Results 31,881-31,900 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I accept the extraordinary challenges that are facing the Debenhams workers and the fact that they have been campaigning and on strike for so long in the pursuit of the realisation of their collective agreement. The Tánaiste and others have been seeking to see what we can do with the trade unions to try to assist in some alleviation of the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his question. There is no doubt the early childcare providers have challenges in the context of Covid-19, especially in the recruitment of staffing and staffing difficulties. The Government has given, and continues to give, significant financial support to providers through the wage subsidy scheme to assist in recruiting and retaining staff. I know that the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his point. Deputy MacSharry-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Marc MacSharry raised this with me last evening as well at our parliamentary party meeting. It is a serious issue. There are legal issues, as the Deputies have pointed out. I am waiting on a report back from the Minister to see how best we can approach it and deal with it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government has a very strong climate change agenda. It is quite radical and transformative and I hope the Deputy will support all aspects of it. Her party opposed the cross-party approach to climate change in the previous Oireachtas and tends to take anà la carteapproach to climate change when it suits. We take the Supreme Court judgment on board. The new climate change Bill will...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. The programme for Government identifies insurance reform as a key priority. The Law Reform Commission report published today is positive in certain respects. The Government has formed a special Cabinet sub-committee involving a number of Departments to deal with this in a comprehensive and very focused way. The Minister of State,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I have responded on this matter to Deputy Kelly, but I will say to the other Deputies who correctly raised it that the fundamental priority has to be to communicate to the students involved because it is their grades and results. The Minister will have no difficulty coming to the House to make a presentation-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: She does not have to do it today. I think the statement has to be issued and-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, if I could answer the question, it has to be communicated to students in the first instance and to be done in a comprehensive way so that all the issues are fully articulated and explained-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----around the technical processes and the technology. I accept that the students of the class of 2020 have had a very challenging year-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The matter relates to technical issues, not political issues or anything to do with the Government overseeing it-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I refer to the technology, the coding and so on. It will be fully explained by the Minister. It will result in upgrades for quite a number of students and the point has been raised about places at third level-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is extremely important that students are facilitated in their progression to third level. Covid-19 resulted in a calculated grades process being introduced----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It resulted in the abolition of the exam and, essentially-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----that is the process that came. It is not to audit the Department; it is to audit the process, which is important-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is a full, independent, external audit. It is the correct thing to do. It is a good thing to do.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic Plan (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. Both the high level review of the economy and the development of new measures of well-being and progress will be taken forward as part of the ongoing work on the development of a national economic plan and its associated work streams. As committed to in the programme for Government, work is under way to develop a national...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic Plan (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, we have not been giving money hand over fist to big business. The funding has been directed through wage subsidy schemes and more than €3.5 billion has been paid through the PUP alone. There are 350,000 workers whose jobs are underpinned by the wage subsidy scheme. By any standard that is an extraordinary intervention as the Covid-19 pandemic is an extraordinary event. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Economic Plan (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I said it was last week. I do not have the specific date. That was when it was initially alerted and then the Department had to find out what was involved and the details. The economic plan is the subject matter of this question. We want to think about where the economy and society will go after Covid-19. Today's Economic and Social Research Institute report mentions a potentially...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 and 5 together. The Cabinet co-ordination committee meets in advance of Government meetings and last met on 28 September. The committee was established by the Government to review the activity of Cabinet committees, review the agenda for each week's Government meeting, discuss political priorities, and review the implementation of a specified element of...