Results 17,901-17,920 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Perhaps he said something in the heat of argument.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: We have all been responsible for that in our time. However, in doing so, Deputy Martin cast aspersions on someone who is now a judge of the Court of Appeal.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin said that she was lesser than other people.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Martin specifically cast aspersions on the competence, capability and suitability of a Court of Appeal justice, Ms Justice Máire Whelan, in this House yesterday. Deputy Martin said that she was a lesser person or of lesser character or less capable than other people he mentioned.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am referring to the specific people he mentioned. Mindful of the separation of powers that exist between this House and the Judiciary and mindful of the need for people in important positions, such as Deputy Martin and I, not to undermine the Judiciary, I would like to give Deputy Martin one more chance to withdraw the remarks he made about Ms Justice Whelan.

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I am absolutely in favour of accountability before this House. I am here to answer any question Deputy Micheál Martin wants to ask me in relation to that appointment or any other matter today, as I was yesterday and as I will be on Tuesday and Wednesday next. I understand that discussions are under way at the Business Committee and among the Whips about a debate later on today...

Leaders' Questions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: What concerns me, though, is that yesterday Deputy Micheál Martin cast aspersions on the suitability and qualifications of Máire Whelan, who is now a judge of the Court of Appeal. I want Deputy Micheál Martin to be mindful of the separation of powers that exists between Parliament and the Judiciary and I also want him to be mindful of the allegation that he made against my...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Central Statistics Office Data (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The exact information requested by the Deputy is not available. The Quarterly National Household Survey (QNHS) is the official source of estimates of employment in the State. The most recent figures available are for Q1 2017. Table 1 shows the number of persons aged 15 years and over in employment (ILO) classified by usual hours worked in Q1 2017. Table 2 shows the number of employees (ILO)...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Functions (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Having appointed Ministers to their various portfolios across Government, I will reflect on how my Department can best support the important work ahead for the Government. I will continue to meet officials in the Department and decide over the coming weeks what changes might be required.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: All Cabinet Committees stand dissolved at the end of every Government's term in office. I expect that the Government will shortly establish a number of Cabinet Committees to deal with specific aspects of policy.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts Data (21 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: There has been no expenditure on public relations by my Department or the body under its aegis, the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO), in the period in question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I can only refer to the answer I gave, that is, we are working on contingency plans, but we must make a decision on whether any plan will set out five, six or seven potential outcomes in respect of contingencies pending one of them outcomes occurring, or whether we should try to predict what Brexit will mean. The Deputy is right to say it has been a year since the referendum, but a year on...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I do not have a date for each. As I said, just last week I appointed the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, with responsibility for the Government's overall response to Brexit. He is in Northern Ireland dealing with the talks and I will be at the European Council for most of the week, but we will get it done as soon as we can. We will not long-finger it. Regarding additional IDA Ireland...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Recruitment is moving in the right direction.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: Deputy Joan Burton raised a number of matters and I think I jotted all of them down. The paper we have produced on Brexit, the Government's position paper, is a White Paper in all but name. Various decisions were made not to call it a White Paper. The White Paper produced by the British Government is very similar in content and format. I did not actually produce a manifesto; it was an...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I put forward two ideas in the paper I produced, both of which I intend to pursue. The first is that we have a number of one-day Cabinet meetings. This is not something we did when the Deputy and I were in government together, but it would be of value in that, rather than discussing important items as one of 15 or 50 items on the agenda, we could give them a thorough analysis and tease...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: The first of the one-day Cabinet meetings will take place just after the recess next month and deal with climate change, the capital plan and budgetary matters. A subsequent meeting will concern Brexit, but I do not yet have a date for it. I would first like to see how the negotiations develop. One of the ideas in the paper concerns an examination of the model of the Scottish First...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I have had many engagements with the ICTU recently, but they have related to matters such as pension reform. I have not yet had any personal contact with it about Brexit other than at wider, multi-sectoral forums, but I have no doubt that I will have that opportunity very soon. The national economic dialogue will take place in the next two weeks and it will be a very good chance for me to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I would welcome greater involvement by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the trade union movement generally, as well as the business community, in helping us to prepare for Brexit. I will take up that suggestion bilaterally, most likely in the national economic dialogue which will take place in the next week or two. I know that it is dialogue in which the Deputy took part when he was...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Brexit Issues (20 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: It gave rise to the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF. It is something that benefits the country and I will continue to pursue and build on the work done by the Deputy in that regard. He said we could not act until we knew. That is correct, but we can prepare for different scenarios. It is my intention that we should prepare for different but the most likely ones scenarios. I would...