Results 31,821-31,840 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Order of Business (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: No. We received the latest iteration of the Government's proposals for the week at approximately 3.15 p.m. I believe in parliamentary democracy and that all Members should do everything possible to uphold the concept of parliamentary democracy and proper, ordered, regulated debate in Parliament. 5 o’clock I decry what happened last Thursday, when a vote of the Parliament was...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: No, I did not ask that.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I put a question to the Taoiseach earlier relating to evaluations. He said that if he has any information he will bring it to me. I am surprised that there is no evaluation dimension built in as part of an application to the public service and Departments in particular under the JobBridge scheme. In other words, given that 330 interns have gone through the various Departments, I am...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: 4. To ask the Taoiseach if his Department have recruited new staff recently; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35204/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: 5. To ask the Taoiseach the position regarding JobBridge interns in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35667/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: 6. To ask the Taoiseach the number of staff vacancies in his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37634/14]

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. There must have been glee among the civil servants when the tally was done and it was found that the number of whole-time equivalent staff stood at 179.98, given that the ceiling is set at 181. The real issue here is the JobBridge scheme. Across the economy there is a sense that the JobBridge scheme has been abused, though I do not suggest that this...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): JobBridge Scheme (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I asked whether there had been any evaluation of the 330 interns across the public service. Where have they gone? Has anyone analysed whether the scheme is working in terms of employability? The original idea was that the skills and experience acquired by JobBridge participants would give them a chance of a job after the internship, if not in the public service then in the private sector.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: The Taoiseach indicated at the outset that the Cabinet sub-committee last met in May. Is that right?

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Cabinet Committee Meetings (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: In many respects that seems to indicate the lack of real action on mortgage arrears. For the past three and a half years, the Government's approach has been to leave the issue to the banks. The impact of the personal insolvency legislation has been negligible; the Taoiseach mentioned 172 cases. Despite all the elaborate debate and the creation of a large white elephant, there has been no...

Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: The Government is sleepwalking through the crisis. Last year Focus Ireland saw eight families going homeless every month. This year the figure is 50 per month. That is Focus Ireland alone. The Taoiseach referred to the pilot scheme which it initiated. This cannot be solved on a case-by-case basis; it requires a system-wide response. The most effective emergency response is to raise the...

Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I asked about rent allowance caps.

Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: What about rent allowance?

Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I do not know whether the Taoiseach read an article by Kitty Holland in the News Review section of The Irish Timeson Saturday. The article laid bare an appalling and shameful scandal concerning the number of homeless children in present-day Ireland, particularly in Dublin. Tonight, 700 children will be sleeping in hostels, hotel rooms or other forms of emergency accommodation. These...

Written Answers — Department of Health: Medical Card Reviews (13 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: 173. To ask the Minister for Health if he will review the case of persons (details supplied) in County Kildare whose medical cards have recently been withdrawn; if he will reinstate these medical cards; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43609/14]

Allegations Regarding Sexual Abuse by Members of the Provisional Republican Movement: Statements (12 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: Yes.

Allegations Regarding Sexual Abuse by Members of the Provisional Republican Movement: Statements (12 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: One of the most important developments of the past 20 years has been how our society has begun to face up to some of the most horrific issues in our past and the legacy which they have left in so many traumatised lives. The vile nature of child abuse repulses anyone with a basic sense of decency. It is not a once-off crime; it carries on in the form of victims who feel isolated and...

Order of Business (12 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: Yesterday a very long and detailed report by the Garda Síochána Inspectorate was published. Will the Taoiseach make Government time available for a comprehensive debate on that report? Given the similarities of much of that report's contents, the dossier from the whistleblower, Sergeant Maurice McCabe, and the Guerin report, when will the commission of inquiry, which Mr. Guerin...

Leaders' Questions (12 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: I do not know what world the Taoiseach lives in.

Leaders' Questions (12 Nov 2014)

Micheál Martin: It is because of the Taoiseach's decision last year with the Minister, Deputy Reilly, that we have people waiting. He has stated that admittedly, this represents a reduction in the funding. Demand is increasing and the Taoiseach knows the population trends. It is extraordinary that he would provide for less funding in an area that demands more funding. The Taoiseach will provide hundreds...