Results 39,021-39,040 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: No, the disability action plan was also published in July 2021. The framework plan was published alongside the terms of reference for an interdepartmental working group to develop this action plan for submission to the Cabinet sub-committee on social affairs and equality.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. On 23 May last, I welcomed a delegation from the US House of Representatives for a meeting at Government Buildings. This was the first visit to Ireland by a US congressional delegation since April 2019, when Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Congressman Richard Neal led a delegation to visit Dublin, London and Northern Ireland. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: First, on Deputy Richmond's point, I like the phrase "protocol-busting Bill" that he coined. We had a detailed discussion with the delegation in respect of the issues around the protocol. The delegates included both Republicans and Democrats and some had expertise in the trade area. They found it very difficult to comprehend what the issues were on the UK side. Their view was that the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Murphy referenced John Bolton, who is a Republican hawk. I do not accept at all that it is appropriate for any country to be organising coups in any other country. However, Mr. Bolton was a Donald Trump appointee, as the Deputy knows, and his views would not, in my opinion, be representative of mainstream opinion within the US. That has to be said.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I would like the Deputies' insights on Russian interference across the world and seeking transparency from Vladimir Putin as to how many coups d'étathe is organising, how many people he is leveraging pressure on-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and how many professional private organisations like the Wagner Group are being funded and organised and creating mayhem across the world. To me, right now internationally - let us call a spade a spade - President Biden is a voice for peace.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: He is a voice for reason in international relations and we are fortunate he is at the helm in the United States in the context of a terrible war on the Continent of Europe that could escalate into a horrific nuclear conflagration if we did not have someone as sensible as him in office. That is a fact. Deputy Murphy will never accept that and will never bring himself to acknowledge it...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Yes, but I want to make another point first. Prior to the war on Ukraine, President Biden, President Macron and Chancellor Scholz all spoke to Vladimir Putin saying, "We will get into negotiations and discussions on security issues you may have concerns about, but please do not start this war." He went ahead and started the war.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: May I have five minutes, a Cheann Comhairle, to finish my reply?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: A minute or two will do fine. I agree with Deputy Boyd Barrett that there should be access into Gaza. I secured access to Gaza then not through the Israeli Government at the time, but through the Egyptian foreign minister. I was the only foreign minister allowed into Gaza then because the Egyptian foreign minister said I could go in through the Rafah crossing. Other senior foreign...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, travelled to Dublin to meet me on 23 May. I was pleased to host him and his delegation for a working dinner at Farmleigh House. Ireland and the Netherlands are like-minded on a wide range of issues, and we co-operate closely at EU level. Coming ahead of the special meeting...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Richmond raised the issue of financial support. There are two elements to this. There is the current financial crisis facing Ukraine. I met with President Zelenskyy and I was the first Taoiseach to visit Kyiv. I just received a letter from the President thanking Ireland and me personally for supporting the historic decision of the European Council of June 23 to grant Ukraine the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has a rent pressure zone, RPZ, rate of 2%, and that is a fact. Looking at the data-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: They are working for existing houses and the Deputy knows that. By the way, I did speak to Prime Minister Mark Rutte about housing. The Dutch have huge challenges in housing and they have to build on an even greater scale than us. There is not a country that does not have issues with housing, particularly in cities.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Dutch are not in as benign a situation as the Deputy suggests.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I dealt with most of what Deputy Murphy raised. The overall story is that Ukraine's application to join the European Union opens the door for substantial funding by the European Union and the world more generally for Ukraine. Other countries have come together, especially during the Lugano conference, and committed to supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine given the extraordinary...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 20, inclusive, together. Ireland submitted its national reform programme, NRP, for 2022 to the European Commission on 4 May. The NRP was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and published on gov.iethereafter. The NRP is an element of the European semester, the annual cycle of economic and fiscal policy co-ordination among EU member states. As...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: In terms of housing more generally, I have said consistently since I was elected Taoiseach that it is the most pressing and significant social issue facing our country. That is why we developed a comprehensive plan for housing, to which no party in the Opposition has responded in any detail beyond sound bites and slogans and some proposals that would make the situation worse. The proposals...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: We now have the highest number of commencements on record. We have the highest number of planning permissions in over a decade. We have the highest number of completions in over a decade. We have established a high-level housing delivery group. Unfortunately, in the past two years we have been hit by Covid first, with two lockdowns, and now by a war on Ukraine, which is affecting...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: This does not apply just to education but to anybody living and working in Dublin or in the major cities in respect of any profession. One cannot single out just one profession. There is no doubt but there are challenges and that people will opt for a lower rent situation that would meet their personal requirements if they can get it. Until we get supply to a really significant level, we...