Results 37,161-37,180 of 50,909 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Leaders' Questions (24 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: I welcome all our new viewers of the first Leader's Questions in the digital era. Perhaps we might get better answers now. Yesterday in the House I asked the Taoiseach a simple question which required only a "Yes" or "No" answer. Has the Government asked any individual, apart from those involved in the Dolphin process, to assess the proposed sites for the national children's hospital or...

Written Answers — Department of Social Protection: Disability Allowance Applications (24 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: To ask the Minister for Social Protection the position regarding a disability allowance application in respect of a person (details supplied) in Dublin 4; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46837/12]

Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: Not before the election.

Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: In the context of the Freedom of Information Act, will the Taoiseach and the Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, who is sitting beside him, take urgent steps to release the documentation on the selection of primary care centres? We have now been told, following a request for information under freedom of information legislation, that it will be a further four weeks before we get the...

Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: -----that the Government had no objection to the release of all the documentation pertaining to the decision. I am at a loss as to why the information cannot be laid before the Oireachtas Library and why Deputies and Senators cannot get access to it and make of it what they wish. We should at least have access to the information. It is bringing the House into disrepute that we cannot get...

Order of Business (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: What is the status of the Freedom of Information Act? It needs urgent review, in particular in the context of making sure that information on policy decisions are made available as quickly as possible. Will the Taoiseach also indicate when the Credit Reporting Bill, which is legislation necessary to establish a credit register to inform lending decisions and improve insolvency procedures,...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: I am somewhat concerned. First, I see nothing new in what the Taoiseach has just said, so my basic criticism remains that nothing new is being added to the narrative in terms of progressing the St. Andrews Agreement and the North-South issues. I am concerned that, despite the fact that the St. Andrews Agreement provides for a case to be made for additional bodies, the Taoiseach does not...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: He said he was not going to set off to appoint a plethora of new bodies. It was announced that the position of the Irish Government was that there should be a replacement for the Lights Agency and also that it would seek areas in which we could appoint new bodies. To make a suggestion, one obvious area is the food sector. There is food safety, but we could broaden that out. Food is an...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: There are other areas in which bodies could be useful if people would get over their political problems in facilitating them. The Irish language Bill is also a requirement of the St. Andrews Agreement. I am somewhat concerned by the Taoiseach's statement that he is not aware of the difficulties. He has been in office for 18 months and should be aware of some of the difficulties.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: Sorry, 21 months.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: I ask the Taoiseach to get on his bike and start promoting the actual agreement the two sovereign Governments-----

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: These are issues the sovereign Governments have agreed on with the parties. People signed off on these issues at St. Andrews, so they are not optional extras. The other key point is that we need far more in terms of anti-sectarian initiatives and the building of cross-community relationships. I ask the Taoiseach, even from the limited budget available, to add something in order to give...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: -----then we are storing up problems for ourselves in terms of the future of the island. That is my main outstanding concern. Having been a Minister for Foreign Affairs, with experience of where some of the support for certain groups comes from, I believe we need to do an awful lot more to ensure the Good Friday Agreement has a social and economic dividend. It was never meant to be just...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: Especially Deputy Adams.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: That is not true.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: The photo-ops take up the vast majority of his time. The PR companies are in full flight.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Northern Ireland Issues (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: It is fair to say that the basic infrastructure put in place under the Belfast Agreement means that meetings, committees and engagements keep going on no matter what. It is also fair to say that very little progress can be achieved if all sides are simply going through the motions. That is sometimes the sense one gets as one observes the situation. That is what we are getting from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Legislation (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: I regret very much that the Taoiseach refuses to withdraw the false claim he made about his predecessor. He said the papers were shredded. It reflects badly on the Taoiseach that he refuses to withdraw false claims in the face of the facts, as 17 files became available under a freedom of information request from the Office of the Taoiseach.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Legislation (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: The Taoiseach seems to attack all the time and is just cementing his reputation as one of the most tribal and partisan holders of his office. I regret having to say that, but it is the only conclusion with regard to his failure to withdraw that claim.

Ceisteanna - Questions (Resumed): Freedom of Information Legislation (23 Oct 2012)

Micheál Martin: On freedom of information generally, I will deal with the issues with which the Taoiseach took great liberty on the European question. I remind him that he voted for the bank guarantee himself and he had a conversation with the then Minister for Finance, the late Brian Lenihan, on the bank guarantee and the rationale for it. The Taoiseach gave him clear approval to go ahead and do what he...