Results 31,841-31,860 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am speaking through the Chair.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am answering the question. I did not interrupt any other Deputies when they spoke. I have been heckled since I began to speak and there have been efforts to interfere. With the greatest respect, I would appreciate the protection of the Chair when I have the floor. Regarding the questions around the shared island unit, it is a noble objective to work with all sides to enable people to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am all for discussion. I have engaged in discussion on all fronts with all people involved in the North. The shared island unit can do a lot of useful work in the areas we have mentioned, including health, the range of issues concerning justice, education, including a shared approach to history within the curricula, and commemoration, notwithstanding people's different perspectives. It...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The approach Sinn Féin has put forward will only divide people more, both in the manner it has been put forward and the very partisan approach taken by Deputies opposite. I do not share that approach. I do not need lectures about Irish unity or republicanism.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The essence of my party has been to unite Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter. We are of the Wolfe Tone persuasion. We are constitutional republicans who believe in the European Union.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Shared Island Unit (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am delighted that the Deputies opposite came around to the European Union after opposing it for decades, as it opposed this State and its institutions for decades.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Broadcasting Sector (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 and 25 together. In December 2019, the Government agreed the terms of reference for the commission on the future of Irish public service broadcasting, to be established by the Department of the Taoiseach. Professor Brian MacCraith, former president of Dublin City University, was appointed as chair of the commission. The programme for Government has...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Broadcasting Sector (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I agree with much of what has been stated by the Deputies. I did not quite catch the final point made by Deputy Bruton. Is it the balance between traditional media and-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Broadcasting Sector (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: When we say in "a platform-agnostic fashion", I think there is a view emerging that there has been a seismic change in terms of non-traditional media, such as those using online platforms. As Deputy Ó Ríordáin stated, that has impacted on the quality of life of journalists and the quality of the job itself. It is extraordinary that those currently working in journalism must...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Live Register (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Live Register, which is published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), is a short-term measure designed to provide information on the labour market and those in receipt of a number of benefits. The Live Register is compiled from returns made to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) and comprises of persons under 65...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Advisers (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The persons employed in my Department as Special Advisers are detailed in the table. It should be noted that all appointments are subject to formal Government approval which I will seek in due course. Relevant contracts will be laid before the Oireachtas in due course also. All appointments will be made in line with the Public Service Management Act, 1997 Office...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, I think it is a good report by the ESRI. I want to say that, contrary to the pandemic increasing affordability issues in the sector, the ESRI is actually saying that, in the short term, affordability may have actually improved over recent months because of, to use its own phrase, "extraordinary fiscal measures [introduced by the Government] in the form of the Pandemic Unemployment...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has a lot of talk and her party colleagues talk a lot, but what is absent, in my view, is any coherent plan in terms of employment, affordability or housing. They talk a lot about those things but, in my view, much of it is without substance. If one reads the ESRI report comprehensively, it uses the phrase "extraordinary fiscal interventions" in reference to the Government's...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy Kelly for his question and the issues he has raised. There is no doubt that the impact of Covid-19 on the economy has been very severe in 2020, and especially on the domestic side of the economy. Regarding the multinational sector, it is worth saying this, and the Deputy will acknowledge it and get it, but a lot of people in the House do not get it, that Sinn Féin and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: That will be considered. The scheme referred to by Deputy Kelly is being looked at. There is also the broader issue of how we sustain our hospitality sector over the medium term, acknowledging and accepting that Covid-19 will have a significant impact on our economy for the full 12 months of 2021. If we accept that it has a specific impact on the food, accommodation, beverage and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issues. A strong, vibrant and independent media on all platforms is central to our parliamentary democracy and to freedom of speech. The Future of Media Commission is platform agnostic in that sense. It is not taking a preferential view of one platform over another. It is being asked to look at public service broadcasting into the future and how that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The commission has a very wide agenda already and it would not have been correct to include defamation as well. Defamation in itself can be complex and needs a separate process involving the Department of Justice and Equality, the Minister with responsibility for media, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Government as a whole. Defamation needs to be reviewed and we will follow through on the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Yes but I just wanted to say that the commission deals with that. It also deals with the financial underpinning of media into the future and the changing media landscape. Public service broadcasting is still a very important part of that, as is local radio. We have seen the best of the media during the pandemic itself, which should reinforce our commitment to do something about the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have the photographs here that the Deputy sent to my office during the week. They are quite shocking in terms of the appalling levels of dumping in which people are engaging. Illegal dumping is an attack on our society, our communities and our pristine landscape and there should be zero tolerance for that type of behaviour. The fines are quite...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy in terms of the appalling impact illegal dumping has on our community, our landscape and the environment, and it needs to be dealt with in an uncompromising way. However, the laws are strong enough in that area, for example, under current waste legislation vehicles involved in the carrying out of suspected unlawful waste activity can be seized and, if it is...