Results 21-40 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Wexford has always been open for business and has many high-quality hotels across the spectrum of accommodation. One of the great marketing steals of the century was the "sunny south east" logo, if I can call it a steal. It has stuck. It is interesting. There seems to be some dispute between the industry and the CSO, which is unusual, in terms of the figures. Nonetheless, the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Absolutely. It was a very impactful visit, if I say so myself, and very worthwhile. Fantastic work is going on at Kildalton college. As the Deputy knows, Kildalton college will split the delivery of the programme with the Waterford campus of South East Technological University. Its engagement with the Veterinary Council of Ireland is currently ongoing in regard to the professional...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I again thank the Deputy. On the mapping question, as part of the RED, there is, as the Deputy knows, a legal obligation on member states to carry out co-ordinated mapping for the deployment of renewable energy and related infrastructure at a national territory level by May 2025. The directive requires that we show those areas available for renewable energy and those that have the potential...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I dealt comprehensively with that issue earlier. The Deputy chose not to raise it during Leaders' Questions, which is fair enough. The housing activation office has been established. It is in the programme for Government. I made the point yesterday that no decision has been made as to the person who will head up that office. I said that to the Deputy yesterday. I also said to her...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: There are people earning substantially above that. The Deputy knows that well.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Has the Deputy heard of the National Treasury Management Agency, NTMA? It is has been in existence since its establishment in 1989. The Deputy knows that but comes in here and feigns not to. Of course she knows the NTMA has been there for 30 years. No decision has been made to appoint any individual. The Government will decide and the Minister will progress that in the time ahead.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Garda numbers are increasing in terms of the numbers being trained through Templemore. People have commented on the increased number of gardaí on the streets of Dublin. In more recent times, people have commented positively about that. I have been talking to the Minister for Justice and we need to ensure that as people are coming through Templemore, we spread them out across the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Minister is not responsible for the inquiry or how it was conducted. Let us not try to politicise this. Let us look at the fact that the commission of investigation was established. The statement by the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court is very serious. There are limitations around the Commissions of Investigation Act. I have made the general point that commissions of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: The fundamental review of the regulatory framework governing energy prices did not happen. The Deputy knows that as well as I do. It relates to the user pays principles, be that user a commercial entity or a household. On investment in the grid, price review 5 fell on the user of energy. The Minister has established a group to look at the regulatory framework. There will be enormous...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I welcome that the fraud squad seems to be, or is, involved, as the Deputy said. That is good news. It is reprehensible for anybody to defraud another person of funds, particularly their savings, through fraudulent investments. Nobody is untouchable. They can be touched and investigated and there is a process for doing it. We in this country are always going back to investigate the...

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising what is a key issue for the country and Europe, which is the development of renewable energy and the mechanisms to enable us to do that. There is no doubt that Ireland is a wind energy success story, particularly in onshore wind, but because of a lot of controversy around locations in certain aspects that narrative does not often get told. We get a greater...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: On what?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry but we have significantly increased the minimum wage. We have significantly increased it over the past number of years, and it will continue to increase. The Deputy talks about the living wage. The Government does not pay the living wage. He does not pay the living wage. Employers pay the living wage. Shops pay the living wage. The Deputy's local Centra pays the living wage,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy raised this a number of weeks ago. There are laws in place and there is a regulator. The regulator is the Central Bank. There is a tendency in the House to keep asking if we can investigate this and investigate that, but the established regulators have a function and an obligation to investigate if they receive complaints. I am not clear whether the individuals who have been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I disagree fundamentally with Deputy Bacik's analysis in terms of housing policy more generally. Fianna Fáil and the previous Government did not double down on the policy of the last number of decades. The bottom line is, in 2023, for example, we saw the highest level of delivery of new build social housing since 1975. That is not doubling down on previous policies. It represents a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: You did.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: In the past three or four years, the then Government, and the Fianna Fáil Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, gave power and resources to the Land Development Agency. Its work is under way.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Land Development Agency will get more equity and support to build more houses. That will happen but that is not the full story. We have to do much more. The bottom line is we have made a step change in the past three years. From approximately 20,000 houses built in 2019, we are now building approximately 30,000 plus. Housing for All targets were exceeded but everybody said they were...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Now, we need to get to 50,000, which the ESRI said. The real challenge for the Opposition and the Government is how to go from 30,000 to 50,000. We will not get there with the populist, popular soundbites I hear every week we come into Dáil Éireann. That will not build 50,000 houses. We need real solutions that can deliver. The Government will do everything it can across all...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: -----that passes in here for housing debate all the time. I am interested in getting real solutions and getting to the 50,000 per annum we need.