Results 38,801-38,820 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Because the motion states that. The Deputy ignores the €2.4 billion in measures the Government has allocated already. You just ignore it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: There has been a 55% increase in the fuel allowance and the €200 to every single household. The point I am making is that the Deputy has wrongly-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is interrupting again because she interrupts when she is on the back foot. The bottom line is that that is what Sinn Féin's motion states. What we want to do is something comprehensive that matters to people not just this month but right throughout the winter period. It will be a very difficult winter-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and we need a comprehensive set of measures to help people get through that because we understand fully. It is not good enough for the Deputy to say people on this side of the House are being dismissive. We are not. We share as much of the pain and concern people out there have and we are as concerned about people out there as Sinn Féin or anybody else is.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: As I have said, the Government has responded. There seems to be a complete brushing aside of the fact that €2.5 billion has been allocated to cost-of-living measures. We are going to do more but we will do it in a comprehensive way, embracing pay. In the private sector, the latest Central Statistics Office, CSO, data on wages are showing that the average weekly earnings in the first...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the offer of constructive engagement with the Government in terms of coming forward with ideas or viewpoints to tackle this issue. It is something the Government would welcome and it would respond to any constructive ideas brought forward on this issue. I come back to the fundamental point that we cannot chase inflation from month to month. The political will is there. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. It is fair to say that the decision on Roe v. Wade was quite shocking in many respects but fundamentally because it overturns 50 years of jurisprudence. In other words, what was judicial precedent over a 50-year period was overturned. However, we are different here in this society and our constitutional framework is different. The...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Again, I would not as dismissive as the Deputy on what I said about our referendum, our Constitution and the separation of powers. It goes to the very heart of what happened in the United States. Above everything else, we should avoid the politicisation of the Judiciary; that is the basic point I make because that is what led to the decision on Roe v. Wade. Likewise, on the protection of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this important and very serious issue. As he says, the HSE commissioned the National Independent Review Panel, NIRP, to carry out a review into very serious incidents of concern which took place between 2003 and 2016. That resulted in the publication in December of the National Independent Review Panel - Brandon Report for Publication. Prior to the NIRP...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: What may have happened ten years ago may not inform what could happen today in terms of the rigour of a Garda investigation. We have been told it would be about six weeks. Given all that has happened, we are prepared, obviously, to give the Garda that six weeks. However, I am not dismissing, ultimately, what the Deputy is suggesting and will give that very careful consideration in terms of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: My sense is that Members want this to be a debating chamber, not a legislative chamber. If we look at what has happened-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have request after request for statements on this and statements on that, debate on this, debate on that, but to hell with the legislation, we do not want legislation. Deputy Collins does not want to be crammed in on a Friday afternoon.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: We have offered three hours on Friday, not about debating endlessly about something-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----but about doing something in legislation to improve the admission situation for children with special needs.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is what we want to do. I know Deputy Collins-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, I am making the point that this is a legislative assembly, first and foremost.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Its objective is to pass laws. On the idea of nine Bills being appalling, to me, that is a sign of production, productivity, getting work done and getting legislation through.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Some emergency legislation is required. That is nothing new. It has happened from time immemorial in terms of emergency legislation being required. However, instead of just having endless debates, we want action as well. We need action in terms of admissions to schools, for fully inclusive principles around children with special needs being admitted to schools, so we do not have a...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: We need to make up our minds. Deputy Pringle talks about the Business Committee. Invariably, on the Order of Business, there are calls for statements, statements, debates, debates, debates in a very precious timeframe because we do not have an expanded timeframe. This week, we have Friday.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: We do not normally sit on a Friday but it seems that the preference is debate, debate, debate, and we push back legislation all of the time.