Results 13,681-13,700 of 50,453 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I respect all parties but we are entitled to have our own opinion as well.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: We are entitled to read reports, analyse them and form our own opinions. There is a great novel by Colum McCann, Apeirogon, and the Deputy should read it. I have read it. That in a far more impactful way, I think, illustrates the reality of life involving two people-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----on different sides. The Deputy should read it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Go read it. I rest my case.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I rest my case.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Teachta as an cheist phráinneach agus tábhachtach seo a ardú. Níl an tuarascáil léite agam ach tá a fhios agam faoin idirdheighilt sin agus na deacrachtaí atá ag na Palaistínigh, go háirithe ag teacht ó pholasaithe an rialtais atá ann faoi láthair. I fully acknowledge that there are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is currently being examined by the Department of Foreign Affairs. I have not read it yet, but I will get through it as quickly as I can. From our perspective, through the European Union we have a clear policy position in this regard. We believe that Israeli policy is counterproductive to the emergence and triumph of moderate opinion within Palestine, in both the West Bank and Gaza....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: From the outset the Government has been committed to first supporting workers and people on the ground. No Government wants people to perish or die in the ditches. For God's sake, let us have some common sense and some sense of perspective. The bottom line is that the Government is considering measures right now, over and above what we have already undertaken in the budget, which provided...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----that this inflationary cycle is imposing on people. There is no question but that this is a global phenomenon. Nobody is arguing about that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: We need to take measures now that can ease the pressure on people's everyday weekly outgoings on a number of fronts and that is what we are examining. Before the end of the week, we will have proposals to add to the decisions that we have already taken in this regard. We fully understand the pressures that people are under and we are going to deal with them.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Again, I have to restate what I said earlier. At this time last year, a barrel of oil on international markets traded at $61. Today, it is $91 a barrel. That is not because of the carbon tax. It is very dishonest to say the carbon tax is the key contributor to fuel inflation.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: It is not the key contributor in any shape or form and we need to be honest with the public because I know there will be attempts made to misrepresent-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----what has been a global situation in terms of the price of oil and the price of gas. We only hope that conflict does not break out in relation to Russia and Ukraine, which could even exacerbate it further, which is something we do not want at all.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Gas prices on international markets, as I said, have quadrupled in the past year. That is not because of the carbon tax. On the other side of the coin, we do want to release unprecedented funding to people through grants to enable them to retrofit their homes to make them more energy efficient and cheaper to run in the future.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is what we want to do. We want to prioritise that area. It makes sense to insulate homes and we will give good grants to people to enable them to do that. In terms of looking after low-income families and the fuel allowance and so on, we were able to take measures in the last budget on the social welfare package because of the revenue that has been generated from the carbon tax itself...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: The other factor is, of course, to take cars as an example, there has been a shortage in terms of microchip manufacturing. There have been fewer cars manufactured. As economies have bounced back across the world, the demand for cars has not equalled the supply of cars. That is causing inflation. That is just one product. That can be mirrored in product after product since economies have...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Average wages in Ireland are higher than the European average, as I think the Deputy will acknowledge. There have been increases linked to productivity, which is good. That would be a priority. Again, even if purchasing power is factored in, our minimum wage is the sixth highest in the 27 EU member states. That is factoring in the cost of living, and so on. We will work with the social...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: It is only a number of weeks since we lifted restrictions. We are emerging from a pandemic that has dominated this country and the rest of the globe in respect of economics, public health and so forth. The intervention by the Government was imaginative, unprecedented and effective in terms of underpinning jobs and incomes to the best degree possible given the extraordinary situation we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Could I first of all say that budget 2022 increased the weekly rate of the fuel allowance by €5? We increased the qualified child payment, the living alone allowance and the income threshold for the working family payment. The total cost of that was about €146 million. Where is that revenue coming from? It is coming from the revenue raised by the carbon tax.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Today, the Minister for energy will announce a very significant and comprehensive retrofit programme. The objective of that retrofit programme is to reduce the cost of living on an ongoing basis in terms of home heating and in terms of making homes cheaper to heat and more comfortable and healthier over time. Some €200 million odd this year alone will come from the carbon tax towards...