Results 30,561-30,580 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: Everything is being timetabled to the electoral cycle. We will get the low pay commission in July and some sops thrown in October, but the core issue will not be tackled-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----in terms of the growing divide between many people at work in certain sectors of the economy-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----where there is consistent downward pressure on wages and terms and conditions. This needs a far more comprehensive response. One would have thought that we would have got that comprehensive response in the Spring Economic Statement yesterday but we did not get a response in any shape or form to what is a growing issue for large numbers of people in our workforce. That is the point.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: In an effort to save some seats-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----Labour may get agreement on some announcement on the issue of low pay, but the implementation of genuine reform will not be agreed by Fine Gael. This is clear in all that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has been saying on the issue. The statement is correct in saying that the agriculture and food sector is important, but yet again it is an area in which the statement of commitment-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----is not followed by the reality of support.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: That is surprising-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: To be fair to the Minister, Deputy Coveney-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----when he came into-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: To be fair to the Minister, he stated when he entered office that Food Harvest 2020, which was produced by the former Minister, Deputy Smith, was an excellent blueprint for the development of agriculture and food.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: He stated that he would not develop anything new. Rather, he would implement it.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: And that was the bottom line.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: The one change the Government has made in rural Ireland, and one that is shameful, is the dramatic cuts in the Leader programme-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----and the decision by Mr. Phil Hogan-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----to take away from communities on the ground-----

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: -----the autonomy of the Leader companies and local development funding.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: The Government removed their autonomy.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: In Cork county alone, the Government cut Leader funding by 71%. Go there and heckle the people of west and north-west Cork - they are outside my constituency - and east Cork if the Minister of State thinks it is so funny.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: That is the reality.

Spring Economic Statement (Resumed) (29 Apr 2015)

Micheál Martin: No. The Government politically wanted to take control of giving out grants at local level away from Leader and cut it to the bone.