Results 19,261-19,280 of 50,830 for speaker:Micheál Martin
- Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: -----in having a technical restatement that provided €2 billion in fiscal room. It appears the last thing the Government wants is an informed debate on the economy because that might get in the way of its campaign to claim credit for everything. The return to growth has been helped by fiscal consolidation. There is no doubt about this, but fiscal consolidation is not the reason...
- Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: The hard substance of these changes is nothing but a continued confirmation of the dominance of Fine Gael’s core right-wing beliefs. Yet again, the largest benefit has been given to the highest income earners.
- Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: The much-trailed claw backs merely altered this slightly. A person on €200,000 will gain four times as much as a person on the minimum wage. The Government can dress it up whatever way it wants, but fairness it is not. Of course, what most people will gain from the budget will be set against the new water charges they will begin to pay in January.
- Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: In the past three years the Tánaiste managed the incredible task of talking like a left-wing dissident in her party while implementing an almost Thatcherite welfare policy. She cut €2 billion from the weakest sections of society and told people to simply get off the couch and look after themselves. She cut support towards funeral costs and then talked about how high funeral...
- Financial Resolutions 2015 - Financial Resolution No. 3: General (Resumed) (15 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: This is outrageous.
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: Back in 2009 the Fine Gael Party, in a policy document entitled NewERA, said it would bring all of Ireland's water assets under the ownership of one State company, Irish Water. Its document goes into considerable detail as to how Irish Water would be a super-lean and efficient operation in terms of organising the Irish water supply. Yesterday, we saw and read that the Fine Gael Deputies are...
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: Is Deputy O'Dowd not right in many respects that the whole execution, implementation and establishment of Irish Water has been an unmitigated disaster-----
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: -----and it does not justify the yield by any business model or any definition? All of that does not justify the yield of about €150 million. While I am not even suggesting this, putting 5 cent on a gallon of petrol would have raised the equivalent amount of revenue.
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: There are many ways to raise funding and many ways to do things. The Fine Gael Party, not in any context of the prevailing situation, believed in establishing a whole range of utilities. This was in its NewERA document, which the current Minister, Deputy Coveney, developed at that time. I do not know who worked with him to develop those ideas, but they were very strong and bullish about...
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: I did not say that.
- Leaders' Questions (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: There is a lot of worry among Labour Party Deputies.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: The Tánaiste is acknowledging the changing weather vane.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: The Government might have, but the Dáil did not.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: Liverpool.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: I was somewhat surprised this morning that the Tánaiste did not condemn any letter emanating from any local authority threatening eviction for people if they had difficulty paying water charges. She should make it clear that that is not acceptable practice. I do not think anybody in the House would justify that but she did not take the opportunity afforded to her to do that. When...
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: The Labour Party apparently met Irish Water two weeks ago.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: We did ask. Our environment spokesman, Deputy Barry Cowen, has asked in writing.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: There has been no response.
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: Obviously Irish Water feels it has to be more accountable to Fine Gael's internal committee or Labour Party Deputies than it has to be to the Oireachtas. That is the only lesson I can draw from that, but it is not good enough. There is an incredible arrogance on the Government benches-----
- Order of Business (16 Oct 2014)
Micheál Martin: -----that the Oireachtas does not matter. The bottom line is that there was no debate on this. There never was a debate on the establishment of Irish Water or the legislation that underpinned it because all Stages were rammed through the House in about three or four hours. Deputy Cowen has written to Irish Water to seek a meeting but he was surprised to learn that the Labour Party had...