Results 41,141-41,160 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Staff (22 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The details of turnover in my Department for the years in question are set out in the tables below. 2020 Staff Turnover Grade Staff Leavers Turnover Assistant Secretary + 4 1 25% PO & Equivalent 20 3 15% AP & Equivalent 52 3 ...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Communications Surveillance (22 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am advised by the military authorities that the Defence Forces do not comment on any risk assessments conducted on devices or any communications systems for security reasons.

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Appointments to State Boards (22 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: The only State body currently under the aegis of this Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is an independent statutory body established under the Army Pensions Act 1927. The Act specifies that the Board shall consist of a chairman and two ordinary members. The two ordinary members must be qualified medical practitioners of whom one must be an officer of the Army...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Lobbying Reform (22 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: None of the members of my Department's Management Board, are also on the boards of bodies registered for lobbying purposes under the Regulation of Lobbying Act 2015, or on the board of bodies which have had to disclose that they engaged in lobbying State authorities. The only State body currently under the aegis of this Department is the Army Pensions Board. The Army Pensions Board is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for reminding us of the horrors of nuclear war, and for his comments in respect of the terrible war being waged upon the people of Ukraine as a result of the illegal and immoral invasion of their country by the Russian Federation. Closer to home, like many others, I find myself struggling to comprehend the savagery and depravity of last night's attack on...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: In my time, we put unprecedented investment into infrastructure in Cork. Regrettably, in the past while, significant proposals did not come forward to the degree that they should have.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I come from the region and I am well aware of the position. The projects are now coming on stream. The lack of ready-to-go projects in respect of certain hospitals has been a cause of concern for me. That is why we are looking at a faster method in the context of getting projects delivered. We are saying that we will build more facilities and increase the number of beds. We are going to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Parallel with that, there has been a massive increase in the number of people working within our health service. in that context, there are 17,000 more people working in the health service than was the case at the beginning of 2020. That is a 15% increase and it includes more than 5,000 nurses, nearly 3,000 health and social care professionals and 1,800 doctors and dentists. We need to and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: First, I wish the Deputy well. This may or may not be the last occasion on which we have an opportunity for questions on a Thursday morning, but I thank her for her courtesy and respect in her capacity as leader. I thank her and her colleague, Deputy Shortall, for their commitment to the public good and public interest as leaders of their party. Through very challenging times during...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: A key consideration has to be the likely impact of any extension on supply. Recent data shows that around 21,000 home sales last year involved landlords selling their properties while just 7,500 homes were bought by landlords. That means a net loss of 13,5000 homes to the rental stock. We have to ask the question why the smaller landlords are leaving the market in droves. We have a whole...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----and were then extended in 2019 and 2020. The issue of trust is vital so we must be very clear in terms of what we are doing in this decision and I am sharing these issues with the Oireachtas now because it has to go beyond the catch cry of "you are the uncaring Government that wants to do x, y and z and we are the people who are for apple pie" etc.. There is a real issue here. We...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I find Deputy Boyd Barrett's remarks deeply disturbing and unfair. Inevitably in every contribution he makes on the war in Ukraine he brings it around to the NATO issue, and it is NATO's fault ultimately in his mind. It is a disgraceful and distorted assessment of his that he has just articulated now, that somehow NATO wants to escalate this.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I did not interrupt Deputy Boyd Barrett. He should have the decency to allow me to make a reply. The Deputy has just asserted in a distorted manner the idea that NATO wants to escalate the war on Ukraine to a nuclear status. That is a disgraceful and wrong thing to say. Germany is in NATO. France is in NATO. They did everything they could to persuade Putin not to launch that war. They...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----because they pick up something that does not look like a bomb but is a bomb. Deputy Boyd Barrett is saying we should not help to train people to prevent that terrible impact on civilians.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party, of which Frank Aiken was a member. He was the first Minister for Foreign Affairs to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. My party and colleagues in the Government in this House have a very proud record on the international stage with respect to nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: This country has a strong record in that regard, even in its most recent iteration on the Security Council of the United Nations for the past two years. We do not have any blind spot about nuclear weaponry. We have been consistent. More than a decade ago, we were the leaders, with Norway, the Vatican and others, in having the international convention banning the use of cluster munitions....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: We have been very strong in terms of holding accountability in respect of Israeli attacks and atrocities. We condemned what happened last evening. It was wrong. We are very concerned about the trends in regard to that issue. The fundamental point is this. We stand by the international rules-based order, the United Nations Charter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Putin has breached it in an appalling manner. All we are saying is we will help to train some Ukrainians in respect of their capability in medical combat, in bomb disposal and in other areas of that kind. It is not too great an ask for this country to make and it does not threaten in any shape or form our neutrality, which is defined by non-military alignment. We are not members of NATO....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy. In the context of his recent announcement, I wish him the very best, although he very quickly said to me in the corridor that it would not spare him from harassing me, politically speaking, for the next while. He will be as robust as ever. I acknowledge the Deputy's long-standing and consistent support of the long Covid issue. Very few Deputies have put as much work...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: As I said, the national service is being rolled out with about €6.6 million allocated for 2023. That will provide post-acute and long Covid clinics. The long Covid clinics currently operational under the new model of care include St. Vincent's University Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and University Hospital Galway. The post-acute Covid clinics operational under the new model of care...