Results 22,461-22,480 of 50,909 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Order of Business (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Is Deputy McNamara implying there were deliberate leaks?

Order of Business (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: It must be a fantasy.

Order of Business (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: That is very accurate, a Cheann Comhairle. "What book?" sums it up.

Tributes to Retiring Member of Staff (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Ar mo shon féin agus ar son Fianna Fáil, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leat, Bernard, as ucht an méid oibre atá curtha isteach agat i rith na blianta sa Teach seo. Táimid go léir fíorbhuíoch duit. Tá súil agam go mbainfidh tú taitneamh agus sásamh as na blianta atá le teacht. I join the Taoiseach and the...

Tributes to Retiring Member of Staff (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: There is a sense that one is returning to normality when one retires from this House, Bernard.

Tributes to Retiring Member of Staff (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Your family and, in particular, your grandchildren will assist you in that return to normality in the months and years ahead. Well done and thank you very much.

Tributes to Retiring Member of Staff (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Fair play.

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Eleven months ago, the Stormont House Agreement was agreed by the Governments and some of the parties in Northern Ireland. It provided a basis for preventing the imminent collapse of the Executive and Assembly, and it was presented as a decisive move forward. What it did not represent was a decisive move away from the behaviour which caused that crisis in the first place. The main players...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Whatever about the politics, what really matters is that the Agreement entrenches a deeply damaging approach to public services and social protection in Northern Ireland. Everyone now agrees that Northern Ireland is still dealing with the legacy of paramilitarism and cross-Border criminality that is undermining its society and economy. It has the worst poverty rates on these islands and...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: Fundamentally, this agreement will change little unless we see an end to the behaviour of recent years which has delivered institutions focused on the interests of two parties rather than the public interest. The most effective way to tackle this would be for the leaders of the two Governments to end their disengagement and start treating Northern Ireland as a subject worthy of their active...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: The Taoiseach's disengagement is equally damaging and a direct reversal of the policies of his predecessors of all parties. I acknowledge the contribution of the Northern Ireland First Minister, Mr. Peter Robinson, whom I dealt with in respect of the devolution of justice in negotiations for over three years. He was straightforward and he went through his political journey. He was a...

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: This agreement is called A Fresh Start. Let us all hope that this does not translate into more of the same. I compliment the backbenchers of Sinn Féin because they always compliment my speech through the continual engagement they show.

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: It is the ultimate confirmation I require.

Northern Ireland: Statements (25 Nov 2015)

Micheál Martin: I know him well.

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: Just a year ago, the sad death of Jonathan Corrie sparked a huge outcry across the country and in Dáil Éireann. It was followed by a series of crisis meetings on homelessness and housing and declarations by Government that definitive interventions would be made to reverse the trend and improve the situation. A year on, those working at the coal face and those on the streets are...

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: I asked the Taoiseach two simple questions. Will the Government increase rent supplement? He gave the answer at the end of a very long reply full of the best intentions-----

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----but there has been very little delivery on the ground. If one speaks to people from Threshold, FLAC, the Simon Community, Focus Ireland, the Peter McVerry Trust or anyone else dealing with families, they will say that rent supplement is a key issue. It was a key issue 12 months ago. The Taoiseach spoke about stability being brought to the issue. What was going on for the past 12...

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: We have been pointing out to the Minister, the Tánaiste and the Government the effect of the Government's right wing market ideology in respect of rent supplement. The ideology that it cannot interfere meant the Taoiseach allowed families to lose their homes. That is an undeniable reality. The case-by-case approach has simply not worked because the problem has got worse. If the...

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: Surely if it is a supply issue, and we all agree supply is an issue, why not direct NAMA to start building social houses to deal with the crisis? The Taoiseach has allowed this crisis to escalate through lack of intervention and acknowledgement of the problem. The Government thought there was no problem a couple of years ago and allowed it to get to this stage.

Leaders' Questions (1 Dec 2015)

Micheál Martin: There is no confusion between rough sleepers and the phenomenon of families losing their homes during the past three years, which has been one of the most shocking trends in the homelessness issue. Everyone is agreed on that point. What is equally shocking is the inaction in relation to it. The Minister, Deputy Kelly, has not stabilised the situation by any manner or means.