Results 1-20 of 30 for cowen speaker:Leo Varadkar

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

Leo Varadkar: ...Taoiseach is elected by Dáil Éireann, which is elected every five years. It is not unprecedented for the Dáil to elect a new Taoiseach during its term. That was how I succeeded Enda Kenny. That is how Brian Cowen succeeded Bertie Ahern. That is how Jack Lynch succeeded Seán Lemass, and there are many other examples in our 100 years of democracy where a Taoiseach...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Just Transition (27 Sep 2023)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for the important issues they raised. Deputy Cowen raised the issue of peatland restoration and rewetting, the drawdown of funds and good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC. I do not have the information to hand but I think he is correct in that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will want to clarify the matter in the coming weeks. I will...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (26 Sep 2023)

Leo Varadkar: ..., and that is money the owner has to pay. In terms of the review of the Act, I do not know the timeline on that but I will check with the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and will return to Deputy Cowen on that. I am not familiar with HomeHak but I will ask the Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, to look into it. On any tax package for small landlords in the budget, again, no budget decision has...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 May 2022)

Leo Varadkar: ...Government. We need to do this in a sensible way and in a way that does not drive up inflation. We cannot do it with borrowed money. This is the approach we will take. I echo the comments of Deputy Cowen on "Morning Ireland" earlier when he said that some of the best Governments this country ever had were minority Governments. I had the privilege to lead one for three years. I do not...

General Practitioner Contract: Statements (3 Nov 2020)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. First, I do not. Second, the premise of the Deputy's question seems to suggest that in some way I sought the head of Deputy Cowen or Deputy Calleary but I absolutely did not. The case of Deputy Cowen was handled by the leader of Fianna Fáil in the way he thought best. I found out the former Minister, Deputy Calleary, had resigned one morning when I woke up in bed...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff (5 Feb 2019)

Leo Varadkar: -----and the total payroll cost is also lower. My forebear had 23 staff and iar Taoiseach Cowen had more again.

Leaders' Questions (27 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: It does not mention the Government of Ireland whatsoever. The first thing is a big feature, an opinion editorial with a picture of Mr. Brian Cowen. In the corner, we have a nice little picture of Deputy Micheál Martin------

Leaders' Questions (27 Feb 2018)

Leo Varadkar: There is another opinion editorial with Mr. Brian Cowen's picture and an even bigger picture of Deputy Micheál Martin. This is fromThe Limerick Chronicle.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Departmental Staff Recruitment (22 Nov 2017)

Leo Varadkar: ..., as against 23 for my predecessor. I have fewer staff than my forebear had politically appointed and he had many fewer, and they cost much less, than his forebears, the former taoisigh, Mr. Brian Cowen and Mr. Bertie Ahern. One is seeing a reduction in the number of politically appointed staff in the Department and a reduction in the cost to the taxpayer of politically appointed staff,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Staff (17 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: ..., Deputy Enda Kenny. I have fewer staff than did my predecessor and the total cost of their salaries is considerably lower than the cost of salaries under former taoisigh, former Deputies Brian Cowen and Bertie Ahern. I spend less and have fewer staff. I hope somebody will report on that since it is a fact. On the matter of the cost of running-----

Questions on Promised Legislation (4 Oct 2017)

Leo Varadkar: I understand the Minister, Deputy Eoghan Murphy, will announce changes to some of the planning regulations within the next ten days. The Deputy will also be aware of Deputy Barry Cowen's Bill which is before the House and which the Government is supporting which has been designed to make it easier for people to bring vacant units into residential use. The Deputy will also be pleased to know...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (14 Jun 2017)

Leo Varadkar: ...is the greatest honour that can be bestowed on any Irish politician, perhaps hoping - but not expecting - that it was an honour that might be bestowed on me one day. Passing on my congratulations to Mr. Cowen and his new Cabinet at the time, I said I wanted a Government that was strong on ethics, strong on the economy and strong on the principle of equity. Nine years on, I stand by those...

Central Bank (Variable Rate Mortgages) Bill 2016: Second Stage (Resumed) [Private Members] (18 May 2016)

Leo Varadkar: ...between 9,000 and 10,000 in the constituency of Dublin West. I congratulate the newly appointed members of the Fianna Fáil Front Bench, some of whom are present, including Deputies Barry Cowen, Jim O'Callaghan and Thomas Byrne. This considerable issue affects my peer group in particular, but by no means exclusively. I refer to people in their 30s and early 40s who bought...

Midland Regional Hospital: Motion [Private Members] (26 May 2015)

Leo Varadkar: ...Group in the Department of Health, with representation from patients, to ensure the prompt implementation of the recommendations of the HIQA Report; and — strengthen the Department of Health’s monitoring and oversight role in relation to patient safety.”I thank Deputies Kelleher, Browne, Calleary, Niall Collins, Cowen, Dooley, Sean Fleming, Keaveney, Kirk, Kitt,...

Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Administration (9 Oct 2014)

Leo Varadkar: ...with the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government, Deputy Alan Kelly, on the issue of housing adaptation but I will speak to him and ask my officials to examine Deputy Cowen's figures to see if they stack up. The Deputy will be aware from his constituency work that not everyone who seeks housing adaptation would otherwise be in a hospital or nursing home. Many live in...

Topical Issue Debate: Nursing Homes Support Scheme Administration (9 Oct 2014)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputy Cowen for raising this important issue. The nursing homes support scheme, a fair deal, is a system of financial support for individuals who require long-term nursing home care. Anyone who is ordinarily resident in the State and who may need nursing home care, regardless of age, can apply for the scheme. The total budget for long-term residential care in 2014 is €939...

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Jun 2013)

Leo Varadkar: ...from the debate, it seems Deputy Niall Collins has identified the new Fianna Fáil party line, namely, that its leaders were not knaves but merely fools. I assure him that I never considered Brian Cowen or Brian Lenihan to be knaves, but their capacity to believe everything they were told by the banking sector shows they were very much fools. When anybody who comes to my office...

Confidence in the Taoiseach and the Government: Motion (15 Jun 2010)

Leo Varadkar: I welcome the opportunity to speak against the motion, which expresses confidence in the Taoiseach, Deputy Cowen. Needless to say, this debate comes at a difficult time for my party. However, the Government should not make the mistake of thinking that Fine Gael is weakened or that its resolve is diminished. We remain united in our determination to remove this broken and discredited...

Small and Medium Enterprises: Motion (25 Nov 2008)

Leo Varadkar: ...in Britain, we would not be in a position where we must raise taxes and increase excise duties. We are one of the few countries in that situation and it is because of Fianna Fáil and Deputy Brian Cowen. Earlier, RTE and its role in encouraging people to shop in New York was mentioned in the debate. However, the Tánaiste has encouraged people to shop around and shop in Northern Ireland....

Unemployment Levels. (20 Nov 2008)

Leo Varadkar: ...is that there does not seem to be any serious understanding of how bad the situation is. Does the Minister of State realise that since Deputy Coughlan took up her job as Minister, when Deputy Cowen became Taoiseach, 80,000 people have lost their jobs, enough people to fill Croke Park?