Results 14,281-14,300 of 50,453 for speaker:Micheál Martin
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: The cut in the respite care grant is callous when added on top of the cut to home help. How could the Government distribute thousands of leaflets claiming to have delivered a fair budget when it has done that? I heard people on the radio this morning-----
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: ----interrupting the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Howlin-----
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: -----with a passion and conviction that left the Minister speechless.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: I ask the Taoiseach to reverse the cut.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: Mistakes were made in the previous budget as well. There were appalling attacks on DEIS schools. The most disadvantaged schools were affected in last year's budget.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: We fought a campaign against that and the Government eventually reversed the cuts to DEIS schools. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, came to the House and apologised for what he did.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: I put it to the Taoiseach that he must examine the matter again. The saving identified is approximately €26 million.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: If I might continue, €26 million is involved. People watching are not interested in that kind of tomfoolery, they are interested in whether anything can be done about the respite grant.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: It can be done and it should be done.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: I plead with the Taoiseach on the matter today. This is what the debate is about; for people to listen to what we are saying and to take on board some of it, at least a bit of it. Of all the things that have been done, I urge the Government to restore the respite grant because it is paid to people who care on a 24/7 basis for relatives, people with severe disabilities and for people with...
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: It is true.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: I was in Castlebar three weeks ago and a young student doing biomedical engineering in UCG said he was contemplating leaving because the grant had not come through and he had no information about it. I do not like saying that.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: Students have no confidence in the Minister of State, Deputy Costello.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: The only image that is embedded in the minds of students is the Minister for Education and Skills on the steps of Trinity College, Dublin, swearing blind and signing on the dotted line that he would reverse the student contribution charge and not increase it. Yesterday, we discovered the student charge will now be over €1,000. That is what students are saying about the Minister. The...
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: The increase in the charge is regressive. We need to encourage people to get through education.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: The Minister is talking about the past 14 years. The most important statistic to come out in the past three weeks about Irish education is that we now have a 90% completion rate in second level. That is because of the strategic decisions we took about second level completion and investment.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: Our second level participation rates have moved from 78% to 90% in a decade. We want to do the same with third level. We have one of the highest participation rates of second level students going into third level of any European Union country. This is because of a sustained and agreed approach to third level education. It cannot be thrown away now because it will undermine a key strategic...
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: Yesterday, there was a bit of delegation going on with the budget. The Higher Education Authority was given a €25 million cut but it was claimed no services would be impacted, which is simply not credible. Again, the Minister will be at one remove when these cuts are introduced.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: The same goes for the unspecified cut of €13 million for the vocational education committees.
- Financial Resolutions 2013 - Financial Resolution No. 15: General (Resumed) (6 Dec 2012)
Micheál Martin: When it happens on the ground, it will not be the Minister who will be blamed but some anonymous group.