Results 281-300 of 3,759 for speaker:Michael Collins

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: As I said, this is how the Brexit deal was done. Zonal attachment was used. Why can it not be the same when trying to protect our fishermen now? That is the argument they are making. It is reckless overfishing by Norway, the Faroes and Iceland. The Minister can put forward the argument that we are part of the EU, but why is the rest of the EU not putting sanctions in place to stop this?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: If Irish fishermen do not come out well from this, it will lead to disaster. It is a disaster at present, as well the Minister knows. We have had many a debate on it. I mentioned this last week and there are loads of other issues on which the Minister is to come back to me - I accept that - but there is great frustration that there is a lack of communication. Apparently, there was a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Pre-Agriculture and Fisheries Council: Discussion (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I greatly appreciate that. There are other issues but I will not bring them up. I am to be contacted about them.

Finance Bill 2024: Second Stage (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: When it comes to the Bill and when we looks at where money has gone in this country, I tried to get that conversation going today with the Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, and he, of course, was not happy either because the Government has no accountability for quite a good deal of the money that is out there. There is a lot of money out there and there is no point in my saying that there is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister. What is wrong with Uisce Éireann? The Minister is saying the Government is pouring money in it. Even if it was moving at a snail's pace, some of these towns would have their wastewater treatment plants built, but it is not even moving at that pace. It cannot be money as in some of the towns I mentioned, we have offered co-funding to speed up the process and get...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: It is.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: No hope to these towns. Some have been waiting for 27 years.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: Accountability.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: We have been waiting for 27 years.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: In many parts of our country, infrastructure is greatly lacking, leaving many towns and villages dying a death and nowhere is this more evident than in west Cork. A complete lack of investment by successive Governments has left two bypasses promised to the people of Bandon unfinished, one bypass in Inishannon, not only unfinished but not even started, and a promised bypass for Bantry not...

VAT Rate for Hospitality Sector: Motion [Private Members] (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank the Acting Chair. First, I think Deputy Fitzmaurice and the Independent Group of Deputies for putting forward this very worthy motion at this time. The Minister of State should remember one thing which is that all of these restaurants, cafés, pubs and hairdressers are small businesses. That is why the Government has them crushed. It is trying to crush them out of business....

VAT Rate for Hospitality Sector: Motion [Private Members] (16 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: They came up yesterday. In one minute I will give the Minister of State time to talk and I will not interrupt his talking. They came up here yesterday out of their goodwill and took another few pounds out of their pockets. They were brought up here a couple of days before the budget, the VAT 9 group, and were codded to their eyeball by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. The Minister of...

Social Welfare Bill 2024: Second Stage (15 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: On carers, and it already has been mentioned to the Minister numerous times, there is no point in getting up to say the budget was all bad. That is wrong. The problem is that while there is a lot of money out there, it is pegged everywhere and there is no accountability as to where it ends up. The real bonanza is in the Minister's Department with all of the social welfare payments out...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank Ms McSherry, Ms Brennan and Ms O’Sullivan for their opening statement. I have many questions, which I will try to go through as quickly as possible. I will start with the inshore sector because they were the first to contact me. I was at the AGM of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation. I was invited there on Saturday and got quite a lot of insight into the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: Will that happen very soon?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank Ms O'Sullivan very much. Have the Minister or the Department looked into a yearly financial scheme for inshore fishermen? The Department's ultimate role is to protect fishermen.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: Yes. I am connecting it to the next question. The Minister announced money under the inshore assessment scheme, which was welcome. The inshore fishermen welcomed and appreciated it, but the amount that will be given does not come close to what is needed. There is not a crewman or inshore boat in Ireland that has not lost €10,000 a year in recent years. They are asking for a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I thank Ms McSherry.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: Many of these guys are self-employed. They spend a lot of time out of the water due to various circumstances. Sometimes, they cannot go out perhaps because of the weather or if they are not allowed to fish for seasonal reasons. Have the team from the Department and the Minister worked with the Department of Social Protection to try to come up with something to bridge the gaps in income for...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine: Issues Impacting the Fisheries Sector and Aquaculture: Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (9 Oct 2024)

Michael Collins: I know that, but self-employed people find it very difficult to get it. I will move on because I have a large number of questions. Could the Department tell us if it has tried to source better markets for crab and shrimp?