Results 9,461-9,480 of 50,294 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy's comments on the staff in the passport service. We now have 763 people working in the service, which is the largest number ever employed. We are committed to maintaining and improving that level, if we can. The Deputy is correct. There are issues relating to the role of An Garda Síochána, which is an essential part of the verification process. There...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: Of the 1.1 million, 11% were from Northern Ireland, but 90% of those were online. The approach of the Department has been digital first and to encourage and incentivise more and more people to go online because it is the most convenient, quickest and least expensive channel for applicants. People have made representations in respect of new passport offices in Northern Ireland and the west,...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is no backlog as such. We are meeting turnaround times. Passport applications are being processed in line with normal turnaround times. As I said, 2022 was an exceptionally busy year with more than 1,085,000 passports. This year, 2023, looks like being similar, with 61,000 passports issued to date. About 56,000 fully complete applications are in the passport service system,...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: That is more a question for the Department of Health, but I would make the point that-----

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I was, once upon a time. Thousands of people are coming into the Irish health service every year. I recently attended an event relating to nursing for very sick young children and met two young nurses who had come back from Australia to work in the service in Ireland. It was a foreign NGO but it highlighted for me that the traffic is two-way. These were young Irish nurses who had been in...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: No, these particular nurses are here. I accept that others go out.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: The health world has always been highly mobile. We must do more to attract and create better working conditions in our health service to retain staff there. That is important.

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Brexit Issues (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have consistently heard in my engagements with business and people in Northern Ireland that resolving issues around the movement of goods between Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a key priority for them. This is recognised by both the EU and the UK, which are devoting substantial time and effort to finding joint solutions that address these concerns. European Commission Vice...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Ukraine War (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy’s comments, and their bona fide nature, in respect of Putin's conduct of the war. Russia must be held to account which is why Ireland supports an international tribunal to bring Russia to account in terms of the crime of aggression. War crimes are being committed. It was disappointing in the European Parliament last week that two Irish MEPs refused to support...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Ukraine War (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: To the best of my knowledge, the only country to question Ireland's neutrality last year was Russia. In my view, Russia has zero credibility in that regard. We are militarily neutral. We are not politically neutral. We are members of the European Union and the United Nations. The UN Charter is very strong on self-defence. Ukraine is entitled to defend itself against appalling...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Passport Services (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 65 and 67 together. Last year was an exceptionally busy year for the passport service, with over 1.085 million passports issued. This represents the first time in the history of the State that over 1 million passports were issued in a calendar year. The passport service surpassed its previous busiest year of 2019, when 935,000 passports were issued. The...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Middle East (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: We are concerned about the situation in Palestine and about the position of the new Israeli Government, especially in the context of its attitude towards expansion. There is real concern regarding the statements that have been made, the visit to the holy site and so on. Ireland has been active on this issue at the UN Security Council over the past year and a half to two years, so much so...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Middle East (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is correct that the programme for Government states that the Government will honour its commitment to recognise the state of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or in advance of that, when we believe that doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-state solution or protect the integrity of Palestinian territory. We are working with like-minded states in...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Ukraine War (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his comments and for raising this issue. While Ireland is a militarily neutral country, meaning that we do not participate in military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements, we are not politically or morally neutral in response to Russia's unprovoked aggression against Ukraine. Ireland strongly condemns the ongoing, despicable and indiscriminate...

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Middle East (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: Would the Deputy believe my pass would not work and I was locked in?

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services: Motion [Private Members]: Middle East (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his kind remarks. I appreciate them and I look forward to working with the Deputy and others on these issues. At the outset, I want to put on record again my strong condemnation of last Friday's shocking attack in Jerusalem, and to convey my thoughts and sympathies to the victims and their families. Turning to the Deputy's question, it is Ireland's long-standing...

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: To what is the Deputy referring?

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: I attended a meeting of the European Council on Thursday, 15 December in Brussels. The agenda covered Ukraine, energy and economic issues, security and defence and external relations issues. In his contribution to the debate, the Minister of State, Deputy Burke, will provide further detail on discussions on European Union enlargement and outline the priorities of the Swedish Presidency of...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (31 Jan 2023)

Micheál Martin: The annexation by Israel of any part of the occupied Palestinian territory would be a clear violation of international law. It would have no legitimacy, and would not be recognised or accepted by Ireland, or by the international community more generally, and would be deeply damaging to the two-State solution. I am concerned by the statements of some Israeli officials regarding...