Results 17,021-17,040 of 50,683 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (27 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I want to give my own experience. I can tell the Deputy that, due to the nature of the Department of Health and the crises that arise very regularly across the breadth and depth of health services, the burden is of a far higher degree than most other Departments. That is, in my view, a fact of life that has not been acknowledged. It needs reform as a Department. It needs to be developed...

Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform, and Taoiseach: Estimates for Public Services 2021
Vote 1 - President's Establishment (Revised)
Vote 2 - Department of the Taoiseach (Revised)
Vote 3 - Office of the Attorney General (Revised)
Vote 5 - Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (Revised)
Vote 6 - Chief State Solicitor's Office (Revised) (27 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: No. On the acting position, we needed someone to take the role but we were clear there would have to be an independent approach. There was an independent process in terms of advertising and people from all over were entitled to apply. Whoever went through the interview process, the competition and all of the various steps would emerge. That is the position.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I fully agree with what Deputy Richmond said in terms of the need for strong continuing dialogue. I am always open to dialogue and conversation on issues pertaining to the future of this island and to all of the questions relating to that. Indeed I have been open to them since the beginning of my political career when I was elected a councillor and Deputy. I do not need Deputy Carthy to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: There has been a 42% reduction in family homelessness in emergency accommodation, with a 19% reduction since the beginning of this year. We want to continue to make progress on that front. Expanding Housing First is a key initiative of ours which we will do. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is committed to doing that. In my view, there is...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 12, inclusive, together. On 22 October, I set out the Government's vision and priorities on shared island in an online event at Dublin Castle. In budget 2021, the Government announced the shared island fund, with €500 million being made available out to 2025, ring-fenced for shared island projects. This provides significant new capital...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Kelly asked about the stability programme update and the implications for unemployment. The Government is very seized of the very serious unemployment situation because of the impact of the pandemic on the economy and society in general, particularly for young people. I have said that we need a new deal for young people emerging from the pandemic. It is a new deal that needs to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. The cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment has been established and first met on 8 July. It has met on a total of 11 occasions, most recently on 12 April. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 May. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister, clearly, is not responsible for the operation of bus schedules, but the NTA has a role in that and I will certainly convey the concerns of Deputy Bríd Smith to the NTA in respect of the points raised. On Deputy Nolan's point, the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Social Protection have been making progress on this issue and are engaging with the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: As I said earlier, my view is that we have to provide for social and affordable housing and move away from creating barriers to getting housing built in this country given the crisis that many people who cannot access housing currently experience. I do not know the specifics of the case in question or what happened so I cannot comment on it or on whether there is a mechanism for getting the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: We want to give every housebound person in this situation a vaccine. I do not know whether the Deputy has spoken to the GP or the HSE about this but these are issues that ordinarily are dealt with by engaging with the local doctor and HSE. The National Ambulance Service has been doing this and it has been doing an excellent job. Quite a significant number of housebound people have been...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: This legislation has been progressed for some time but there have been challenges in regard to it. The Minister has succeeded in getting it through. A range of issues have arisen in respect of it, including state aid. The key point is that the agency will have a very significant impact. I will refer the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. The agency is one of a number of measures that,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the expansion of services in the mid-Cork area, particularly the Macroom-Cork city route, which he has raised previously. The Government has committed to reviewing the frequency of that service. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is also working on this. The Deputy is correct that it makes absolute sense that we enhance high-quality...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I deplore the practice of employing workers in this manner, particularly not registering workers under the atypical working scheme and making sure workers get their full entitlements under the law. What happened here is very wrong. I read the reports about the two individuals whose lives were endangered but who, thankfully, were rescued. It is unacceptable. The investigations have to take...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I will refer the issue again and I will engage with the Minister for Health on it. The entitlements people, including medical card recipients, have must be honoured and fulfilled. I will pursue that.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is very stressful for individual business owners, in particular publicans. The insurance companies should honour their obligations and commitments in this regard. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, is engaged in this topic more generally. I do not have the specifics of the case which the Deputy identified but we will pursue the issue more...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will speak to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in that regard because I think all burial grounds in mother and baby homes should be protected and no violation of those grounds should occur for any reason. I will engage with the Minister in terms of the local authorities.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and key priority for the Government, namely, the challenge of climate. Tomorrow is Earth Day and we can all do our bit. The Ceann Comhairle may look with fondness at the wild garden in the back lawn of Leinster House. I walked by it yesterday, just to have a look. I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle about this when in opposition. It has...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising the issue. He is a long-time champion of specific and targeted initiatives to deal with disadvantage and drug dealing and to support communities more strongly in particular situations. I look forward to receiving the report. I have asked officials in my Department to look more broadly at this issue with a view to auditing existing services and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I met with principals recently. The Deputy's constituency colleagues, Deputies James O'Connor, Stanton and Sherlock, have also raised these issues consistently. Two issues arise, the first being school enrolment at second level in east Cork because the area is probably the fastest growing in the county. A substantial investment programme, probably one of the largest ever for east Cork,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: The selection of a person to fill the post of Secretary General in the Department of Health was an independent process, the Top-Level Appointments Committee, TLAC, process. It was open to international competition for anybody to apply, and quite a number of people applied. The person selected is experienced and has served in various capacities within the public service. He would be...