Results 17,901-17,920 of 50,683 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: No, it was not the excuse, actually.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I take exception to that. The rationale put forward by the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, was very clear and was to preserve and protect the records in order that people could avail of them. It was not ostensibly about anything or about delaying; it was about preserving the record. That truth will emerge. The bottom line is this: the Minister is in consultation with all the groups and a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I must respectfully say that Deputy McDonald is wrong. The legislation has been published. The pension age will remain at 66. I find her comments extraordinary when to a person, her members of the Northern Ireland Assembly all voted to raise the pension age there to 66. This is an area where the Assembly has devolved authority. Under the changes we are making, no one will have to queue...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is no doubt that a catch-up programme is required in light of what transpired during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when services were essentially mothballed and many people did not turn up for appointments. There has been a significant ramping up of efforts there. Screening programmes have been re-established and non-Covid-19 health services are being protected. There is capacity in...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: Very significant resources are being put into emergency services for homeless people. That will continue. Local authorities are working with NGOs, which are experienced and have been working with the homeless for a long time, to get the best accommodation for people as they require it. The figure of a third of rough sleepers, which the Deputy cites as the number refused emergency...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: A mediation process was put in place. We worked on that and we thank Mr. Kevin Foley for taking responsibility. I said in the Dáil last week that space should be given by all parties, including KPMG, to facilitate the conduct of those mediation talks.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I do not think that we can make up the rules as we go along. We have a Dáil reform committee. It has met on quite a number of occasions. It has laid out the Standing Orders of the House. It is a long standing precedent that the Ceann Comhairle, following advice and so forth, adjudicates on issues. Sometimes that adjudication does not find favour with some in the House, but that does...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I take issue with the Deputy. The Government has not rejected any advice, and he is wrong to assert that in respect of NPHET. We engaged with NPHET, and obviously I had discussions with the Chief Medical Officer. We took a more conservative stance on the restriction of visitors to households. NPHET would have-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: We have not opened the pubs. That is the point.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry but Deputy Murphy is not even in the Chamber. What is going on is outrageous. I am not answering Deputy Murphy; I am answering Deputy Boyd Barrett. There should not be people in corridors heckling during Leader's Questions. That is not acceptable behaviour. I want to make the point that we did not open wet pubs because of a range of advice from EY and others, tracking what...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is wrong in his various assertions. In the first instance, I do not believe in the Deputy's zero-Covid approach. It is not viable in terms of our membership of the European Union, our relationship with the United Kingdom and the seamless interaction of people. We also have the Border between North and South and the fact we are not in charge of the jurisdiction public health wise...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is an issue around antigen and rapid testing. The European Commission has reported on that and the HSE is looking at that in the context of specific settings such as the healthcare settings the Deputy identified.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Minister is looking at that as a matter of urgency.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: As a country, we are particularly dependent on international travel connectivity, but the numbers travelling have dropped significantly on an annual basis. I think it is down 96% or 97% annually. We know from the airports how desolate they are. That said, we are conscious coming into the Christmas period that we need to be particularly vigilant. As a Government, we decided on the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy raised a number of issues. The current epidemiological status is relatively good from a European perspective. We now have the lowest 14-day incidence rate in the 27 European Union member states at 89 per 100,000 people. That is a result of the people of Ireland working with level 5 over six weeks. The people deserve considerable credit for adhering to the guidelines. It is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy and I appreciate the point he is making. I established the task force for a reason, namely, to bring a varied range of disciplines, both public sector and private sector, to the table to deal with the various work streams that will be required to deliver the vaccine. There is a work stream currently operating in regard to information technology, for example, because IT...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government, ultimately, has to deliver this.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his question. The Government is absolutely and wholly committed to the timely implementation of a Covid-19 immunisation programme once the vaccines are approved for use, particularly the vaccines that are in the European Union portfolio. In this regard, I have established a cross-Government high-level task force to oversee the development and implementation of a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I think that, collectively, we as an Oireachtas can with one voice articulate to the British Government again the view that a full public inquiry should be held. We can continue to work at both European and international level and with international opinion. We have support in the United States from people such as Richie Neal and others, and we can of course enlist the engagement of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue this afternoon. It is deeply disappointing and very annoying that the British Government has not committed to holding a proper public inquiry into the murder of Pat Finucane. I know the disappointment is keenly and painfully felt by the Finucane family, by Geraldine, the late Pat Finucane's wife, and his sons and daughter. I utterly concur with the...