Results 31,561-31,580 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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

Micheál Martin: If it does not like the decision of the Executive, it is not its decision.

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

Micheál Martin: It did the same on social welfare in the past on the Executive-----

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

Micheál Martin: I respect the planning process. Our position has been very clear about the North-South interconnector and we will work to see what can be achieved in that regard.

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

Micheál Martin: I have just given the Deputy the position. The planning process in Northern Ireland is not our function. The Deputy will criticise, delay and delay-----

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

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is trying to criticise a colleague of his party in the Executive-----

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

Micheál Martin: -----yet his party is part of that Executive.

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

Micheál Martin: It is not on the programme for this session, but the heads are still being prepared.

Dying with Dignity Bill 2020: First Stage (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: No.

Equitable Beef Pricing Bill 2020: First Stage (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: No.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. Under the terms of the Public Service Management Act 1997, Ministers and Ministers of State who regularly attend Cabinet meetings may request the approval of the Government to appoint special advisers. The Act also provides that other Ministers of State may also appoint a special adviser. The requirement for specialist policy input and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Not on advisers. I never did that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It was a separate issue.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is extraordinary the degree to which Deputies will come to the House and take whatever they read in the newspaper as fact, as the Deputy has just done. I thought she was paying attention to the press conference this morning, but she clearly was not because that question was asked. There are no separate briefings for the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste. As the Tánaiste stated, he...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy did not.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: She does not ask questions; she deliberately makes assertions to create a propaganda spin, and she is good at it. Moreover, the Sinn Féin Party is no stranger to special advisers. It invented the whole concept to an extraordinary degree in the Northern Ireland Executive, where it has SPADs, as the Deputy calls them, all over the place. We saw the trouble they got the party into in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I have answered the questions. To respond to Deputy Kelly, the concept of special advisers is not new. We have three parties, and an office has been established for the leader of each party within that to ensure that the Government can get the programme for Government implemented. That is the origin of special advisers, which the Labour Party, to its credit, brought in when Dick Spring...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: He was the first to bring in a special office of the Tánaiste, which is what is happening on this occasion. I think it is important and it will happen into the future, of that I have no doubt. It happened in the previous Government, where Independent Ministers had special advisers. The concept and the numbers of special advisers are not new. As a three-party Government, the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I think the Deputy fought hard for one eventually, particularly as a Minister. There will not be a school and advisers will be appointed to some Ministers of State.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 6, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on health was established by a Government decision on 6 July and held its first meeting on 28 July. It will meet again in the coming weeks. It will oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in respect of health, receive detailed reports on identified policy areas and consider the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (15 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: On face masks, let us give the people of Ireland credit. Everybody in here talks about confusion. There was no confusion among the people when we brought in regulations to make mandatory the wearing of masks on public transport and in shops. As Taoiseach, I pushed hard to make that happen. The compliance rate is 90%. Last April, only 16% of people were wearing masks. That is the answer...