Results 39,921-39,940 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to the local authority, the Minister and the Department for getting this development, which is the largest urban regeneration project in the country, to begin, paving the way for Waterford to enhance its offering as an attractive place in which to invest and enabling it to develop new transport solutions. This is great news and we are very pleased with it. I take the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is my understanding. That was a key ask, particularly to unblock the student accommodation issue. Some of the institutions have land but the schemes did not add up in terms of viability, as I said. That has slowed down much of the student accommodation in the past two to three years. The State has to get involved to bridge that viability gap. The Minister, Deputy Harris, is working...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: As I said, huge activity has been under way on the housing front, notwithstanding Covid-19 and the inflationary cycle that has come as a result of the war in Ukraine which affected house construction. We will exceed our targets on the Housing for All plan this year. We will get more than 24,600 houses but that is not enough. We need to get to 33,000 houses per annum. Next year’s...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: We have to build it. We have to get more supply into the market. It is as simple as that at the end of the day. We cannot magic up houses but they can be built. We have to work on getting them built as fast as we possibly can. We will work with the representatives of the residents and the county council to see what can be done.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: In terms of Ukrainians who fled war, the vast majority are being housed in hotels and various collective accommodation. They are not in houses right now, but they are in pledged houses that individuals who, having seen what was happening in the war, decided to make their homes or vacant houses available to Ukrainians. Therefore, Ukrainians have not affected the social housing market and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I just want to make the point that the rapid build is only started. In terms of Ukrainians, we developed a new scheme. I told the Deputy that we have to consider rapid build for social housing and the housing issue more generally to get the numbers of houses that we can build up significantly. We need to build more houses than we are building. The past two and a half years have seen very...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The issue is basically that the patrons and trustees of both schools have set this process of amalgamation in train. A fundamental principle of partnership in education is consultation. Parents are clear that they have not been consulted enough in respect of this proposal. I was not in the Chamber yesterday evening - I was in Cairo - so I did not...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: We have changed the curriculum and prioritised physical activity in schools. We need to be careful that we do not compartmentalise this into one 45-minute period of the day. One of the big problems with primary schools is curriculum overload because there are so many core subjects, with science and other subjects having been added in the past 20 years. Physical activity should be part of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy took me to many places when I was in Carlow last week, but I am very annoyed that she did not introduce me to Laz Murphy's sausages.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy might send me a pack of sausages.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I occasionally indulge in a sausage, notwithstanding what you might think.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I heard that. Clonakilty is listening in. The serious point is about microgeneration. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, regarding the first point the Deputy made in respect of farmers, where microgeneration can be used for energy within the farm but also for selling on to the grid eventually. That is the objective of the scheme. We want farming to become more involved on...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Government maintains ongoing contact with the haulage industry. We have had a number of schemes from the time of the Covid pandemic and onwards to try to support the haulage industry. We are acutely aware of the impact of energy price rises on the industry. The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, has provided some supports and initiatives. I will talk to him in respect of what the Deputy...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There needs to be a meeting of the ways here because the new funding model in operation since September offers ECCE providers public funding of at least an additional €9.75 per child per week. That is 40% more than the €7 increase in capitation sought by the federation. The change in the funding model increases investment in session and pre-school services from approximately...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I get the point.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: On the issue Deputy Mythen raised, we should be in a position to apply the flood scheme, the humanitarian assistance scheme. I will talk to the Tánaiste's office and see if we can follow up on that, if that has not happened already, because there is no issue with that where storms happen and damage is done. In response to Deputy MacSharry, that was a pilot scheme in respect of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: What we are saying now is that, in addition to the record number of social houses we have built this year, we will-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----now also consider rapid-build housing. In response to Deputy McNamara, those people on that scheme should not suffer a reduction in income from the new scheme. I will take that up with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: We want more and more people engaged in environmentally friendly farming. That is a fabulous scheme in the Burren. We need more of those schemes, and farmers need to be compensated and to have income streams that encourage and incentivise restoration and protection of biodiversity. In response to Deputy Patricia Ryan, there should be equity in respect of funding of Men's Sheds and...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ukraine War (8 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: No property is owned either by my Department or the National Economic and Social Development Office (NESDO), which is the only body under the aegis of my Department. All accommodation is provided and managed by the Office of Public Works. All accommodation provided is currently being used.