Results 33,281-33,300 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----throughout the summer. I do not accept the Deputy's point that there is a conflict of interest between being chair of NPHET and being director of the National Virus Reference Laboratory, NVRL. To be fair to all concerned, everybody has come together in different contexts to help the country defeat and suppress Covid-19. We should accept people's bona fides in that regard. There is a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am not an expert on testing or the most-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: No. They have their experts. We cannot just pick and choose à la carte. There are structures within the country and clinical and public health advice and-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Maybe the Deputy's party could do something as well. Maybe it is time for Sinn Féin to help and assist in truth recovery in respect of the terrible atrocities-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Why is it shocking? Why is it shocking that the relatives of those who were murdered in Kingsmill should get transparency and some truth as to what happened?

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I did not interrupt. I listened and I wish to respond. It is a genuine response. The Deputy generically calls it "the conflict" as if the Provisional IRA and the Provisional movement had absolutely nothing to do with it. "People got killed by accident" seems to be the assertion in the lovely and articulate way in which this is put, but we know the reality-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I know that, and we will do what we can. As a Government we have played our part through the setting up of the Smithwick tribunal of inquiry and we will do more if necessary to bring truth through to what happened, but the Deputy's party must also do more.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: My response is that I have no difficulty meeting any groups, and I have met them in the past, but I do get tired of those who do not come to the table and I believe genuinely that the Provisional movement has not come to the table on many atrocities that were committed in the past. That needs to happen too. In response to the question about the protocol, yes, there has been subsequent...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Cahill has been consistent on this issue for quite some time. I point out to Deputies Carthy and Durkan that a working group has been established by the Minister of State at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Noonan, to examine the future role of peat in the horticultural sector in relation to the long-term solution for peat alternatives for horticultural...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I had phone calls with First Minister, Arlene Foster MLA, and the deputy First Minister, Michelle O’Neill MLA on 25 January. We discussed the latest situation on Covid-19 and the measures being taken in response, including in relation to travel. We discussed the similarity of approach across many of the actions we are each taking in response to Covid. We also discussed the issue of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Citizens' Assembly (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The work of the current Citizens’ Assembly on gender equality was interrupted in 2020 and delayed by the impact of Covid-19. The Assembly has adapted its methods to comply with Public Health guidelines and resumed its work with online meetings in October 2020 with the aim of reporting by June 2021. The experience of the current Assembly of operating on an online basis will inform the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government has established the following Cabinet Committees - - COVID-19 - Economic Recovery and Investment - Housing - Health - Environment and Climate Change - Social Affairs and Equality - Education - Europe - Brexit and Northern Ireland, and - Government Co-ordination The Committee on Government Co-ordination meets in advance of Government meetings and last met on Monday of this...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Functions (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The role of my Department is to assist my work as Taoiseach and the effective operation of Government. My Department is currently structured around six main divisions: - International, EU and Northern Ireland Division; - Economic Division; - Social Policy and Public Service Reform Division; - Government Secretariat; - Protocol and Civic Policy; and - Corporate Affairs Division. The remainder...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: National Economic and Social Council (3 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) advises the Taoiseach on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable economic, social and environmental development in Ireland. The Council published 6 reports during 2020: - Climate-Change Policy: Getting the Process Right (NESC Report No.147) - Transport-Orientated Development: Assessing the Opportunity for Ireland (NESC Report No.148) ...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is quite extraordinary the two-dimensional thinking and approach from Deputy McDonald and the Sinn Féin Party more generally. They say one thing in this House and do the exact opposite in Northern Ireland on the Executive, for example. The Deputy calls for a pension age of 65 years here, yet in Northern Ireland last October the exact...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am disappointed that the Deputy's party saw fit to raise the age to 66 years in Northern Ireland and voted for it. The Deputy did not even respond to that point. That is what Sinn Féin did. It is just hypocrisy and double standards. Historically, Fianna Fáil was responsible for significant increases in the State pension down through the decades, particularly in the late 1990s...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We wish Lynsey Bennett the very best as she travels to Mexico. I spoke with Lynsey on the telephone over two weeks ago with regard to her devastating situation. It is devastating for all of the women involved and their families. In terms of the issues relating to the establishment of the tribunal, prior to this Government being established,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is an important issue. The Deputy raised the issue about liability and negligence and I want to make the point that it is an important distinction and it is an important issue. There is no Government edict stating that pembro should not be available.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will pursue the point that the Deputy has raised. There should not be an issue. Neither should there be an issue with the medical cards, and I will pursue that also. What has been committed to should be honoured and I will undertake that it will be honoured in respect of those two issues. What the Deputy says about the Morrissey case changing is contested. That is not accepted...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: No. I was speaking in terms of queries coming through about transfer of cases and so on.