Results 34,461-34,480 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: To respond to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, URDF funding will be substantial, at more than €300 million, for the docklands in Cork, which encompasses the south docks as well as the northern side. It will create employment overall in the region, which will be of great significance for the infrastructural works that will facilitate both residential and commercial developments in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The ESRI has stated that we should, and need to, build up to 33,000 houses a year. On the taxi question, if I may continue, a €6.5 million package was provided last week for taxi, hackney and limousine operators following my meetings with them and my engagement with the Minister for Transport. That involved €3 million for the continued waiver of vehicle licence fees in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: These supports include the PUP and enterprise support grants, many of which can be accessed by taxi drivers.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I had to race through the details of the taxi package. It is €6.5 million, not €300. Again, I am always open to engaging with the taxi drivers------

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have not seen the recent letter. I will follow up on that to see where it is in the system and activate that process. Deputies McAuliffe and Lahart and Senator Fitzpatrick were instrumental in organising that meeting. I will engage with them and Deputy Boyd Barrett to follow through on those issues. The Government has decided to extend the pandemic unemployment payment from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: On Deputy Barry's question, I have not heard Ms Lynne Embleton committee's presentation. I am wary of taking on board fully what the Deputy said she said, because people often paraphrase what somebody said and it does not turn out to be exactly what the person said. However, the fact there is no uncertainty as to the continuance of the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, to the end of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: We cannot keep making up the rules as we go along.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security Committee (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 12, inclusive, together. The National Security Committee is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government and it comprises representatives at the highest level from the Departments of Justice, Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Climate and Communications and from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The secretariat to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security Committee (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The national cybersecurity strategy sets out the strategic approach to protecting the State in the cybersecurity realm over the next five years, which I think Deputy McDonald raised. It sets out to develop our capacity and protect the State. In the last budget, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, tripled the budget for the National Cyber Security Centre,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 16, inclusive, together. The purpose of the national risk assessment, NRA, is to identify major strategic risks to Ireland's well-being in consultation with stakeholders. Since it was first published in 2014, the national risk assessment has provided an overview of strategic risks and has drawn attention, at an early stage, to the importance of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: In response to Deputy Kelly's question, the Government decided today to procure additional Moderna and Janssen vaccines for 2022. I can get the specific volumes for the Deputy. That is in addition to what we have already agreed in respect of Pfizer. This is all part of the European Union pre-purchase agreement framework for 2022 and 2023. The Health Emergency and Preparedness Response...

European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will attend a meeting of the European Council later this week on 24 and 25 June in Brussels. At this week’s meeting, we will, as has become usual, discuss Covid-19. This week, our focus will be on vaccination rates across the EU, including in the context of new variants, and on progress on the EU digital Covid certificate, as well as an initial exchange on lessons learnt from the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: A tabular breakdown of the figures requested by the Deputy is below. Social Media advertising has been a central part of the public information campaigns for Covid-19, and since March 2020 my Department has co-ordinated the communications strategy for the whole-of-government response to the pandemic that ensures maximum clarity for citizens, businesses and our wider community. The strategy...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: A tabular breakdown of the figures requested by the Deputy is below. Social Media advertising has been a central part of the public information campaigns for Covid-19 and since March 2020, my Department has co-ordinated the communications strategy for the whole-of-government response to the pandemic that ensures maximum clarity for citizens, businesses and our wider community. The strategy...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Expenditure (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: There has been no expenditure by my Department or by the National Economic and Social Development Office, which is an agency under the aegis of my Department, on public relations consultancy costs since January 2021. The Citizens’ Assembly, which is staffed by my Department, has engaged Q4 Public Relations to provide media liaison and communication services incurring costs of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Appointments (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: My Department and the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) - the only body under my Department's aegis - actively support diversity and inclusion in the workplace and recognise the importance of a workforce that is inclusive of persons from diverse backgrounds and reflective of Irish society. Recruitment to my Department and NESDO is, in the main, undertaken through the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Policies (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: Since 27 June 2020, ten new Cabinet Committees have been established with specific responsibility for a range of issues to advance the Government's Programme. Through the work of the Committees supported by my Department, a range of policy work has been advanced, including: - Management of the whole of Government Response to COVID-19 including vaccine roll-out; - Recent publication of the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Climate Action Plan (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Interim Climate Action Plan 2021 was published in March of this year. Its primary purpose is to maintain a whole-of-government focus on implementation, and continue to progress new climate actions this year, while the Climate Action Plan 2021 is developed. It is a continuation of the Climate Action Plan 2019 which recognised the importance of governance and transparency in the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government has established the following ten 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. As Taoiseach, I am briefed regularly by the Garda Commissioner and by relevant officials on the national and international...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: State Bodies (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO) and the Central Statistics Office (CSO) are both independent offices operating under the aegis of the Department. NESDO have not been charged interest for savings in their deposit account. The CSO do not have a deposit account and charges to the CSO bank account are applied as with all other Government Departments under the...