Results 43,461-43,480 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: These are issues the Deputy would raise with me if it applied to a different jurisdiction. We need a more open and honest debate about these things. There seems to be certain countries we cannot talk about at all. It is dressed up in idyllic terms. I have been to Cuba and they have a strong primary care system. However, the level of State control over individuals and over people is not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I do not understand.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should have listened to my reply to Deputy Bacik, who raised this issue in a substantive way on Leaders' Questions. I said it was a Government decision to bring in this budget between all of the Estimates for every Government Department. I upheld the right of the CEO of the HSE to engage with Deputies across the House. It is not the first time the CEO has done this.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: All of what the Deputy raised, I answered very clearly in terms of what I believe in respect of the HSE chief being in a position----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: In respect of the budget I would make the point that the Government has allocated something very similar to what the Sinn Féin Party proposed in its alternative budget.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I do not think the Deputy is in a strong position.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have concluded.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: We are providing the funding for flood relief schemes. When the Deputy says it is not good enough, that is the reality of delay. People object, not just in the planning process but in the courts. Deputy Mick Barry was a classic example of it there. He came in advocating for flood relief protection schemes, he himself having supported alternatives and having gone against the OPW schemes as...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have not read the ombudsman's report yet but I will. My initial observation is that we need balance and perspective again here. When over 100,000 people come into the country in one year, we are not going to get a response that meets with conditions of normal times. A war has been waged on Ukraine. We have facilitated the arrival into the country of 73,000 Ukrainians. Sorry, we have...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: We have responded to a lot of those commitments. I am just making a general point. There seems to be a view abroad that we can do everything at once. We did the right thing and Europe did the right thing to facilitate fleeing Ukrainians coming from war. We did the right thing. There are limitations to how well one can do it in such a short space of time. I will read the report. The...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have not seen the report. The report has not been completed. The Deputy seems to be on the inside track.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: We need to reflect on that, too. I am not so sure anybody should be on inside tracks or orchestrating a particular outcome from what should really be a very objective and open process. I will leave that with the House. I will read the report and am looking forward to receiving it. We will then consider it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I will answer one question while noting the Deputy's concern about the potential flooding of the Blackwater Valley, which we will take steps to assess. On Palestine, the Government is working with all the regional partners in the neighbourhood on restoring the humanitarian corridor and calling for an immediate ceasefire to enable humanitarian goods to get in. On the broader issue, we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I accept that rail transport and district heating will make significant respective contributions to the climate change agenda. A bit more work is needed. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications recently brought a document to the Government on a policy framework for district heating. However, there is the size of the country and other factors to take into account....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I would have thought that answer was readily available. If the Deputy is saying the project is accepted, it probably is going ahead. A total of 95 projects are under way at the moment between design and construction. The various flood relief schemes are at different stages, with some in planning, some in design and some under construction. A total of 53 have been completed and there is...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: As I said, we will examine the existing schemes to ensure they are fit for purpose in respect of the flooding event in Midleton, Glanmire, parts of Cork city and west Waterford. The Government will move on that. The Deputy outlined the broader issues, including the damage to road surfaces and so forth. Again, I pay tribute to all the local volunteers who did so much work to help people at...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has raised this issue previously in different ways and he has done it now in a way that has flummoxed me in terms of a response. I presume he is not asking me to interfere with the judicial arm of the State.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: It always has to be, in any execution of public policy. I accept the Deputy's points on that and I know the Ministers for Justice and Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth are aware of his concerns. We will see what we can do and I will get back to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: One month's rain fell in a number of hours. That will have extraordinary impacts; there is no doubt about that. We do need flood relief schemes in place and they are at various stages. As the Deputy knows, the Bandon one has been especially effective. The Civil Defence, for example, is a volunteer organisation that was out yesterday and we should salute its response. It had pumping,...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (19 Oct 2023)

Micheál Martin: I would endorse everything the Deputy said, and it is an issue. When issues of this kind get to a judicial review, the community and society loses. We should be able to try to work out these issues. Blackpool has had a lot of flooding and the Deputy is correct in that it is undermining investment and the proper development of that community. It is a community with a great history and...