Results 121-140 of 8,669 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Leo Varadkar

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: I move: That Dáil Éireann, notes that: the competitiveness of the Irish economy has weakened in recent years, as evidenced by our fall of 17 places since 2000 in the Global Competitiveness Report; growth rates in Irish exports have fallen below peer countries in recent years and our share of global trade has declined each year since 2002; Irish productivity growth has been below the OECD...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: A few short months ago, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Cowen, was quoted in The Irish Times as telling us that Ireland's economy was at its strongest for ten years. It is fair to say that if that statement was uttered today, nobody would take it credibly. Amid falling house prices, a decline in construction activity, sliding share values, increased unemployment as measured by the live...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: We will exchange aseries of parliamentary questions on that issue, which we can discuss at a later stage. The Minister referred to his commitment to tackling inflation in areas where the Government has direct influence. As I pointed out, however, 58% of inflation is related to Government services and Government-regulated services. The Minister welcomed the report of the National...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: Benchmarking.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: It is a selective use of statistics.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister's projection for next year is 1%. Going from 3% to 1% is a pretty rapid decline.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister would happily claim credit for the sun rising every morning.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: Will the Minister give way on that point?

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: This is a selective use of statistics.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: A bit like the Minister's ten years of managing the public service — worth nothing.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: It is Fine Gael's turn to try.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: This is selective use of statistics.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister accused Fine Gael of selective use of statistics. The Minister is a total hypocrite. It is embarrassing.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (4 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister is being snide, petty and personal.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: In tabling this motion, Fine Gael hoped to promote a serious debate on the future prospects of the economy, which depends on competitiveness. Together with my colleagues, I recognised the initial economic success of the Government in its first three years in office. However, we also charted the subsequent change in policy and demonstrated how a series of serious policy mistakes caused...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: In contrast to my speech, which did not mention any other Member of this House bar one, the Minister's speech cast aspersions on me, as well as on Deputies Bruton, Hogan and others.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: It is interesting to read the Minister's speech which mentioned the word "competitiveness" 18 times, yet refers to Fine Gael 19 times. In his speech, the Minister of State, Deputy McGuinness, used the words "Fine Gael" six times, twice more than the word "competitiveness". They are more interested in slagging off the Opposition — they are afraid of us for the first time in a long time —...

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: Rather than criticising Fine Gael, the Minister should accept that we have a real challenge in competitiveness. He should have laid out clearly the steps he will take to restore competitiveness, instead of behaving like an ostrich burying his head in the sand.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: The Minister hopes the problems will just go away, but when Fine Gael returns to power we will not run away from economic challenges. We will welcome them and embrace them.

Competitiveness of the Economy: Motion (Resumed) (5 Dec 2007)

Leo Varadkar: I will finish on one point of agreement. In his speech, the Minister said the best benchmark of how a country is doing is to look at its capacity to generate new sustainable jobs. I guarantee that is the benchmark to which we will hold him next year and the year after. Let us see how well he does in terms of job creation in the next two years.