Results 31,901-31,920 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: This is very worrying and upsetting for the students concerned. Of that there is no doubt. Covid-19 has had an extraordinarily negative impact on their educational year. In the first instance it resulted in the cancellation of the normal physical leaving certificate exam as we knew it. In May, it was decided to proceed with a calculated grades process which in itself was a unique approach...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is important that that be done. There is a set timeframe which the Minister will reveal. It is very, very regrettable. Believe me, it is not something about which I or anybody wanted to hear, least of all the students themselves. I know it will cause additional alarm and worry. The objective now is to reassure students in terms of the places they already have and, if necessary, in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: No. The Department will make a presentation on that this afternoon publicly and comprehensively, which is the correct thing to do. The Department has carried out a series of further checks. It has identified no further errors in the coding and it has checked that the coding-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is no issue with the Minister coming in. She will present to the Dáil.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: That depends on logistics. My understanding is that a comprehensive statement will be made at 4 p.m., which is important.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It will be made publicly such that students and everybody else can hear it. That is the intention of the Minister.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Of course, the Minister will make herself available to come to the House and answer questions. The Department has contracted Educational Testing Service, which is a US-based non-profit organisation that specialises in educational measurement to review the essential aspects of the coding that underpinned the calculated grades system. The results data are now being rerun through the corrected...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 and 7 together. While there is no formal Cabinet committee dealing exclusively with security matters, I receive regular updates on the security situation and any relevant incidents and events. Ministers can also update the Government as necessary on security-related issues that arise in their areas of responsibility. In addition, the national security...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: We would.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It will not happen.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: As I said, there is no security committee of Cabinet in the first instance. The main focus of the questions as they evolved is around pay, recruitment and retention. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the Minister for Defence are engaged in terms of what measures can be taken, in particular to assist the Naval Service in its situation without creating issues for the wider...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: That is the intention. I am making it clear that depends on the company, as it looks at it. I do not want to pre-empt its work but, obviously, it has to be done in a timely way. The point is that students will have to be given assurances in terms of places they already have. A lot of work will have to be done with the third level colleges, the universities and the CAO system to assist...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Broadcasting Sector (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: 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. The former President of Dublin City University, Professor Brian Mac Craith was appointed as Chair of the Commission. The Programme for Government has expanded the remit of the Public Service Broadcasting...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 23 and 25 together. The Department does not engage third part media monitoring services. As part of the press office’s normal operation, both traditional print and social media are monitored for content of relevance to the work of the Department.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (30 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The total amount spent by my Department on access to online and hardcopy media publications since May 2020 to date is €17,183 and €17,416 respectively.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: Unity of purpose on all fronts is essential in dealing with a pandemic of this scale and severity, including within this House. The Deputy has consistently sought in recent times to undermine not just the efforts of the Government but those of the HSE in the context of acute hospital care, testing capacity and so forth. The Deputy has now misrepresented the telephone conversation she had...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, Fianna Fáil was not in power for the last decade. The Deputy consistently says that even when we were at 20 seats. She equates 20 seats with being in power. That is just an aside. It is immaterial and irrelevant. She keeps on with the propaganda and, really, we do not need that now in the middle of a pandemic of this sort. On intensive care unit, ICU, beds, there has been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----to deal with this. I do not know why the Deputy does not believe the leadership team in the HSE. She takes umbrage at other situations, but she seems to disagree consistently with the leadership team in the HSE which consistently says to me, because I make it my business to check if they have capacity to deal with the current situation, "Yes." On testing, the supply at the moment...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue given the concerns locally. Protecting those living in direct provision accommodation centres from any Covid-19 outbreak has been an absolute priority of Government. A comprehensive programme of serial Covid-19 testing by the HSE has been completed across 66 accommodation centres. My understanding is about 3,300 tests have been undertaken...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Oct 2020)

Micheál Martin: How are they getting from Carnbeg Hotel?