Results 1,961-1,980 of 3,652 for speaker:Michael Collins

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: Will the Minister confirm that the continuation of the Northern Ireland planned healthcare scheme, formerly the cross-border directive, will be placed into law in the State? This is crucial to thousands of our citizens on waiting lists across the country and it is a serious recruitment and retention issue for armed forces who rely on the scheme for treatment in hospitals in Northern Ireland...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Minister for his reply. Next week bus 67 heads to the North from both Cork and Kerry. Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and I have been organising those buses, as the Minister has acknowledged. He says that we should get away from people needing to go to the North and I fully support him in that. It is not just the cataracts; it is the hips and the knees, and getting a simple thing like...

Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions: Health Services (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: Any new services to be provided in Cork are to be greatly welcomed and I appreciate the Minister sharing that information with us. The problem is that the pandemic has led to enormous waiting lists throughout Cork and the rest of the country. People from Dublin, Waterford, Limerick and elsewhere have contacted me looking for services such as hip, carpal tunnel, knee and obviously mainly...

Fisheries and Coastal Communities: Statements (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I am delighted that we are having this long-awaited discussion on fisheries. I thank our leader, Deputy Mattie McGrath, for pushing the matter at the Business Committee on several occasions and eventually getting his way to have this very important debate take place at a very difficult time for Irish fisheries. I have been pushing very hard in recent times to get more debates in the House....

Fisheries and Coastal Communities: Statements (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: On a point of order, the Minister, in my view, misled the House in saying I was trying to create a set piece and that I was a hurler on the field.

Fisheries and Coastal Communities: Statements (17 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I am entitled under Standing Orders to seek a debate at any time. It is an entitlement of every Deputy. It is misleading to say I was trying to create a set piece. I am entitled to do that. Fishermen were almost killed off Castletownbere in the last two days and I wanted a debate on that issue. It is an urgent issue. It is wrong of the Minister to make that statement and he should...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: Tomorrow will see the biggest national organised protest seen in this country for many years as the fishermen and women of this country from Malin Head to Mizen Head converge in Dublin, similar to the protest in Cork two weeks ago, in a show of solidarity about the scandalous way that they have been treated for decades and especially for the last 12 months under the Taoiseach's leadership....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (22 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: The Taoiseach mentioned the weighing issue and suggested it is the business of the SFPA. The bottom line is that the SFPA and the Minister knew in December that there was a crisis. They did not consult with the industry and they are only doing so now when it is too late. Listening to the Taoiseach today convinces me that the Government does not have a plan for fishing other than to kick...

European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: In July 2020, the European Council, comprising the Heads of State and Government of each EU member state, adopted an historic €750 billion recovery package for Europe. This package, Next Generation EU, is Europe's shared response to the severe health and economic crisis caused by Covid-19. The European Commission announced on 28 May that it had received an official recovery and...

State Pension Age: Motion [Private Members] (22 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I fully support the motion to restore the pension age to 65. The pension age was a key issue in the general election in February 2020. Voters across the State expressed their opposition to the pension age increase throughout the election campaign. The Fianna Fáil and Green Party Government that was in power from 2007 until 2011 decided to increase the pension age to 67 in 2021 and to...

Written Answers — Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport: Local Authorities (22 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: 188. To ask the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport when Cork County Council will receive €750 million in funding given the findings of major underfunding for the county and in view of the fact that roads in the county are 52-years behind the standards of other counties (details supplied). [33144/21]

Residential Tenancies (No. 2) Bill 2021: Second Stage (23 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: The purpose of this Bill is to extend the emergency period specified in the Planning and Development, and Residential Tenancies, Act 2020 until 12 January 2022. The aim is to further assist tenants who are being financially impacted by Covid-19, while recognising and balancing the rights of the landlord. Under the new regulations, which the Government plans to have passed into law by the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (24 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: Tourism continues to be a shining light throughout County Cork. Walking tourism in west Cork is now worth €14 million to the local economy and is growing from year to year. We have some spectacular walks, including the Beara way, Sheep's Head way, Seven Heads walk and Mizen Head walk, to name but a few. A total of 695 landowners, mainly farmers, maintain these west Cork walks for...

Affordable Housing Bill 2021 [Seanad]: Second Stage (Resumed) (24 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: The Government has failed. Despite all of the rhetoric it brings here, the truth is that it has failed on housing. The Minister has missed every deadline that he set. The Minister said he would have an affordable housing Bill in September, then it was by the budget, then it was by the new year. Week after week we have heard more infuriating stories about home buyers being locked out of...

Planning and Development (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2021: Second Stage (Resumed) (29 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank my colleagues for giving me time to speak to this Bill. I have been vocal over recent weeks in the Dáil with regard to planning. The Minister's extension is something I support. Planning in my constituency now is an absolute no-go area, however. It is an outrageous attack on the young people who are trying to get planning permission in different areas in west Cork. They are...

Industrial Relations (Provisions in Respect of Pension Entitlements of Retired Workers) Bill 2021: Second Stage [Private Members] (30 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I fully agree and support this Bill. This Bill strengthens the rights of retired workers regarding their occupational pension schemes and covers issues arising from any proposed changes to these schemes after a worker has left the employment concerned and retired. The Bill does this by providing for retired workers' organisations to be consulted in the case of proposed changes to members'...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (30 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: Tourism continues to be a shining light throughout County Cork. Walking tourism in west Cork is worth €14 million to the local economy and is growing from year to year. There are some spectacular walks, including the Beara way, Sheep's Head way and Seven Heads way, as well as Mizen Head, to name but a few. Some 695 landowners, mainly farmers, maintain these west Cork trails for the...

Land Development Agency Bill 2021: Report and Final Stages (30 Jun 2021)

Michael Collins: I appreciate being given the opportunity to speak to the amendments before us. I will speak about housing, an issue I have spoken about since 2016. I do not point the finger at the Minister because he has been most helpful with housing issues in west Cork that I have approached him about. I raise urgent issues which need to be addressed in relation to the provision of homes for young...

Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Jul 2021)

Michael Collins: I, too, ask that the Ceann Comhairle give us the opportunity to speak.

Finance (Covid-19 and Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2021: Second Stage (1 Jul 2021)

Michael Collins: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving us the opportunity to speak. It is very difficult for us to watch our time slots. As has been mentioned, often, Government politicians do not turn up for their slots. They fail to turn up, even though it is hugely important for them to speak on these issues for the people they represent. You could easily lose a speaking slot even if you are in a safe...