Results 31,541-31,560 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The provisions in levels one to five of the plan are informed by public health advice, particularly with regard to controlled and uncontrolled environments. Essentially we are talking about a combination of measures designed to reduce social contacts and limit congregation as much as possible while allowing for a reasonable quality of life in the context of sports, arts and so on. That is...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is open to new applicants to the end of December. Given the trajectory of the virus and what happened in Laois, Offaly and Kildare recently, local restrictions could be put in place which could necessitate a reduction in economic activity, resulting in people being out of work. Therefore, we felt that such people should be entitled to apply for the PUP in respect of measures mandated by...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I said that the Deputy had not acknowledge it in her speech.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is the function of Opposition sometimes to run with the hare and hunt with the hound but I do not know what they want at the end of the day. Sinn Féin's position was that socioeconomic profiling should be dropped but that there should be a standardisation process. I take it-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: My point is that it cannot have each-way bets on this. 3 o’clock Standardisation is important. It is very difficult for individual students in their individual circumstances, and I acknowledge that. We do not have an ideal situation in that we did not have a written exam and we did not have the normal leaving certificate, which always has standardisation, although it is not as...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Again, the operation of the testing system in terms of locations and centres is organised by the HSE. I will communicate the Deputies’ representations in respect of their towns and their constituencies. The testing programme has been expanded very significantly over the summer and the number of tests has been significantly ramped up as well, which is not being acknowledged but,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, the 2,000 people were paid for by the Irish taxpayer.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Sorry. The cross-border directive was something we entered into under the EU. People have availed of it and the taxpayer has refunded them - that is the scheme. The Deputy and his colleagues have put on the buses and have run a great old operation for quite some time. The most important-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: If Britain leaves the EU, Britain leaves the EU. Does the Deputy understand that? Cross-border directives may no longer apply to it. I think that what is more important is that we improve capacity in our own system in terms of cataract-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: No, I did not say that at all. I said we have to increase capacity in the Cork centre, which is the biggest in Munster in terms of cataracts and many other procedures. We should be doing it in Dublin and across the country. We should actually be sparing people the necessity to travel long distances for cataract operations.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Hold on. This is outrageous. I have told the Deputy but how can there be a cross-border directive in those circumstances? We will deal with that. The Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is taking a different approach to this in terms of making sure that people-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Hear me out. We have arrangements with Belfast and with Altnagelvin in respect of a whole range of health services. We would like to expand that with the North, and we would like to enter into contracts and procurement with them where necessary to provide treatment, and vice versaas well, given the North wants to avail of health services in the Republic. That is the way we should proceed.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Yes, I will. Obviously, the winter initiative funding that was announced today is an additional €600 million, with €200 million on top of existing resources to the end of this year and €400 million for the early part of 2021. That is available now to deal with both with the human resources requirements for the hospital system, particularly on the emergency side, and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I answered questions last week or the week before on the citizens' assemblies and the timelines for them. One of the big problems we have is that Covid-19 is impacting on the capacity to do citizens' assemblies. We have one at the moment on gender but it has been limited to one or two online engagements, and we are limited in terms of what we can do. I will revert back to the Deputy in...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Did I hear the Deputy correctly? Did he say the minister granted permission-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----or did it go through the planning process in the North?

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Is the Deputy's party not a member of that Executive?

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is no such thing as unilateral in an executive or in a government.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy must accept collective responsibility.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is the duplicity that the Deputy's party consistently deploys in terms of its stances on various issues.