Results 38,321-38,340 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I, too, pay tribute to Cara for what she is doing to raise awareness in respect of autism. I am very conscious of the situation of her two brothers, John and Neil. I have visited Scoil Chormaic Special School on a number of occasions but I do not think I have been to Ardfinnan National School recently. I salute all those involved in that area....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. To cut to the chase, the expert team will not just be about firefighting. Its purpose is to look at the entire management process and what is going on within the hospitals. There was a very good article by Paul Cullen in The Irish Timesyesterday about how some hospitals have developed systems that are getting better outcomes than others. He...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will engage with the Minister on the issue. It relates to post-primary placements. About 287 additional special classes with 1,700 new places for the 2022-23 school year have already been approved and provided. There is, however, an issue with second level placements, as I discussed with Deputies yesterday. There is in place legislation by...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have spoken to the Minister for Health about this issue. It is a supply issue. It is not just an issue pertaining to Ireland but is a global supply issue. I have made it clear we will do everything we possibly can to secure additional supplies because it is very serious and not acceptable at current levels. I will ensure the Minister keeps in touch with Deputy Higgins about the matter.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: All the recommendations of the pensions commission are integrated. One cannot cherry-pick them with the ease with which the Deputy has just done. There are significant cost implications also. The report was published in October 2021. I note that in Northern Ireland, the Deputy's party supported increasing the pension age to 66, so there is somewhat of an inconsistency in Sinn Féin's...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and supportive measure in addition to the State pension.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I will ask the Minister to go back and formally check that with the Department and we will come back to the Deputy on the matter. Generally, the Government has taken a very significant initiative on wildlife, particularly with the creation of a new agency in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and a significant expansion of resources and staff. We are very anxious about the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Lisa Thompson following her horrific and barbaric murder. I do not believe there is any toleration of such barbaric acts in this House or in society. I genuinely do not believe there is any tolerance threshold for such violence at all. Very significant new measures have been brought in in respect of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am very familiar with the Irish Men's Sheds Association and the very many different groups I have met across the country. I pay tribute to the work they do and the camaraderie, the collegiality, the ending of isolation and so on, which are very positive community developments. Local authorities assist such sheds on the ground and various groups across the country. Each has different...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I do not accept the basic proposition that the Deputy has put forward in respect of what has happened at An Bord Pleanála in terms of every live file, for example, being considered. I dealt with this earlier in a reply. The individual concerned - the deputy chairman - has acknowledged what he has said was inadvertent, but there are other issues. The Minister has appointed a senior...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: In response to Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, funding has been provided for home help. The service has been dramatically expanded and increased by millions of hours by the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. There has been an issue in terms of recruitment of staff. If the Deputy has specific instances where staff are available to care for people, I ask that he forward them to the Minister of State,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met a total of 19 times, most recently on 28 March. The next meeting is scheduled for 16 May. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; the Minister...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for raising those issues in the broad context of the economy. There were quite a number on housing and energy. In the first instance, the Housing for All strategy has a suite of measures, not one set of measures. There is a very strong focus on social housing and a target for 2022 of 9,000, with the aim of getting to approximately 10,000 per annum over the next five...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: Over the last ten years we were not building enough houses so we have to rapidly increase and then consistently have an output of housing of 33,000 to 35,000 per annum for the next ten years. That will enable us to provide younger people, in particular, with affordable houses to rent or buy. In response to Deputy Barry, I often thought he might have kissed the Blarney Stone when he first...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 19, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate change oversees the implementation of the ambitious programme for Government commitments on the environment and climate change. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 sets out Ireland's key climate change commitments. It sets challenging carbon...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: Who? Is it private operators?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for the issues they raised. Funding has been provided by the Minister to increase the capacity of An Bord Pleanála. Along with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Attorney General, I was determined, coming into office, that we would get the Maritime Area Planning Act 2021 passed so that the Maritime Area Regulatory Authority could be...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: My point is that we are not going to be able to retrofit houses-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----in the future to the scale we want if we do not have revenue. We will not get environmentally-friendly farms or protect people from fuel poverty if we do not have revenue. That motion was on the issue of turf, which can be resolved, and carbon tax. Parties like the Social Democrats, which talk about climate change, voted for that motion.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: No, but on the Private Members' motion. The point I am making is that future generations will not forgive this generation of politicians if we do not deal comprehensively and urgently with this. There will be significant challenges. We are up against it in terms of meeting the targets that have been set.