Results 23,081-23,100 of 50,909 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: -----but the record of the House still shows that on this day last month he said, "I urge [Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael], therefore, to accept the new realities and that they are the only ones fit to form a Government." Unlike Sinn Féin and others, we have worked constructively and have focused on substance and I believe we have achieved important progress. They believe in finding...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: The House will shortly get the opportunity to vote on the Bill which will suspend water charges. Following a reasonable process, the majority in the Dáil will then decide what happens to water charges. In addition, the days of an out-of-control, bloated and arrogant commercial firm will be ended, Oireachtas and independent oversight will be asserted and the massive expenditures on...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: It represents a major challenge to Government to treat the Oireachtas seriously and to build support for policies. However, it is also a challenge to every Member of the Oireachtas. As we have seen since the election, there are those who want to maintain the model of dominant government and total opposition. They do not like the challenge of finding compromise and building consensus. They...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: Certainly, there will be a good deal of game-playing - like what we have seen in recent weeks - from a party that wanted to play politics on motions and so on without getting down to the work of actually getting something done.

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: However, I think we have seen over the past five years that the people are not fooled by such manoeuvrings. The Government will most likely regularly not get its way on motions and specific proposals. If it accepts this and reduces the number of areas where it demands the right to be decisive, then there is no reason to be concerned. If it maintains its obsessive focus on media spinning...

Nomination of Taoiseach (Resumed) (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: By our abstention on this vote and the vote on the nomination of Ministers, a Government will be able to be formed. Commitments have been given to the effect that the worst elements of the last Government's policies and approaches will be ended and important progress will be seen in some areas. Most of all, the formation of a minority Government means that we will have an opportunity to...

Business of Dáil (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: Is that enough?

Business of Dáil (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: I take it the Ministers want to read into their briefs over the coming week, but there is an urgent necessity for the Parliament to organise itself as well. I ask that early next week the Whips of all parties meet with the Chief Whip to work out, for example, how many Oireachtas committees there will be. We need to get the committee system up and running as a matter of urgency. There has...

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: Irrespective of the political differences on various sides of the House, I would like first of all to congratulate the Taoiseach on his re-election to that office. I would also like to be first to congratulate all the individuals whom the Taoiseach has proposed to serve as Ministers in the new Government. For any citizen of this Republic, being proposed for important public office is a...

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: We need to reinvigorate the working of the agreed institutions and policies.  We need a Government that accepts its role as a co-guarantor of agreements, and this includes insisting that the dominant parties in the North meet their obligations. Our agreement with Fine Gael includes a commitment to seek to expand North-South activities. We want this to be activated immediately to stop...

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: As said before, we have chosen the role of constructive opposition.  We will hold Ministers to account for their individual and collective actions.  We will demand a decisive shift from the unfair and damaging policies of the past five years.  We will vote against the Government when we disagree with its proposals and when there is a credible alternative. There are those who...

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: It is not good governance that one Minister gets it for one year and swaps with a Minister the following year.

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: The fact that it is on-----

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: The fact that it is on-----

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: I suggest to the Government that it needs to show confidence in what it is about because the fact it is yearly suggests that maybe the Ministers concerned are not that confident about the longevity of the Government. They need to get more confident about what they are about and what they have signed up for.

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: I would like, in particular, to congratulate the Minister, Deputy Ross.

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: I want to let Deputy Ross know that my late father was a founding member of the NBU and we will be watching the Deputy closely. It is 35 years since Deputy Ross first acceded to a hereditary seat as a Trinity Senator. Since then he has been a constant presence in Irish public life. He has been a senior journalist, stockbroker, Fine Gael councillor for Bray and regular media commentator....

Appointment of Taoiseach and Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (6 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: That said, we wish all Ministers well in their various endeavours. We will work to hold them to account. We want to work constructively in terms of this Dáil and in terms of tackling the problems that face the people and bringing about effective solutions to those issues, because what matters is improving the quality of life of the people of this country. The Fianna Fáil Party is...

Leaders' Questions (17 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: We have had the publication of the O'Higgins report into deficiencies, malpractice and a series of investigations at Bailieboro Garda station, the areas surrounding the station and its hinterland. We had much selective leaking and managed interpretations of the report in advance, which were disingenuous and led people down the wrong tracks. It needs to be put on the record that the...

Leaders' Questions (17 May 2016)

Micheál Martin: I am going to put the question. Sergeant McCabe was later exonerated. That has to be said. That is what makes the revelations in last week's Irish Examiner all the more disturbing. They allege that senior counsel, on the instruction of An Garda Síochána, put forward the view that Sergeant McCabe was acting with malice.The senior counsel were questioning his motivation and...