Results 141-160 of 16,691 for speaker:Leo Varadkar in 'Dáil debates'

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their questions. Deputy Brendan Smith asked about the legacy Bill. He raises these issues regularly in the Chamber. I welcome that because it keeps them on the agenda. I will certainly continue to discuss them with Prime Minister Sunak any time we meet. Deputy Durkan asked about the Executive and the assembly. I am keen to work with them and to work closely...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: Yes. The Deputy might send me a note. I am aware of the issue but am not 100% across it.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 17 to 24, inclusive, together. The return of the power-sharing Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly is hugely welcome. I was very pleased to travel to Stormont on 5 February to meet the new First and deputy First Ministers and other members of the Executive Committee of Ministers. While in Belfast, I met the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak. I...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their questions. In response to Deputy Alan Farrell, I have received an acknowledgement from President von der Leyen of the letter I co-wrote with Prime Minister Sánchez but I have not received a detailed reply from her as yet. The matter was taken up by the Tánaiste at the Foreign Affairs Council meeting on Monday and there was a discussion about it among the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I want to put on the record that the Irish authorities have been very successful in recent months in stopping drugs being smuggled into the country. I want to recognise the contribution of An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and the Revenue Commissioners, which work in consort with counterparts in other parts of Europe and around the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 16, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments and considers policy matters in relation to the European Union and international issues. It most recently met on 4 December, when it looked ahead to the EU-western Balkans summit which took place in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security (20 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I propose to take Question Nos. 1 to 5, inclusive, together. I can assure the House that the State’s security is a priority for the Government and, in this context, I would emphasise that we already have in place functioning services which carry out significant and important roles in protecting the State and the people, notably An Garda Síochána, the Defence Forces and...

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

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy can be assured that along with the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, I am working hard as Taoiseach to make sure this matter is resolved as soon as possible. As I mentioned earlier, the CEO of the HSE met with the board on Sunday. A proposal has been made to St. John of God that includes additional funding and a pathway to deal with legacy...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the St. John of God Community Services and for contacting me about it during the week, as other Deputies did. Everyone here is aware there is a dispute between the HSE on one side and the board of St. John of God on the other. Both sides are putting their best foot forward and negotiating hard so that we can come to a resolution. What...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I assure him absolutely that stroke care and treatment form an area in which we will continue to invest. We will invest more this year and indeed in the coming years. Somebody who has a stroke today in Ireland is 40% more likely to survive it than in 2011. Since 2011, we have gone from tenth place to fifth place in the EU 18. This is one of the many areas where we...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. It is a little bit of stretch for her to accuse me of spin when she is quite the Social Democrat spinmeister herself. She is the one who brought up the Children's Rights Alliance report, not me, and she did not acknowledge that of the 16 areas under which it assesses us, our grades are up in four and down in none. Of the 16 areas, there are no fail grades but there is...

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

Leo Varadkar: -----and we absolutely take on board that criticism. In terms of a date for the report, I do not have it but I will check with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and come back to the Deputy as soon as I can.

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy for raising the really important issue of stroke on Leaders' Questions. I know the topic has been raised previously but not for a long time. We all know the extent to which stroke affects people and their families. We know people who have died as a result of stroke, people who are surviving with the effects of stroke or who are at risk of stroke. We have a national...

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

Leo Varadkar: The Deputy started the question by referring to the annual report card on Government performance that the Children's Rights Alliance produces. This is an independent body and issues its report card every year. It might be useful for people to know that of the 16 measures the Children's Rights Alliance rates the Government on, our grades are up in four, the same in 12 and not down in any...

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. The Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, met the director general on the day the McCann report was published. That report dealt with the voluntary redundancy schemes of 2017 and 2020. Yesterday's meeting between the Minister, the DG and the chairperson was in relation to termination packages. We need all transparency on this to the extent that is possible within the law....

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

Leo Varadkar: There are people behind her who have sued RTÉ and taken a lot of money out of it, which is ultimately taxpayers' money,as the Deputy has pointed out.

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

Leo Varadkar: That is a real concern. We see all over the western world democracies being undermined by governments that want to control the purse strings around the media. I would be really concerned if we were to go down that route.

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

Leo Varadkar: Yes.

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

Leo Varadkar: I thank the Deputy. I take this opportunity to note the passing of Michael O'Regan. I know his friends, colleagues and the people of Kerry, who will be well familiar with the Dáil hour programme on the radio, will mourn his loss. I understand there will be a moment of silence at the end of Leaders' Questions to pay our respects to him and his family and colleagues. On the Deputy's...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (14 Feb 2024)

Leo Varadkar: I thank Deputies for their remarks. I do not think Deputy Boyd Barrett meant to say it but, just in case I misheard him, I do not think we should in any way equate the expansion of NATO to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. That is part of the Russian narrative and a Russian speaking point, to blame NATO expansion or use it as an excuse for what it has done in Ukraine. I would hope that none of...