there will be a new national development plan, the national planning framework will...

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: As the Deputy may be aware, the rural practice allowance was increased and expanded about a year ago so it is now easier to qualify for and there is more funding for it. This has helped to improve the situation somewhat when it comes to recruiting GPs in rural areas. However, times are changing and the willingness of GPs to work as sole traders is not what it was and there is an increasing...

Order of Business (20 Sep 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The implementation of the national broadband plan is very much underway. Every minute of every working day, two doors are now being passed with 1,000 megabits per second of high-speed broadband so in the hour we have spent here in the Dáil, an additional 120 premises have been passed in respect of high-speed fibre thus allowing them to access high-speed broadband. Every week, an...