Results 27,701-27,720 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: It has gone from one extreme to another and it needs to change. It cannot go on in this manner. Otherwise, at least state that we are taking eight questions for half an hour. If that was stated at the beginning, we would all know where we are.

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: That is the point.

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: I would ask the Ceann Comhairle to note that we urgently need to review this system because there are five Members with questions down in a 15 minute slot. I have three questions. It is not feasible.

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: It is simply not doable and it needs to change. It needs to be put back to the reform committee during the recess. It is not fair to anybody trying to have meaningful discussion about these issues. There is broad agreement now about the need for an inclusive process to help define and address the many threats posed by the Brexit vote. The new Northern Secretary, Mr. Brokenshire, stated...

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: If I was in government, I could not do that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: 3. To ask the Taoiseach his views on the proposal to set up an all-Ireland forum to deal with the outcome of the British referendum on exiting the European Union. [20703/16]

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: 4. To ask the Taoiseach the status of his meeting with the First Minister, Ms Arlene Foster, in Dublin Castle on 4 July 2016 at the North-South Ministerial Council; and her reaction to the suggestion of an all-island forum following the recent British referendum result, given that the people of Northern Ireland voted to remain. [20904/16]

Ceisteanna - Questions: UK Referendum on EU Membership (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: 6. To ask the Taoiseach if he discussed the suggestion or plan for the all-Ireland forum with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade before it was announced. [21098/16]

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: The Labour Party is getting very persistent about looking for same-day replies.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: He is getting to the question.

Questions on Proposed Legislation (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: There is a commitment in the programme for Government that in advance of, and in preparation for, the 2017 review of the capital plan, the Government would undertake a national hospital bed capacity review, recognising the need to increase the bed stock. That is from the programme for Government. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, ward watch figure for this week show a spike...

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: Park that. I am referring to increased State funding.

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: We all remember the infamous photograph of Deputy Ruari Quinn outside Trinity College Dublin in advance of the 2011 general election, when he signed a big banner and the students' petition, saying he would cut rather than increase student fees. Of course, subsequently, when he took office as Minister for Education and Skills, he blatantly and cynically disregarded that commitment. Ever...

Leaders' Questions (20 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: I am disappointed with the Taoiseach’s reply because it kicks the can down the road by referring the whole report to the Oireachtas committee whose deliberations will not have concluded in advance of the budget and the key estimates’ formation and allocation. There are three options, each of which calls for increased State funding. The third level sector is in financial...

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: 3. To ask the Taoiseach the detail of his contributions and comments at the June 2016 European Council meeting regarding Scotland and the responses he received. [19833/16]

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Council Meetings (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. With a new Government in place in London, there is emerging a basic shape of the approach that may be taken by the United Kingdom Government to negotiations with the European Union. Mr. Davis, the new British Secretary of State responsible for Brexit, has suggested that he is fine with simply seeking a trade pact and that he may delay the triggering of...

Order of Business (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: As regards the Action Plan for Jobs and the legislative commitments therein, serious doubts have emerged in recent weeks over eBay's operation in Dundalk. It is urgent to have clarification on the company's presence in County Louth. There is a lot of anxiety among eBay workers who are nervous about their future. There are obvious implications for them if anything were to happen to the eBay...

Nice Attacks: Expressions of Sympathy (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: On behalf of the Fianna Fáil Party and on my own behalf, I want again to join with Deputies in sending our sincerest sympathy to the families bereaved by this appalling act of terror, which raises the threshold of inhumanity to an incomprehensible level. We send our sympathy to the people of France in what is a deeply trying time for them. Last Friday, I called to see Ambassador...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: The question is whether the Taoiseach blames the local authorities for the mess of the past five years or their inability to get to grips with it as it continued to grow. I recall being in the House for Leaders' Questions during which the Government denied for a long time that there was a problem. The Focus Ireland statistics in regard to homelessness among children increased in 2012, 2013,...

Leaders' Questions (19 Jul 2016)

Micheál Martin: The housing crisis has been developing and, indeed, escalating since about 2011. It is interesting that there has been approximately a 400% increase in the number of families sleeping in emergency or temporary accommodation for the homeless since October 2014. That is a rise from 800 families in that situation to 2,177 in 2016. In 2012, we only had an average of eight new families...