Results 17,161-17,180 of 50,683 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: There will be a significant number of vaccines administered in addition to what we have done, which has been very effective in bringing down the levels of disease.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: The broad thrust of Government policy on social housing is to build social housing. We have taken a suite of initiatives. The bulk of construction next year in terms of the provision of social housing will be through approved housing bodies, AHBs, which have consistently been building social housing on behalf of the State, but also the councils. Direct builds will comprise the large bulk...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: Approximately €3.3 billion has been provided for housing, a 24% increase on budget 2020. Clearly, in the first three months of the year Covid has restricted output. That is obvious, because of the level 5 lockdown and our decision to reduce mobility. That has had an impact on the first three months of the year. The €3.3 billion available is the highest investment in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: The situation in relation to the virus is very fragile. I recall when I came in here early this year we had 42,000 cases in one week and we had 2,000 people in hospital. I made it clear on that occasion that I wanted to see a consistent suppression of the virus. In the past seven days we had 3,800 cases and 325 or 329 in hospital. The point is that the sacrifices people have made have had...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: The legislation obliges the Government to consult with the public health experts. It is based on the variant and its very high incidence rates.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: Recommendations will come from the Chief Medical Officer about adding other countries. We are the first in Europe to introduce this and that should also be acknowledged.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: Public information campaigns in relation to Covid-19 have been advertised across a broad range of media, including national and local newspapers, and this will continue to be the case.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Legislative Process (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: My Department is very rarely the sponsor of legislation. As was the case with the Autumn and Spring Legislation Programmes, the forthcoming Summer Legislation Programme will include no bills from my own Department.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government has regular and ongoing engagement with companies involved in supplying vaccines for Covid-19, as well as with the European Commission and others involved in the procurement and production of vaccines. For example, the Chief Executive of IDA Ireland is a member of the Taskforce on Covid Vaccination and is in regular contact with the companies concerned, many of which have a...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Shared Island Unit (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: On 22 October, I set out the Government’s vision and priorities on Shared Island in an online event at Dublin Castle. A Shared Island unit has been established in my Department to coordinate and drive this work as a whole of Government priority. In Budget 2021, the Government announced the Shared Island Fund, with €500m to be made available out to 2025, ring-fenced for Shared...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Capital Expenditure Programme (24 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: My Department has no subhead provision for capital expenditure.

Statement by An Taoiseach (11 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: As I said, the Minister for Social Protection will be assigned responsibility for the Department of Justice. However, she will also remain as Minister for Social Protection and for Rural and Community Development. As I also stated, the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, who attends Government meetings and who has responsibility as Minister of State at the Department of...

Statement by An Taoiseach (11 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: I would like to congratulate the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, and her husband, Paul, on the news that they are expecting their first child in May. Is ócáid speisialta í sin i saol an Aire agus a fhear. Gach dea-ghuí orthu. It is a special time in their lives and they have all our best wishes. The Minister and I agree that she should of course be entitled to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government-Church Dialogue (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: To respond to Deputy Tóibín, I fully accept that one of the saddest parts of the global pandemic and the impact on society has been the inability of families to grieve, in the way we do in Ireland, their lost ones who have passed away. This has been a terrible loss to those bereaved. That so few can attend a funeral is a further traumatic blow to the families. They do their best...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: On Russia, the Sputnik vaccine producer has been invited for a long time now to apply for European Medicines Agency, EMA, authorisation. My understanding now is that it is doing so. Incidentally, Russia is a long way from vaccinating its own population. It will have huge challenges in that regard. If the Sputnik vaccine is approved by the EMA, we will have no difficulty in using it and,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Government-Church Dialogue (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 and 6 together. As part of ongoing dialogue with churches, faith groups and non-confessional bodies, I have met with faith leaders on a number of occasions since my appointment as Taoiseach. On 28 October 2020, I met with representatives of the Catholic Church, Archbishop Eamon Martin, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin, Archbishop Michael Neary, Archbishop...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: There were a broad range of questions. I would say at the outset it would be interesting if Deputy Tóibín followed up that story on Israel. How many vaccines will those countries get in the next month from Israel or the month after that or the month after that? That is the point. There will be no immediate dividend from that particular venture any time soon in terms of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 and 4 together. I have participated in several engagements with my fellow members of the European Council in recent months. We met in person in Brussels on 10 and 11 December, by video conference on 21 January and, again, on 25 and 26 February. At the European Council meeting in December, we discussed Covid-19, in particular the authorisation and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, we agreed during our telephone conversation that we will have a more substantive meeting in the coming period in order to look more fundamentally at the British-Irish relationship post Brexit, which is important. My sense is that the politics being played in the United Kingdom are not constructive in the context of the European Union. The issue relating to the protocol in terms of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (10 Mar 2021)

Micheál Martin: I last spoke with Prime Minister Johnson on Tuesday, 2 March. We discussed plans for a joint bid for World Cup 2030, bringing together the five football associations from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. We also discussed the latest situation on the Northern Ireland protocol and during our conversation the Prime Minister spoke of concerns he had around the...