Results 1-20 of 55 for mother and baby speaker:Leo Varadkar

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Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Departmental Offices (20 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. On IPAS and Mount Street, officials visited the tents on 16 March. Contrary to some reports, Crooksling has toilets, hot showers, personal toiletries, food, a bus service to Dublin and 24-hour security on site. Safetynet is providing health screening, which commenced on 18 March. There is a building where meals are served and men can charge...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 Mar 2024)

Leo Varadkar: The mother and baby homes institutions payment scheme opened for applications at 9 o'clock this morning. It has taken far too long but I am glad the scheme is now up and running. An extensive information and awareness campaign will take place both at home and abroad, and applicants will be supported throughout the application process with the information and advice they need. Where a...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Investigations (21 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: In advance of the Government considering the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes in January 2021, certain information that related to matters therein was disclosed in a newspaper article. In that context, the then Taoiseach requested that an investigation be carried out. The investigation was conducted by a senior official in my Department and it...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Commissions of Investigation (13 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: In advance of the Government considering the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation on Mother and Baby Homes in January 2021 certain information relating to matters in the Report was disclosed in a newspaper article. In that context, the then Taoiseach requested that an investigation be carried out. The investigation was conducted by a senior official in my Department and received...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Mother and Baby Homes (30 Jan 2024)

Leo Varadkar: In advance of the Government considering the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation on Mother and Baby Homes certain information relating to matters in the Report was disclosed in a newspaper article. In that context, the then Taoiseach requested that an investigation be carried out. The investigation was conducted by a senior official in my Department and received full...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Mother and Baby Homes (25 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...Deputy Tóibín's question related to the possibility of a State apology to the Traveller community. He spoke about the attempt for decades to assimilate the Traveller community, which was wrong and should not have happened. I recall that under the Government led by Enda Kenny, and with a lot of leadership from the Minister of State at the time, Deputy Stanton, we as a State...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Mother and Baby Homes (25 Oct 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...State. In February 2013, the then Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, issued an apology on behalf of the Government in Dáil Éireann to women who were resident in the Magdalen laundries for the hurt done to them and for any stigma and trauma experienced by reason of their residence in those institutions. The Government followed up on this through the establishment of the Magdalen restorative...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Communications (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. On the mother and baby homes institutions and the payment scheme in that regard, the establishment of the mother and baby institutional payments scheme is an important commitment in the Government's response to the final report of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes and certain related matters. The scheme we have proposed goes...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Communications (4 Jul 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...the State. In February 2013, the then Taoiseach, Mr. Enda Kenny, issued an apology on behalf of the Government in Dáil Éireann to women who were resident in Magdalen laundries for hurt done to them and any stigma suffered by reason of their residence in those institutions. The Magdalen ex gratiascheme, as recommended by Mr. Justice John Quirke, was established following the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Commissions of Investigation (30 May 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...major investment in the State. Nothing specifically came up that was untoward about it. However, the numbers availing of it are much larger than we expected. Almost all came from the one country and that raised concerns. That is why we suspended it. Let us not forget that it brought millions of euro into sports clubs, community centres and economic programmes all around the country....

Ceisteanna - Questions: Church-State Relations (22 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...or adjudicate on them. In relation to records relating to Magdalen laundries, major work is currently under way to establish a central repository of records within the national centre for research and remembrance. The repository will encompass records related to industrial schools, reformatories, Magdalen laundries, mother and baby homes and related institutions. In April 2022, a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí (Atógáil) - Leaders' Questions (Resumed) (8 Mar 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...Deputy for raising this important issue. We are giving consideration to further legislation in this area, although it will not be emergency legislation. We already have the National Archives Act and there are already offences with regard to the destruction of public documents, but I appreciate that does not apply beyond the State sector. My understanding is that the archive is not held...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The mother and baby institutions payments scheme is currently being debated by the Oireachtas. The scheme will include financial payments to an estimated 34,000 people and a form of enhanced medical card for almost 20,000 who were resident in mother and baby and county home institutions. This will come at a cost of approximately...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: .... A State apology was also made by the former Taoiseach, now the Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, in January 2021. That was significant too. As I mentioned earlier, one of the main requests and demands from people who were born in mother and baby institutions was that we change our laws so they can have access to their birth certificates-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (21 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I was heartened and encouraged to see the very good turnout at the rally at the weekend. People were saying no to racism and that refugees are welcome in Ireland. The numbers who turned out dwarfed the attendance at any anti-migrant protest we have seen to date. Everyone was encouraged by the number of people who were willing to be there. I will say two things in addition to that. I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue again. I emphasise that this is largely an historical issue. It relates to nursing home charges prior to 2005, which is more than 18 years ago and disability payments prior to 2007 or perhaps even prior to 1996 and largely relates to laws from the 1970s. We do not have all the facts yet - nobody does. As I said last week, we will do whatever is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (1 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: Picking up on something the Deputy said earlier, the Government is putting in place a scheme to compensate people who were residents of mother and baby homes, despite the fact that nobody has found any legal liability attached to the State in that regard. There was no question of court cases, legal strategies or any of those things. The Government decided it was the right thing to do to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ...put a redress scheme in place, even though the case was lost in court. Symphysiotomy is one example of that. The Government also decided to put in place compensation schemes in respect of mother and baby institutions, Magdalen laundries, mica, pyrite and apartment block defects, despite the fact that there was never a finding against the State with regard to those matters. What is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: There were cases that were settled and there are cases that have not been settled and they may yet go to court. That assertion is also false. I have been a member of three governments. More so than ever, and more so than other governments have done or governments around the world have done, we have put a huge amount of time, care and resources into putting right some of the wrongs of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Feb 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I am coming to that. I have been a member of three governments now, including a Government involving the Labour Party. We have put a huge amount of time, care and resources into putting right some of the wrongs of the past, even where there is no legal liability on the State. We have put in place a compensation scheme, for example, for symphysiotomy. In that case, the survivors went to...