Results 34,301-34,320 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I want to get this issue resolved on behalf of the residents and owners.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Kelly readily acknowledged that he is not an immunologist or an expert in this field.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: Most people who say they are not experts then go back to the age-old notion of common sense as a back-up. The point is that the vaccination programme is going well and that it is going well through the age cohort approach and through the vaccination centres. One of the most pleasing aspects of it is the very high level of participation by people as we go down through the age cohorts. Our...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy needs to be fully up front-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----about what he is proposing. In terms of AstraZeneca-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: In the context of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the announcement has already been made that the second dose is being brought forward. What was to have taken nine weeks, namely, the administering of the second dose, will now take five. That is happening as we speak and the HSE is engaged with that plan. Basically, we will be finishing the second dose of AstraZeneca three to four weeks earlier...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will have the matter of the Janssen vaccines and its administration in pharmacies looked at. The HSE has already announced that it will move from the current 12-week interval for AstraZeneca vaccine doses down to eight weeks. It has said that within five weeks, we will achieve that eight-week interval. I can double-check that with the HSE for the Deputy but that is the target....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: It was announced publicly.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am always glad to help or oblige the Deputy on this. It is good news and important. The big issue all along has been supply and the mRNA vaccines in particular have played an outstanding role. AstraZeneca has increased its supply and we are getting greater visibility over that supply, which is positive. Again, we hope the manufacturers and the global supply chain can improve their...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy Naughten for raising the issue. As society begins to reopen we will be able to reduce our reliance on many different supports that the Government has provided throughout the pandemic. The Covid-19 temporary assistance payment scheme was established as part of a comprehensive package of support measures for nursing homes at the start of the pandemic. It was originally...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is a separate question, which is more general to the health service. I have consistently said the Government wishes to recognise not only front-line healthcare workers but front-line workers, and is continuing to examine the optimal way of doing this. However, we are not out of the pandemic yet and all our attention and focus are on making sure we continue with progress on the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: No, I did not say that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I never said that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: When I visited Donegal last week, it was not a covert visit. The key focus of that was not only to visit a home, meet the Loftus family and see the appalling condition of their home but also to meet the action group, Donegal County Council and the chairperson of the mica action committee on Donegal County Council, Councillor Martin McDermott, who was in the group, to have a long and thorough...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: It was a good, substantive meeting. Analysis can happen already from the applications that have now come in because many of these are individual homes, as well as local authority homes, as the Deputy will be aware, that have to be rectified.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is the intention. This has gone on too long. I have looked at the timeline as well. I was not in government for the past ten years but this thing has gone on too long. Homeowners have raised legitimate issues. They have got to be dealt with. I referenced the Attorney General last week. I have an issue with certain people walking away from this. That is my issue. Who supplied...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: Put your hand on the windowsill and it crumbles. To me, that does need to be pursued. That is what I meant.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I welcome the fact we are having a debate on fisheries. In fairness, Deputy Christy O'Sullivan has been pushing this for some time. It is good we have 200 minutes allocated for the debate, which others have also sought, and we should have it. On the Common Agricultural Policy, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, is in talks on that today and on an ongoing basis. We will...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: A debate is scheduled this week and we will come back to it again. In other words, this will continue for a bit in terms of the Common Agricultural Policy. On the fisheries issue, I have beefed up the social dialogue process within my Department because of the significant issues arising for the fishing industry, not just in the context of the control plan but also in the context of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: No, it is not. We had similar structured dialogue prior to Brexit. We need a structured approach with the fishing industry to deal with the issues in a frank and realistic way and to deal with how we can best help the industry to deal with the significant challenges before it. Unfortunately, distortions that we were against having a debate on the fishing industry were put about the place....