Results 31,661-31,680 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is wrong, but worse-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am trying to give my political views on this and respond to the question. I am simply saying that these things are deliberately misleading, and are deliberately said in order to be misleading and misrepresent people's positions for the electoral base and electoral advantage. We have had too much of that in the politics of the island, particularly insofar as they relate to a fundamental...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am an enthusiastic supporter of the Good Friday Agreement.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I only wish Deputy McDonald and Sinn Féin were consistent on the agreement since it was signed. There is provision in the Good Friday Agreement for a referendum. Of course there is. Equally, I have made the point that I believe it would be very divisive to have one in the next number of years because we need to bring people together. I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett's points on...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is no longer about whether one is the purest on the national question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is about doing something pragmatic and significant on issues such as health, education and work.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The North needs an economic transformation. I have said consistently that the disadvantaged areas in the North, both loyalist and nationalist, need a Marshall plan for school completion and access to third level education. The levels are too low in some communities in the North and have been so for too long. I want the shared unit to delve into those areas because that is ultimately how we...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Cabinet Committee on Housing was established by the Government on 6 July 2020 to oversee effective implementation of the Programme for Government commitments in relation to housing. The Committee last met on July 30thand is scheduled to next meet on Monday, September 28th.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, it has to be said that the measures taken and announced last Friday were necessary in the public health interest to save lives and to protect people. The vast majority of people accept the premise upon which those measures were taken and announced, on the advice of our public health doctors and NPHET. They are necessary to get the numbers down and stabilise the number of cases in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: We have.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is wrong in what she has just said. It is not the first time that she has been wrong in her understanding of the law in that regard. Level 3 is nowhere near where it was. The point is that the legislation is robust and strong in that people affected by Covid will not face rent increases or evictions. That is what the legislation does. There is an extension of the provision...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has been one of the original enthusiasts for special advisers and always has been. She has been a long-term advocate of special advisers in politics. She has never shown any disdain for them to date, and her party has not either, so she should stop the hypocrisy on that issue.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Our objective is to support people.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is true that Covid-19 and its impact will be with us for much longer than anticipated. We must also recall there are 213,000 people on jobseeker's payments right now and a range of others on social welfare payments and in various schemes who also need support. Therefore, there is a much broader picture here than is being painted by the Deputy. In the context of the budget and of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issues. As I said earlier, the changes to the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, last July were designed to give sustainability to it. It was originally designed as a 12-week scheme when it was rushed into the House and introduced as an emergency to underpin incomes. The new rates approximate closely to what people would have been earning prior to being...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: As I said earlier, originally 600,000-odd people were on various pandemic-related schemes but that is now down to 200,000. Many people got back to work as the economy reopened during the summer. In addition, 213,000 people are on the basic jobseeker's allowance. A range of others are getting different social protection payments. One must be fair to all concerned as the horizon lengthens...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his questions. I know his commitment to this issue, about which we have had a number of discussions. In terms of the broader issue of model 4 hospital funding, an ongoing assessment will be undertaken that will include the question of funding for Waterford and its needs and demands. I will revert to the Deputy in that regard. As the Deputy is aware, the programme...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I spoke to the HSE earlier and my understanding is that the UPMC Whitfield facility is being used by the hospital. I got that assurance an hour before I came into the Chamber. I will double-check on that, to make sure that facility is being used. The Deputy and I both know one has to be careful of full independent reviews in terms of their analysis and what they might bring to bear. In...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. These are very important points. The Deputy said it took five days to get a test. That is not acceptable. I would like that checked out and the details followed through because it is not in accordance with the national average - that is not just waiting to get a test but right through - which is about 2.2 days. Some 85,000 tests were done last...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy. I agree with her on the need to underpin and support principals in schools as they navigate and manage an unprecedented public health pandemic. It is to their credit, and to the credit of teachers, SNAs and all staff within a school, that they have worked extremely hard to make the reopening of schools, and their continued opening, possible. I salute and affirm the work...