Results 1,981-2,000 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I will talk to the Minister for Health about that. That is both the flu vaccine and the Covid vaccine for healthcare workers. I will follow that up.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Is it both Ukrainians and-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I accept the point the Deputy is making. Obviously, the Russian war in Ukraine created many pressures and caused the largest displacement of people since the Second World War on the European Continent with about 12 million people displaced. That had an impact. There is a programme of change going on with some contracts not being renewed, and also relocation. The Ukrainian population has...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: That is true and Clare generally has been a very receptive county overall but the challenges of migration are enormous. It is because of the earlier stuff we were talking about. There are wars all over the world and people are leaving with their children, trying to get out. What is going on in the world is terrible.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I certainly will. I will raise it with the Minister, who will raise it with BusConnects. This is the Clongriffin core bus corridor and the proposal for pedestrian-cyclist connection, which plans to provide direct access for the residents of Ayrfield estate to the high levels of bus service on the Malahide Road. The Deputy has said that a safety issue then arises. The NTA engages in...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: -----about the safety aspect of this because these are important issues that we cannot be oblivious to. It cannot all be just an engineering solution. The needs of the community and of children have to be taken into account.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I do not know who the individual is.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Yes. Let me finish. I will make an important point and statement. When I was Taoiseach on the dates concerning the allegations against this individual, I received security briefings but I was never told and never briefed that there was a spy in the Oireachtas, which to all intents and purposes is what the article in The Sunday Times asserted. I am very surprised at the degree to which...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I understand fully the points she made. I do not know whether she has spoken to the Minister for Justice or the Minister of State at that Department about the case. Obviously, we need GPs. They are vital in rural Ireland in particular. I do not have the details of the case. In fairness, there is an independent process for the granting of visas...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to the Minister of State, James Browne, for his championing of the gambling legislation. He has put significant work into that. I hope the House can get that Bill passed through both the Dáil and the Seanad-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: -----before anything else happens in the time ahead. I appeal to everybody in the House for co-operation in getting that legislation through. I agree with Deputy Shanahan about that gambling block. I will talk to the Minister and engage with the other banks about following the lead given by Allied Irish Banks with that initiative. Gambling has created enormous harm for families and...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I did not quite get the overall import of what the Deputy was saying. My understanding is that relates to material for adults. Is it teacher training material for SPHE or RSE?

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I will refer the matter to the Minister and ask her to come back to the Deputy on it.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: There is no excuse for empty local authority houses. The local authority should get going. I remember in 2020 and 2021 that we provided additional resources to get voids done. Thousands were done across the country. It is unacceptable that houses have been left idle after they have been vacated. Local authorities really need to get going on the voids too. Social housing is the key way...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Last year, about 12,000 social houses were delivered. Of those, 8,500 were new builds.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: What I am drawing from the presentation is that the local authorities in Galway need to increase the output. I will talk to the Minister and ask him to review the situation in Galway to see what the issues are.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy and I agree with the concept of extra time. In fact, when I was Minister for Education and Science between 1997 and 2000, I introduced an extra half hour for dyslexia. At that time we did not have a State Examinations Commission, but then when I left education, it changed and they took it back again. They said some people were complaining it was too long for...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (10 Oct 2024)

Micheál Martin: Obviously, changes in this area can have repercussions and implications. I will refer the matter to the Minister for Social Protection and ask that a response would issue to the Deputy in respect of the issue he raises. I understand the point he is making, which applies in means-tested situations. I will come back to him.