Results 20,361-20,380 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his question and presentation. I agree with him, particularly on the contribution that front-line health service staff and those in the background have made to the fight against Covid-19, effectively contributing to the suppression of the virus for now and to a very low level of community transmission. I also share the Deputy's admiration for the work of Dr. Tony...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: Portiuncula Hospital has had a net reduction of about eight beds because, as the Deputy said, of the impact of Covid-19 and the desire to prevent the spread of the virus throughout the hospital, and to have sufficient isolation facilities for suspected cases and any particular case the hospital has of a patient with Covid. The Deputy is correct that the number of presentations at emergency...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (8 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and the question in regard to the Debenhams workers. My response yesterday was not lacklustre and it was not equivocal in terms of how Debenhams has treated its workers in Ireland. It has treated them very badly and very poorly. The State will do everything it can to support the workers who have been made redundant by the company in the manner...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: How much time do I have?

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: Do I have ten minutes after that?

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I will go back over all the notes.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: We will have to work with organisations such as Threshold to be in a position to have the capacity to support people who could be in difficulty in the months ahead with either rent or mortgage arrears, or with evictions. There is currently a moratorium on evictions and a freeze on rents. As restrictions have been lifted, issues with those will arise. As I said earlier, the ESRI report will...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I echo the Deputy's comments regarding Dr. Tony Holohan. I am on the record as having recognised his outstanding contribution, which has assisted the country in dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic, his calm delivery of messages to the public and his understanding of the gravity of the issue. He conveyed that very effectively. We offer him and his family our best wishes at this difficult time.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I will examine the issues raised by Deputy Harkin and revert to the relevant Departments on them.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I endorse the Deputy's comments regarding the value, importance and centrality of the CSO as an independent data-collection body. Its agenda for the coming year includes a census on agriculture and a population census. I will examine the Deputy's proposal that, if I understand it correctly, the Government should consider increasing the level of funding available to the CSO in respect of...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: One of the fundamental pillars of Government intervention to date has been the wage subsidy scheme to which all parties agreed. It will be continued. The Government has made clear that there will not be a sudden cliff edge for those coming off the subsidy. Work on the wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment is under way n the context of the job stimulus package to be...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is correct that there has been a major increase, of €20 million, in respect of the public communications campaign around Covid-19. That has to be accepted because in a pandemic, particularly a global pandemic of an unprecedented kind, comprehensive communications are vital at every step along the way. That was done and I think it worked. It needs to continue as long as we...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: In terms of inquiries, I would make the point that the demand for such inquiries usually comes from the Oireachtas on behalf of the public. Once a chairman is appointed, an inquiry is independent of the Taoiseach's office in terms of the conduct of its work, but it is open to the Oireachtas or the Government, at any time, to put forward proposals to terminate that inquiry or give it a final...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: The matters the Deputy has raised come under the Department of Health Vote rather than the Vote of the Department of the Taoiseach. However, I am well aware of Bantry General Hospital and, as Minister for Health, I was very supportive of it. It performs a critical role for a wide rural hinterland. In regard to the appointment of an anaesthetist, the issue is not funding, as the Deputy...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has asked a good question. It is, of course, within the remit of the Comptroller and Auditor General to review these Estimates. We have no difficulty with that and we would welcome it. The Comptroller and Auditor General reviews all Government expenditure, both by Departments and by Government agencies. In the case of the Department of the Taoiseach, there are different Votes,...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I will check that for the Deputy.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: I do not need to pander to any electoral base. I am totally self-confident in where I come from. The people from whom I sprung fought for Irish Independence, understood it and never gloried in it. We have long gone beyond this business of trying to ask people if they are for it or against it. The Good Friday Agreement is about relationships. It has been for a long time. It is not about...

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: That is what I take issue with.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: That is why we are setting up a shared island unit - to go through the nuts and bolts. What would an all-island health service look like? How would the political structures work? If we believe in the three sets of relationships there could still be an assembly. That is a longer debate. The Deputy has provoked me into saying that.

Estimates for Public Services 2020 (7 Jul 2020)

Micheál Martin: Commissions of investigation are important. The Deputy says we need more control. That is within our hands. The minute one exercises control one is interfering. The minute a Taoiseach of the day says to a tribunal that he or she will cut its resources or undermine it, the charge will come from the other side of the House that the Taoiseach is interfering and undermining an independent...