Results 31,621-31,640 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Our over dependance on fossil fuels will be a continuing catalyst into the future for an increase in prices.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, I thank the Deputy for raising what is an important heartbreaking issue for the families he met earlier and on behalf of whom he has spoken. The wider issue of bullying, in particular, cyberbullying, is doing a great deal of damage to people and undermining people's self-esteem, self-confidence and sense of well-being, and we need a far more robust legislative response to that. I...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, I fully empathise with what the Deputies are saying. Obviously, public health advice has been the key influencer of this situation along with risk management in specific hospitals and locations. However, I take the point that the public health advice in this area should apply nationwide.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I would instinctively think it should be nationwide but it may be that in different hospitals one has different settings and different risks. In some maternity centres, they may have different practices, etc. I will engage with the acting Chief Medical Officer and HSE on this. It is difficult and traumatic for people. It should be a celebratory moment for many couples. It is a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy will be aware-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----in the earlier stages of the pandemic there were significant restrictions on people visiting hospitals which was difficult for them.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, the Deputy might send us the details of the individual case. 1 o’clock There are set processes and procedures for this. It is something that will have to be considered in our overall comprehensive Brexit planning. Invariably the decisions in these asylum cases are what is more fundamentally at issue. The Deputy says this person is due for deportation on Saturday. That...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is a very difficult situation for certain sectors, particularly in hospitality and tourism. Travel agents are one sector which has had a collapse in revenue and income more generally. The Government took a decision to continue and extend the wage subsidy scheme to April of next year and there will be ongoing monitoring of the impact of that extension on certain jobs and enterprises. The...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I know the situation about sport. Public health advice on this has been consistent from the beginning. They are very concerned about crowds gathering

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: People have been attacking us all day about confusion, clarity and this that and the other. I know the Deputy is genuine in the position from which he is coming but public health advisors have a very strong view about toing and froing and households mixing in cars travelling to matches and congregating. The plan is to allow 200 in a stadium with over 5,000 capacity. In very large stadiums...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I did not just open it, as Minister for Health I made sure it happened and I worked with the people involved. The Deputy wrote to me and I read the letter last evening, but the reasons for the closure were not spelled out. I would like to engage with the Deputy on that. The original idea was that it was to be an addiction centre. Traditionally health authorities are against...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: On the local services, the Deputy might forward further details to me. A full audit of mental services is there. Recruitment of personnel at a psychiatric level and in child and adolescent centres is one of the challenges for mental health services.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There are protocols there and the Mental Health Commission, which I established way back as Minister for Health, is there to provide oversight in terms of best practice and what is good and not so good in our mental health services.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I was not in government for the last budget. We were in Opposition and facilitated the budget under a confidence and supply agreement. Consistently under that agreement, we increased resources for mental health. Notwithstanding that increase in resources, mental health services did not seem to be in a position to convert those resources into recruiting the necessary personnel, both in the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The €600 million that has been allocated to health is designed to try to alleviate the pressures which Deputy Cahill has outlined, which I acknowledge, especially in Limerick. He has raised issues regarding funding for Nenagh hospital. I will engage with the Minister for Health about this and with the Department and HSE with a view to what can be done in the short term to alleviate...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: My understanding is that it will be in the later part of this session. I have asked for this Bill to be progressed. It has been committed to for quite a number of years. There seem to be some issues regarding the content and extent of the Bill. I am determined to deal with those issues and get the Bill published and to get it through the House.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I understand the very difficult situation for individual students, in having a desire to secure a certain course and a target to get the results to secure it. It is heartbreaking when a student does not get the course. This year in particular, due to Covid-19, there was a unique situation with no physical examinations and a calculated grades programme had to be introduced. As part of that...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government about recruitment of speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as other disciplines and professions. We hope to do some therapy through the school system by having a greater presence in schools, which is something I have been personally committed to for a long time. I think it is a better model for...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: A replacement should be provided for anybody who is on maternity leave and that should be automatic.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government has made a clear decision on that in terms of parental leave and will be bringing in measures as per the Government decision.