Results 461-480 of 46,613 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: The ELS concept has had the result of delaying the full opening of some new units which are now built and ready to open. As the economic position improves it will allow Government an opportunity to examine existing policies and consider their relative priority. We are equipping the units. They could not all be opened tomorrow.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: They must be equipped and staffed. That involves negotiations. Industrial relations issues are holding up the opening of some of these new units. People are saying they need this and that in order to move from a very dilapidated old system to a modern facility. It beggars belief that people are making that type of demand when I would have thought there would be an enthusiasm to move to a new...

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: I recently attended an OECD Health Ministers meeting. The Senator will be glad to know that every health system in the world is facing the same pressures.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: There are issues of an ageing population and in terms of financial sustainability right across the globe. We are hearing the same refrain from Health Ministers all over the world. We have just been through the EU Health Presidency. I am on first-name terms with all my colleagues at this stage. There are similarities in terms of the issues. There are no big surprises. The big issues at global...

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: Some of these units are already partially in use as they are replacing old and outdated facilities. My Department will continue to work with the Department of Finance to identify a timescale for the full commissioning of new facilities. In terms of primary care, the strategy, Primary Care: A New Direction, recognises that the Irish health system places considerable reliance on hospital care...

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: Let us not get into a futile debate about that.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: Last year we asked the system to come up with a more innovative approach on how to deal with the discharge policy. The Southern Health Board came up with a very good initiative which the Department funded and asked to be replicated in the eastern region. It has worked more effectively in the south through the effective management of the discharge which leads to a better turnover. We have met...

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: That is what they say, but we have no facts. I have received no documents and seen no presentation or study. We must question those figures rather than simply repeat them. I apologise for interrupting, but it is critically important for the debate that we analyse this a little more.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: The Senator should go down there, for God's sake.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: The Senator asked me the question. That is what drives me mad about the health debate. Anyone who knows anything knows the radiotherapy unit in Cork has a brand new system.

Seanad: Hospital Services: Motion. (30 Jun 2004)

Micheál Martin: It is not.

Seanad: Job Losses. (30 Sep 2004)

Micheál Martin: I thank Senator Bradford for raising this matter and for his constructive contribution. Other public representatives, including the Minister of State at my Department, Deputy Michael Ahern, and Deputy Ned O'Keeffe, who lives in Mitchelstown, have also expressed their concerns about developments there. Mitchelstown has been to the forefront of considerations since a meeting last April between...

Written Answers — Insurance Industry: Insurance Industry (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: Following the establishment of the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority and the end of the my Department's involvement in the insurance reform programme, the Department of Finance will have overall responsibility for policy and legislation in relation to the provision of financial services in Ireland. A key initiative in my Department was the establishment of Personal Injuries...

Written Answers — Amnesty International: Amnesty International (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: The correspondence referred to has not been received in the Office of the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

Written Answers — Work Permits: Work Permits (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: I am informed that there is no record of a valid renewal application having been received in my Department in respect of the individual concerned.

Written Answers — Department Websites: Department Websites (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: As the provision of timely and accurate information on the website is a Departmental priority it is updated daily. All my Department's press releases are posted to the website at approximately the same time as they are issued via e-mail and fax. My Department encourages feedback on its website and there is an on-line facility for users to rate the site under different headings and to make...

Written Answers — Soft Drinks Industry: Soft Drinks Industry (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: Price control is a failed policy which, when it was most active in the 1980s, resulted in the maximum prices for products being in effect the minimum price. I believe that increased competition and consumer vigilance are the best ways to ensure that markets deliver value for money to consumers. There is legislation in place designed to help consumers to make a conscious decision before they...

Written Answers — Disability Support Service: Disability Support Service (5 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: Under the Disability Bill 2004, my Department is one of six Departments required to draw up sectoral plans, as part of the national disability strategy for positive action measures to support participation by people with disabilities in Irish society. The key focus of the outline sectoral plan developed by my Department is to facilitate and improve access to vocational training and employment...

Written Answers — Industrial Development: Industrial Development (12 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: IDA Ireland is the agency with statutory responsibility for the attraction of foreign direct investment, FDI, to Ireland and its regions. The management of IDA Ireland's industrial property portfolio, including decisions regarding location and size of land owned by IDA, are day to day operational matters for the agency and not matters in which I have a function. In line with its strategy of...

Written Answers — Severance Payments: Severance Payments (12 Oct 2004)

Micheál Martin: ICI and the State, the shareholders in IFI, while there was no legal obligation to do so, established a special fund with almost €24.5 million to provide ex gratia severance payments to the former employees of IFI. All applications from employees to the ex gratia fund of €24.5 million have now been processed. Payments from the fund were made in accordance with the basis for distribution...