Results 40,021-40,040 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: They are doing it, actually. A good few hundred have been purchased at this stage. I do not believe we should legislatively force local authorities to buy every single house that becomes available. There can be all sorts of background issues. Local authorities have to have some discretion in individual cases. Without that, why have local authorities and why not manage everything from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Boyd Barrett raised a similar issue concerning tenants in situ. It seems he is basically saying the local authorities should be automatons and do what they are told across housing. I am not sure that is the right policy and that councillors on the ground would appreciate that approach. There has to be some delegation of authority to local authorities. What we can do is resource...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----in issues that arise in their jurisdictions. On the question of income thresholds, of course there is an issue. There has to be, and some mechanism is needed to resolve it. There is no point in saying there is not an issue because there many people with lower incomes who cannot get housing. Therefore, there has to be a targeting of resources too. We cannot just go in one direction...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: We should allow people their space. There has to be balance in how we raise these issues. I will follow up on Deputy Murnane O'Connor's point on emergency accommodation for men. On Deputy O'Sullivan's comments on the planning review, the hope is the legislation will be published in a matter of weeks. Then it has to be deliberated upon.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: It deals mainly with the planning code, not necessarily the OPR or other issues. We will revert to the Deputy on this. Deputy McAuliffe raised the issue Croí Cónaithe. I agree with him that if opportunities arise in the context of interest rate increases, the Land Development Agency should take over sites for use for cost rental or other initiatives. Deputy McDonald raised the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have consistently said that housing is the number one social issue facing our country and it is a priority of this Government. I also said that the Housing for All plan is the most substantive plan document detailed of any plan that has been produced by anyone in this House. No Opposition party has come near it in terms of its detail, variety, breadth and depth. The bottom line is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Gould, it is no laughing matter. If this is described as a catastrophe, then all bets are off in respect of how we provide housing in this country. That is the point I am making. Sinn Féin cannot play it both ways. You cannot say in this House it is a catastrophe and in another chamber vote against housing and housing provision. It is time to get off the fence. I make that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The country is on track to exceed the Housing For All target for this year of 24,600. Close to 28,000 homes were built in the 12 months to September 2022. There were nearly 21,000 houses alone built in the first nine months of this year. That already exceeds the total for 2021, which was 20,000. We are projected to reach more than 26,000 homes by the end of the year. It will be the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is at it again, trying to interrupt. She should allow me to respond to her sound bites and sloganeering and the absence of substance that comes across time and again. The bottom line is that we have to do more than what we have done already. Let us be very clear that we are making progress. The bottom line is that the Deputy is saying that the figures need to increase and we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very serious issue. The level, scale and nature of sexual abuse carried out in Blackrock College and in other school settings is sickening and shocking. Our sympathies, if that is the right word, and thoughts go out to all the victims and survivors of such terrible abuse. Such sexual abuse causes immense trauma for the entire lives of those who have been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to those who have come forward, including Mark and David Ryan and others. The sexual crime management unit of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau has received a number of new complaints this week. Obviously, the Garda will be fully supported in carrying out its work in pursuing every lead possible. I agree with what the Deputy said about the need to give support...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy raising this important issue. However, we are in a war situation on the Continent of Europe. These are not normal times. An illegal and immoral war is being waged by Russia on Ukraine. That war is being carried out in a manner that targets civilians. Putin is weaponising migration, energy and food. This has caused significant economic upheaval. About 14 million...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I answered quite a number of the questions that the Deputy raised in respect of rapid builds and so forth. As I have said, my strong answer is that we are in a wartime situation. That is why so much hotel capacity has been made available to take people, including women and children, who are fleeing war. That is why. There is no easy solution to this, but we have managed it so far. There...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and I appreciate his interest in my longevity in politics. On a serious note, we have to keep working hard to effect change. We all have to keep at it. It is interesting that in the last 20 to 25 years, health has been transformed. There is no comparison between outcomes and survival rates today when compared with 20 or 25 years...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I think I understand fully where the Deputy is coming from. There has been huge pressure on that hospital over recent years. The workforce has increased - I went through that with the Deputy - and the budget went up 20% in one year alone. In 2022, it is €315 million, an increase of 19%. Actually, that is since 2019, so it was not in one year. The new 60-bed module was put in in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Yes, and we have to work to-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: No. In the south west, it is essentially Cork University Hospital, CUH. There is Mercy University Hospital and so on, but CUH is a tertiary-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: A bigger population. It does not matter. We need to resource and advance Limerick more. We have to. It does need more capacity in terms of personnel, facilities, beds and so forth. The enhanced community care side of it is very important also so that we can reduce the number of people presenting who do not need to go to accident and emergency departments. It is very important they have...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There are a range of plans in place, particularly in terms of the cancer control programme and the role of cancer services. I am not sure as to the reason for those particular chemotherapy appointments being cancelled, but in terms of the overall cancer programme, it is extremely important that appointments be kept and that people get their treatments in the manner prescribed by the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: If information has come, it should obviously be referred to the Garda-----