Results 39,521-39,540 of 50,917 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Order of Business (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Will the Taoiseach give a timeline on the preparation of the fiscal responsibility Bill, as part of the intergovernmental agreement and treaty agreed at last evening's EU summit? Will he consider the establishment of a sub-committee of the European affairs committee to facilitate broader discussion in the House and to tease out the treaty's implications for future budgets and job creation?...

Social Partnership (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: I tabled a question on the social dialogue over the Croke Park agreement, which for some reason was transferred to the Minister with responsibility for the public sector, such is the restrictive nature of trying to get questions answered by the Taoiseach during Taoiseach's questions. Would the Taoiseach agree it is arguable that if we had a more proactive social dialogue and social...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Question 5: To ask the Taoiseach the number of times the Cabinet sub Committee on Economic Recovery and Jobs has met [1937/12]

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Question 8: To ask the Taoiseach the number of times the Cabinet Committee on Economic Infrastructure has met since it was set up; [5152/12]

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: My questions concern the sub-committee on economic recovery and jobs and the number of times it has met, and the Cabinet sub-committee on economic infrastructure. One of the Government's defining characteristics is its capacity to make claims that fly in the face of reality. The Government praised the budget for being fair and protecting front-line services whereas we know it did the...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: The Taoiseach should not forget it is he and his colleagues in government who had the language of despair not so long ago and used terms like "banjaxed" and so on which were inaccurate-----

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: -----and wrong for the country. He paid tribute to the foreign direct investment jobs that have been announced. They do not happen overnight. The industrial strategy of the past number of years and of the previous Government has borne fruit and has been solid in terms of its focus on research and development, corporation tax, the lowering of inward investment and so forth. The pipeline is...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: The sub-committee on economic recovery and jobs.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Is it in charge of the overall strategy? I got a wandering reply which stated various Ministers are doing different things. Is the sub-committee overseeing the jobs strategy that the Minister, Deputy Bruton, has been briefing people about? The fact it has only met five times in 12 months does not inspire confidence about the most fundamental issue facing the country, namely jobs. That...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: It is unacceptably high.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: As a supplementary to the questions I tabled on these important Cabinet sub-committees, first, I want to acknowledge the Taoiseach's acknowledgement of the role of the last Government in terms of Food Harvest 2020 and creating a blueprint which has had the buy-in of all the stakeholders concerned with the development of the agriculture and food industry, which is an important platform for the...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Soft options have been sought. The capital programme became a soft target for cuts over and above what had originally been factored in.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: The degree to which the Government cut the capital programme this year over and above what had been factored in has led to the loss of 8,000 jobs in the domestic economy which could have been protected this year if not for that excessive cut in the capital programme. The jobs initiative was more electoral manipulation - it was an election gimmick. The problem was it was not a gimmick for the...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: -----too much on the presentation, too much on the spin and less on the reality and a concrete set of achievements around actual job creation. That is my greatest criticism. The labour activation measures outlined by the Taoiseach were all in train, as we know, including Tús, which was a creation of Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív and former Deputy Mary Coughlan. The point is that we need more.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: We need far greater energy from Government agencies and Departments in regard to young people.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Will Deputies stop the silly, childish heckling? This is a serious issue about jobs in Ireland and across Europe.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: It has been acknowledged today by the European Commission.

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: I am not saying anybody here has all the answers but we need a bit of urgency, sincerity and commitment. For what it is worth, the system to date is not energised enough in terms of youth unemployment. Much more can be done. To have a committee on jobs and economic recovery meet just five times in 12 months reflects that inertia and that lack of urgency and attention this issue demands...

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: What about devolved school grants? Are they being shelved?

Cabinet Sub-Committees (31 Jan 2012)

Micheál Martin: Looked at? We had the budget.