Results 1,941-1,960 of 40,330 for speaker:Leo Varadkar

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We have been discussing the temporary winter eviction ban for many weeks now. My view on it is different from the Deputy's. Extending it by another few months would not solve the problem. We would just see more and more notices of termination build up and would probably have a bigger problem to deal with when it ended-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: -----and that is our view. I reject the Deputy's contention that we have not been acting. We have been acting. More social housing was built last year than any year since the 1970s. Nearly 8,000 new units were built and 10,000 new social homes were provided. We are going to do more than that this year. That is our objective and we will achieve it. We are also telling local authorities...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The new 97-bed block will be delivered as soon as is possible. I wish I could give the Deputy a date of a week or a month hence. I cannot do that at present, but it will be delivered as soon as possible. It would still be needed even if there had not been a fire given the increasing population in Wexford and the increasing need for healthcare to be available. I am...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I had a chance to read Micheline Walsh's story just yesterday. I do not want to speak in too much detail on any individual case. Individual cases are individual and it is difficult to be across all of the detail of any individual case. It is certainly not appropriate to talk about it here. It is a very sad case. All of our sympathies are with her and her family. A solution needs to be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: As I said earlier - perhaps I did not say it - we are not going to oppose the motion that Sinn Féin has tabled. We do not agree with all of it, but we think there are some things in it that we are doing already and that can be done. There are other suggestions that are worthy of consideration. While we will not be agreeing to everything Sinn Féin has put forward, we will not be...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. On behalf of the Government, I acknowledge that we are facing a cost-of-living crisis. Inflation has reached very high levels in the past year or so. Thankfully, it is now slowing down, but that is not the same as prices falling. Prices remain very high. A lot of people and families are struggling with those bills, and everyone in government understands that. As I...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Government Coordination Committee is scheduled to meet again on Monday, 15 May 2023.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Cabinet Committee on Social Affairs and Public Services oversees implementation of Programme for Government commitments in the areas of social policy and public services. The Committee covers a range of topics, including immigration and integration, in the areas of social policy with a particular focus on equality and public service reform. Other topics covered by the Committee include...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Reviews (9 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Department of the Taoiseach has not identified any legislation which falls to be reviewed by the Department in the period specified and therefore no reviews of Acts have taken place.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Constitutional Amendments (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: We, as a Government, are committed to a referendum on housing. The Housing Commission is considering the matter. It has not yet advised us on a wording. Once we see it, we will consider it. Without any wording proposed from the commission, having a referendum concurrent with the other one in November is very unlikely at this stage. We will see the wording when it comes. Any amendment...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: The Government believes, in respect of the budget announcement by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, that the people of Northern are entitled to a functioning Assembly and Executive and to be fully represented by the politicians they elected in May of last year. In recent weeks we have seen cuts to services which will affect the people of Northern Ireland adversely. The budget...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Last year, but that was because of inflation. Incomes will rise in real terms this year and they have risen in real terms almost every year for the past five or six years.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: They will rise this year, yes, in real terms, but we will not know that until next year because of the way statistics work. On where the Government stands on this, we want to help the people of Northern Ireland and the Executive if and when it is established. We have the shared island fund which we can use to help in different ways. We have the PEACE PLUS programme from the European...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Constitutional Amendments (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 and 11 together. As I announced on 8 March, the Government intends to hold a referendum in November this year on gender equality as recommended by the Citizens' Assembly on Gender Equality and the Special Joint Oireachtas Committee on Gender Equality. The decision to hold one or more referendums on this issue is in line with commitments in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 9, inclusive, together. As provided for in the programme for Government, we are progressing the shared island initiative, to benefit the whole island by working with all communities and traditions for a shared future, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. This involves: unprecedented all-island investment through our €1 billion shared...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Good Friday Agreement (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I have to concur with Deputy Brendan Smith's remarks about the quality of the conference in Queen's University. I extend my thanks and congratulations to those who organised it. I was only sorry I could not be here for the Wednesday, because of my responsibilities here, but I managed to get the read-out of Senator Mitchell's speech. The point Senator Mitchell made, as Deputy Smith said,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Good Friday Agreement (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. On 19 April, I was delighted to give the closing address, along with Prime Minister Sunak, to the three-day conference at Queen's University to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel; the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen; and former US...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am familiar with the case. I know that our people on the ground in the United Arab Emirates are working on it and doing all they can to help. I am not up to date on it, so I will ask for an update from the Tánaiste and pass it on to the Deputy.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The Department of Health acknowledges that there are variations in the cost of care across public centres, as well as across private nursing homes, with public nursing homes generally having a higher cost of care. This is often linked to higher staffing levels and the more complex care needs of the residents who are there. The HSE will...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (3 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: This is a particular problem in the summer period and it affects my constituency as well as that of the Deputy. My understanding is that the Bill is going to the Seanad this month. I cannot guarantee it will be enacted before the summer recess but that is certainly what we are working towards.