Results 501-520 of 50,683 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: Again, I will talk to the Minister involved. Has the Deputy spoken to the HSE authorities locally or regionally there about why the service was suddenly stopped? There is normally a background to these issues. Certainly, we will enquire with the HSE and with the Minister.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: If the Deputy gets the background information, we will see what we can do.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy said he supported the Housing Commission's report, and the Housing Commission report recommended changes to the rent pressure zones. I do not know why he is condemning the Government for even considering the recommendation of the Housing Commission in respect of that issue.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: Regarding real investment in dwellings, the Irish economy registered the fourth largest increase across the 27 EU countries between 2020 and 2024. The House may be interested to know that a recent Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, publication in 2024 comparing housing supply across Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales found that Ireland and Northern Ireland had...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: Renters are not being ignored by this Government. That is just a false statement. Over the last number of years, we have brought in a series of protections, regulatory and otherwise, to protect tenants and give greater security. We have also continued to keep protecting renters as a high priority of Government. I cannot commit to emergency legislation on the blind. If the Deputy sends me...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: What is happening in Gaza is absolutely appalling. I noted a quote earlier from a Dr. Potokar in Gaza who said that "if Cambodia was the killing fields, then Gaza now is the slaughterhouse." What is happening to innocent civilians in Gaza is beyond any moral compass, particularly the children who are being slaughtered and the children who are starving. It needs to come to an end. The...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: I find it morally repulsive as well.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy knows, at UN level we have been doing quite a lot working with other like-minded countries, particularly co-sponsoring the motion that led to the ICJ's advisory opinion in respect of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. We intend to continue to work with like-minded states. There is a conference coming up in June in New York, organised by a number of countries -...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: -----and the HSE in respect of the capital requirements for that. I hear the Deputy loud and clear. This is an important centre of population that requires a primary care centre.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: I said 179.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: I said there are 179 primary care centres now in place. Of those, 50 have opened since 2020. I take the Deputy's point that we still need more GPs. The outgoing Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, had approved, with the outgoing Minister for higher education, now Tánaiste, additional places in all third level colleges in respect of medicine and also, in terms of nursing and so on,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy very much for raising the issue of the crucial importance of primary care provision. When I was Minister for Health and Children in 2001, we made primary care the cornerstone of the then health strategy, Quality and Fairness. It took some time. In the modern area, we have progressed fairly significantly in terms of the provision of primary care centres. There are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: From day one, the Government has identified the entire area of disability and special needs as a key priority, along with housing and, as I said earlier, child poverty. That will be reflected in the forthcoming budget and has already been reflected in Government initiatives. Decisions have been taken at recent meetings of the Cabinet subcommittee in respect of this. Going back, when the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: -----given the finite number of therapists we have. We can pass all the motions we like but we have to deal in a very pragmatic, solution-based approach right now. We have to deal with this in a multifaceted way but, right now, we need to make sure that the therapists we have are focused on providing services to children as quickly as we possibly can, consistent with the needs of those...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: Early intervention is the key. I could not agree more. We need to expand early childcare services for children with additional needs, particularly early childhood education provision for those children. We are doing that and will continue to expand services there. The HSE is not in a position to fulfil the law right now. The Deputy knows that and I know that. We have to respond to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy mentioned special education. Special class enrolment has doubled in five years. We have gone from about 9,000 to 19,000. What is that saying? It is revealing the exponential growth in the number of children requiring special needs provision and services and resources have expanded accordingly, in terms of the number of classes, SNAs and special teachers and funding for extra...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: Sorry, I have already organised that. There has been engagement and we will meet.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: I have met Cara before and Deputies-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: One of the reasons this Government quickly established the need for a therapy-in-school service, which we have now commenced and taken the decision to do, was the inadequacy of the response within the health service itself. Many CDNT teams are experiencing challenges in recruiting and retaining therapists, as well as wider general issues. The issue is actually not one of resources; it is...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (20 May 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has offered no solution. She has offered rhetoric, and that is all.