Results 23,341-23,360 of 27,945 for speaker:Michael McGrath

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: This is a set of technical amendments to sections 25 and 31 to tidy up the numbering of the sections. Section 25 adds a new paragraph (3) in the current draft of the Bill to the Schedule. I am informed by the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel that the correct drafting convention that should have been used here is to number the inserted paragraph as 2A, and this is what is provided for by...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Section 22(9) of the Act, as amended, provides for the protected disclosures commissioner to prepare and publish an annual report on the operation of the Act not later than four months after the end of each calendar year. The Office of the Ombudsman has suggested, and I have agreed, that this should be extended to six months after the end of each year to align the reporting date with the...

Seanad: Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Bill 2022: Committee Stage (23 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: These are technical amendments to delete unnecessary signpost references in the draft Bill. The purpose of the amendments is to delete the references to “Section 15” and “Section 3” in the schedules, which are neither correct in terms of where they appear, nor necessary. They are intended as signposts only as to the sections to which they relate and nothing turns...

Written Answers — Department of Public Expenditure and Reform: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I propose to take Questions Nos. 197 to 199, inclusive, together. Reflecting the obligations to self-isolate laid down in public health advice and to assist in the prevention of the possible onward spread of the virus in the workplace, special leave with pay for COVID-19 arrangements were introduced by my Department in March 2020. This was a temporary measure in response to the unprecedented...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: We in government accept that many people and businesses are under pressure. We represent ordinary people too. We are elected by ordinary people and we meet them every day in our day-to-day lives as well. The reality is that the inflation that is being experienced is at a 40-year high and is primarily driven by international factors. I think Deputy McDonald also accepts that. It is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. There is nobody bragging and there is no need to drag down the tone of the political debate on what is a very important issue which affects ordinary people and businesses all over the country. I can legitimately make the point about following Deputy McDonald's advice and spending €3.5 billion more in the budget last year on expenditure and spending...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of Benefacts. It is important to put on the public record that Benefacts was not a public service body so it was not in the public sector family. While the State provided funding for the organisation for a number of years, it was not running the organisation. It was an external third-party body, which delivered a good service during its lifetime and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I did not come to the debate with a fixed view. I received a clear recommendation based on an assessment of value for money and the business case. The recommendation made to me as Minister was that we could no longer stand over spending public money on a service that was matched by other public bodies. We reached out to other public bodies, some of which the Deputy has mentioned, including...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. He has articulated the real-world experience of many people at this point in time. Not everyone but, certainly, a share of the population is very much feeling the effects of what is a 40-year high level of inflation. The Deputy has acknowledged, to be fair, that the Government has made a range of interventions in different areas to address cost of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: We have sought to help to date. We will do more and we will help people who most need it, in particular. We are working on finalising the summer economic statement, and the preparations for the budget are now under way. We are looking at all of the options that are open to Government with a view to making a real impact. It is our assessment that the autumn, coming into the winter, is when...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy makes a valid point that rising fuel prices have an impact across the board. They affect private citizens in households, of course, but also private enterprise such as contractors, farmers and the delivery of public works contracts. We have made a number of interventions as a Government and we have already spoken about the reduction in excise, which comes at significant cost....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy started his contribution by correctly saying these are not normal times, and I agree with him on that. In normal times a Government would not come out in March and say it would reduce excise by 20 cent and 15 cent. It was an exceptional intervention because of the costs that people face. It happened to coincide with a time when wholesale prices were rising and people felt they...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: The Deputy will not hear anybody on this side of the House defending any level of homelessness and certainly not the level we are currently experiencing in our country. As a Government, we are responding with the largest investment ever in the history of the State and we will deliver approximately 10,500 public and social homes this year, of which 9,000 will be new builds. As the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy. Any example of a landlord asking prospective tenants to become involved in a bidding war and say how much they are willing to pay to outbid each other is completely unacceptable. It is not something the Government believes should be happening in the market. We are in a situation where, increasingly, small landlords with one, two or three properties are leaving the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I am, of course, very familiar with Bandon and this particular project. It seems like there have been works ongoing in Bandon for a long time with the drainage works and flood relief works. Everyone is anxious to see further progress on the relief road. What I can say is that there is a budget of €30 billion for the Department of Transport in respect of the national development plan...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: Emergency accommodation will be found for people who are in such dire need. I ask the Deputy to please provide the details of that case and the other cases to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, who will take up the issue with the local authority and indeed the Dublin Regional Homeless Executive. Emergency accommodation will be found.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: It is important that we have policy certainty in this area. We want to see the supply of new homes continue to increase. We had about 20,000 units built in each of the last two years. It will be probably around 25,000 this year. We need the figure to grow further. I am not going to add to any speculation as to what the Government may or may not do by way of further interventions in the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I assume the Deputy is referring to the early years sector in particular. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, is engaging directly with that sector. As a Government, we made a step change in investment in the last budget, which will kick in in the autumn. I want to make sure that funding is used effectively for the purpose for...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue which is so important for many people. I just want to reassure him that the HSE continues to engage in commercial discussions with Vertex. The Minister for Health advises that the matter is being expedited at speed and is receiving all necessary attention. Those discussions are commercial in nature, but the need to bring them hopefully to a...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (29 Jun 2022)

Michael McGrath: I can confirm that the Government approved the drafting of a family court Bill along the lines of the general scheme in September 2020 which has been published and the drafting of the Bill is ongoing. It is quite an intensive amount of work ongoing in respect of that with a view to publishing it as soon as possible. The family court Bill will make provision for the establishment of a family...