Results 42,821-42,840 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: No. The Deputy should put the source in. Who came to the Deputy?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair if I may-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am answering the Deputy's question. I am simply saying that in the public interest. There are lots of agendas here. I am not talking about the Deputy now. I am talking about the cost of this. We must protect, as best we can, the taxpayer. I never gave a date on this. The reason I did not give a date is that I am aware of the tensions between the contractor and the hospital...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is in the nitty-gritty and the daily grind of contesting the claims that are being made and testing them objectively, and then doing the best on behalf of the taxpayer.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: With respect the Deputy she has been very short with proposals or options for the housing supply side. She has not put anything forward. There will be no break in house building. There are record levels of house building going on right now. If the Deputy had read the progress report this was very clear. Last year 30,000 houses were built. This is a 45% increase on 2021. We need balance...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: The most effective advocates for housing should be in this House. No-one should be depending on any lobby group. I do not depend on IBEC to tell me that housing is the biggest crisis in this country. I have said this from day one since I came into Government. On coming into Government I was adamant that a member of our party would become the Minster responsible for housing, to take on the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: We have reached our target and have exceeded our target in house building but-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----it is not enough and we need more housing. The problem, I respectfully suggest, is that the propositions the Deputy brings would actually reduce the supply. That is the challenge. All of the Deputy's approach-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----over the last two and half years has been against measures that would increase supply and has been about the introduction of measures that would reduce supply. That is a fundamental problem in terms of the Deputy's policy proposition.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: We are committed to social housing and affordable housing, and on the vacancy, the Deputy knows the Croí Cónaithe grants have been increased from €50,000 to €70,000-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is also the new revolving funding of €150 million. Therefore, for the first time in a long time, there is a focused, targeted and well-resourced programme on vacancy and dereliction. The Deputy should at least acknowledge that, but there we are.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. In terms of lifespan generally, the last 20 or 30 years have seen a dramatic improvements in lifespan. Over the history of the State, we have gained 25 years in lifespan. In terms of health outcomes, there have been fairly dramatic improved outcomes on cancer care and survival rates and cardiovascular in terms of survival from cardiac issues....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is all of the above. It will need more resources, if one looks at the trajectory of health expenditure. Much of that is on the human resource because the human capital in health has increased. The numbers of people working in the health service have continued to increase but more and more services have come on stream with it. It means more investment of capital, in equipment and in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. She is correct to say this has gone on for far too long. It is not satisfactory. I will engage with the Minister for Finance to bring forward proposals to deal with the issue. It has had a long history. There was an earlier scheme in the 1990s that was broader. At that time, the then Department of Finance had views that it was too broad and it...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Minister for Health is engaging with the National Rehabilitation Hospital in the context of the operation of this scheme to make sure there are sufficient numbers of necessary medical resources and staff, and on the broader issue of the volume of applications in terms of there being sufficient numbers on the board or to support the board in respect of processing the applications. I...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry. Can I say something?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I take the opportunity, which I should have at the outset, to thank the Ceann Comhairle and all of the ushers and staff in Leinster House for their courtesy, co-operation, tolerance and infinite patience with all of us. We wish them a bit of a break, or rather, more of a break. They will obviously still be here but will have some respite from the day-to-day pressures of the House being in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Government has acted. Some €12 billion has been provided over the past year and a half, which is 4.5% of our national income, to help households and help people cope with the cost-of-living increases brought about by the war in Ukraine and the inflation that came from the ending of Covid. Those have been in specific tax and expenditure measures. Eight lump-sum payments were...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is no issue with the deletion of sexist language. If there was, this would have been resolved a long time ago. The Deputy is a person of some capacity in the legal world and understands the complexities of this. It is not as simple as she has stated. The various wordings that have come forward need rigorous assessment from a constitutional perspective. The balance between the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: This recommendation has emerged from the industrial relations process. The Government has accepted the outcome of the industrial relations process. I am not going to pre-empt the outcome of the ballot. The industrial relations process is independent and has come forward with an outcome. The Minister was proactive in all of this. He commissioned the report in the first instance. We have...