Results 40,381-40,400 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising what I have said consistently is the most important issue facing us as a society and will be for some time, namely, the provision of adequate housing to deal with a population which is growing significantly and is now over 5 million people. The Government is on track to meet its targets for completions this year as set out in Housing for All and could well...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----including students coming from abroad. That is an enforcement issue. I commend the council on taking action because it is dangerous. Lives could be lost in a situation like that if proper fire precautions and provisions are ignored and a fire certificate not issued. I was concerned when I read the article. I think the council is pursuing the issue and taking the necessary steps....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Substantial protections for renters have been put in place under the legislation that I outlined already. In the budget, we gave additional resources through the tax credit for renters which is beneficial. Over half of all new purchases this year were by first-time buyers, which illustrates the importance of the help-to-buy scheme and the first home scheme, which were opposed by many in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: At a more general level in respect of the Irish healthcare service, the evidence is overwhelming. Certainly, in the last two decades and possibly the last three decades or longer, the Irish health service is actually increasing survival on all the main killers of people. With cardiac disease, cancer, stroke and chronic diseases generally such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have to stress the point that based on the figures, we are now living much longer as a nation for different reasons.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry; the health service has improved dramatically. Cancer care has improved dramatically because, and I stress this point, of the concentration of services. I saw all the protests against the concentration of cancer services in regions all over this country. I saw the pickets and large meetings that people like the Deputy excel in. While people in the Deputy's position are entitled...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Is the Deputy for it?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I take it the Deputy is for that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy needs to state he is for it because-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There is a new one which stipulates that patients who are acutely ill will no longer be brought there. I ask the Deputy to think about that because clinicians are making these decisions and not him or me. Clinicians are telling us it is not safe to do what the Deputy is suggesting they should do.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is saying that the situation with the ambulance roster and so on constitutes closure. I put it to him that patients who are acutely ill should go to the hospital that guarantees them the best outcome. We need to be patient-focused. I put that to him very strongly.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: My understanding is that Our Lady's Hospital in Navan has not been successful in securing fulltime consultant cover in the emergency department. My understanding is that there is currently a registrar with 9 am to 5 pm cover, a consultant provides out of hours cover and there are four emergency department registrar posts which have not been filled. This has resulted in the use of locum...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: No, that is not the case. There is a whole range of reasons why certain hospitals, because of size, nature etc. will dictate to a large extent outside of the control of any authority where junior doctors will go into service. We need to have a more realistic debate about it. Fundamentally, if we can do it from the objective that the patient gets the best care and the best outcome, surely...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. The first point I make is that we are in unprecedented times and the world is not in a good place. There is a terrible, immoral and illegal war being waged on the people of Ukraine by President Putin and by Russia, which is causing untold killing and untold damage to energy infrastructure. It has weaponised food and migration and it is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I say to the Deputy that I have no issue with a debate in the House on this and I have no issue with a committee being formed, if that is the desire of the House, to get more into the details on the specific issues. Maybe that is something that can be worked out.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I assure the Deputy that I am not obsessed with anything, but there is a reality of a war that is on our doorsteps. There are 17,518 people being accommodated in the International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, accommodation. That number has increased. The average before Covid-19 in 2019 was approximately 3,500. That was the expected annual average that had been projected by...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and every country has its systems. We work within the broad European system. We are a country that believes in a multilateral, rules-based system. When people arrive under international protection they apply for asylum. That is then adjudicated upon. Lots of resources have been allocated to speed up the arbitration and decision-making of that. If people's applications are refused,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The final Bill has been approved by the Government and will now be introduced in the Dáil. Last June, the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine met with the Joint Committee on Agriculture, Food and the Marine for pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of the agricultural and food supply chain Bill 2022. That general scheme was approved by Government in March. The...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There has been a very significant increase in funding, particularly in the past two to three years. More than 4,000 services have signed up for core funding. That equates to 93% of all eligible services. The aim is to get to a position where every child will be able to access a place in a crèche or childcare facility. We want to continue to advance this agenda in next year's budget...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I actually walked that site with some survivors a number of years ago. Their main concern was that the site they feel makes up the burial grounds - as the Deputy will know, the site at Bessborough is very large - should not be used for housing. If I am right, a previous application was rejected. The planning aspect is obviously an operational issue for the council but we will certainly...