Results 35,781-35,800 of 51,299 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (18 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----and schools in Duleek. In respect of Galway and the west, we want to economically redress the regional imbalance in economic development. The whole national development plan is about regional cities growing, as well as about getting higher population growth on that western seaboard and so forth. I apologise that I cannot get to every topic.

Seanad: Address to Seanad Éireann by An Taoiseach (18 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: And just transition. Take care and thank you very much.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil méadú tar éis teacht ar an méid leapacha atá againn agus go háirithe na leapacha ICU. Tá i bhfad níos mó díobh againn anois ná mar a bhí againn i dtosach na bliana seo caite agus níos mó leapacha i gcoitinne sna hospidéil chomh maith. Ta níos mó tástálacha ar...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: As I said earlier, the intention now is to go, at a minimum, to 340 by the end of 2022. We are at close to 300 or 301 at the end of this year and we need to expand it even further. Recruitment and training of staff will be the key ingredient there; it will not be an absence of resources. Currently, we have 130 people in ICU, as of today, and 638 in hospital. These are large numbers which,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is not the case that the booster vaccination infrastructure is just focused on the primary doses, which are dose one and two. It is important that we continue to do the vaccinations. Some 1,900 people came forward over the weekend for their first dose. That is good news. Those were people who may not have been easily accessed by the system, but they came forward to vaccination centres....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We have planned and we are planning accordingly. The number of ICU beds at the end of this year will be 301, give or take. Resources were provided for 321 beds. There have been challenges as regards recruitment but about 11,000 people have been recruited in two years and the aim is to get to 340 beds, minimum, by the end of 2022. I would like to go further if we could and progress it and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy used the phrase, "the Government takes". Who is the Government?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: This is a very simplistic kind of presentation, which goes on all the time. It is the social contract, to varying degrees. We might disagree as to where the balance of the social contract is but the social contract is society raising revenue through the elected government of the day and rebalancing that revenue out in education services, childcare services, health services, mental health...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, in terms of rural Ireland, a major and unprecedented initiative was taken to increase the allocation of resources for a rural transport scheme. The only city that has Luas and DART services is Dublin. The other cities do not have those services although we are trying to develop a more expanded bus network. That is acknowledged. We are one of only a few EU countries that by way of a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I agree with Deputy Harkin that given the once-in-a-century nature of the global pandemic we need to take measures now in respect of teacher substitution which would we not take in ordinary "peace" time. I will put it that way to the Deputy. That does mean that all stakeholders, be they regulatory or unions, must show some degree of flexibility as well. Today's meeting with the higher...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, in wrapping up, I want to send our best wishes to the Ceann Comhairle and to wish him the very best in his recovery from Covid-19. I believe in flexibility at moments like this. This is not related but I will make the point. I remember many years ago, when I was the Minister for Education, the idea of introducing a qualified Montessori teacher to primary schools was something...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I understand that Deputies may have criticisms and so on but some of the language being used is out of order. I respectfully suggest that there needs to be a greater sense of giving a positive message to the public about what is being achieved as well. It is all very well to talk about putting the tin hat on it and attempting to ridicule what is going on. It is not right of Deputy McDonald...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The impression from the contributions of the Opposition is that nobody is getting tested and no one can get tested. We already had a good discussion on testing during Leaders' Questions. I gave information on testing and I said that the HSE is doing everything it possibly can to expand PCR testing. I remember Deputy McDonald saying well over a year ago that 100,000 tests per week was the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I regret that some game-playing is going on.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: This was all agreed at the Business Committee and the Government is standing by what was agreed there. Deputy Whitmore made a fair point. During Leaders' Questions, I referenced the fact that about 1,900 people turned up for their first dose of a vaccine at the weekend and the majority of those would have been from migrant communities.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is testament to the efforts of the HSE to reach out to minority communities and those communities that may not have enjoyed the same confidence in the vaccine in the beginning that they are starting to turn up because of those efforts.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is worth bearing in mind that the total economic supports provided by the Government to date are in excess of €20 billion. This does not include in excess of €2.8 billion in tax debt warehousing or the €1.5 billion in loans supported through Government schemes, such as the credit guarantee scheme. The employment wage subsidy scheme has, to date, granted payments of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Yes, but it has to be done in a routine way and not in reaction to symptoms. That is the key point. The concern of the Chief Medical Officer is around the use and overuse of antigen testing. When people are symptomatic, they should get PCR tests straight away. By the end of September, more than 100,000 antigen tests were used in agriculture, for example, in food premises and so on. The...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. A number of Deputies on all sides of the House have also raised it with me. I will certainly have the matter examined and will engage in getting some resolution to this. I take the points that have been raised as fair.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government has decided to keep everything under review but I will make a point in respect of pandemic unemployment payments. Taking the hospitality sector, for example, there has been a consistent response from that sector, as well as from retail, that it is finding it difficult to fill vacancies. One would like to think that notwithstanding the impact of the measures we took last week...