Results 35,741-35,760 of 51,299 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I accept the sincerity of the Deputy's presentation. I value her raising the issue, even though the recruitment of staff is an operational issue for the HSE. The Deputy has suggested because the post is part time, it is not getting the attention from people who could fill that position. I will engage with the HSE on that. The recruitment processes need to be speeded up, accelerated and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Ceann Comhairle is being too strict. I was really looking forward to a lyrical list of those beautiful Kerry names dripping off the tongue. I agree with the Deputy. I will look at it. It is a very fair point. Deputy Ó Cuív was instrumental in introducing the rural social scheme. It is a valuable scheme. It does a lot of valuable work throughout the country. It is very...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will certainly examine the issue. Advances have been made in nursing through the nurse education and degree programme we introduced many years ago and through advanced practitioner courses. It is very clear in many specialties that nurse-led teams do enormously effective work, from gynaecology to children. In neurology, which historically has been an underfunded area, there is much to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have raised this issue myself with the Minister for Education and others. It is an easy issue to raise but it will be more challenging to fulfil. I would not start from Covid; I would start from climate change. With regard to tearing up the rule book, the way we should approach school transport into the future is through the prism of climate change. The Deputy is correct that if we want...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I will engage with the Minister for Justice on this with regard to the reforms that are required and I will revert to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We certainly do not. The Deputy should look into his own party

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Context is everything. I do not think anyone is glorifying organised crime. It is not on that the Deputy has suggested Deputy Cowen or anybody was glorifying organised crime. That is just not on. For whatever cheap political points the Deputy wants to score, it is just not on to be suggesting that. We could all throw things back with regard to glorifying criminality, murder and mayhem....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Drug crime is one of the worst horrors to visit an individual, community or society. We have to deal with drug abuse, drug trafficking and criminality around drugs in a multidimensional way, first, with regard to those who suffer from addiction with a healthcare-based approach. With regard to criminals we should take a very strong justice approach involving the Special Criminal Court and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I accept the points the Deputy has made on the need for widespread coverage of the National Ambulance Service. Other Deputies have raised this in the House. The facts of the matter are, as the Deputy has said, overall investment is now €200 million. This is up from €170 million in 2019. Approximately 2,000 people are employed in the National Ambulance Service, which is up...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The overall public health message is to reduce socialisation more generally in society and not in any specific way. We can all give instances when one is questioned about hundreds of different types of events and so on. The bottom line from the Chief Medical Officer, CMO, and NPHET is to reduce socialisation. Some hundreds of thousands of people under the modelling could get Covid-19 in...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Yes, Deputy, and I was not able to pick up everything that he said. We want to get extra bed capacity into Limerick and I will engage with the HSE in respect of any blockages. It will have to be built or developed which will obviously take time.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will talk to the HSE in respect of that because historically there has been an issue in Limerick. It got its new accident and emergency department but it needs-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am answering the question. The hospital needs additional bed capacity. We are willing to provide it. Funding is there and we need to get on with it.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: My view is that the entire senior management should be concerned about voids and vacant housing. Is that the issue? Fine, but it is much more than just having a vacant housing officer. The entire corporation and local council should be seized with the need to get houses back into service as quickly as they are vacated. That is why we provided substantial funding in the July stimulus. We...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: As the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is in the House he will deal with this matter.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Carthy has omitted to point to the fact that this went the whole way to the highest court of the land, which took decisions which resulted in the situation that we are in now. Court decisions and litigation have led us to this unsatisfactory situation in respect of the importation of peat. I accept that it does not make any sense on any yardstick that peat should be imported. I have...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy is aware, we have expanded use of antigen testing. Close contacts are issued freely.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: They are issued free antigen tests. There will be another 300,000 or 400,000 people, potentially, over the next while who will develop Covid-19 and there will be a whole range of close contacts. The issue is that we have expanded its use in many different sectors including through close contacts, as advised by public health. The Deputy is well aware that public health has over time had a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The medics are of the view that antigen testing has a role but it is not the silver bullet role that some people will advocate. We have made progress on this and we need to make more.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: In response to Deputy Browne, first of all the degree programme is vital. It has been the most transformative thing we did in terms of professionalising the EMT profession, and I was involved in it. The professionalisation of the sector is the most effective thing we have done in terms of pre-emergency care. As I said, I have heard what people have said in terms of individual examples...