Results 41-60 of 49,960 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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

Micheál Martin: Over the past three to four years, significant improvements were made to the minimum wage, workers' rights and sick leave pay. In 2022, for the first time, a statutory right was given to employer paid sick leave in the sick leave Act. The Deputy made the exaggerated comment that we are engaging in despicable action against workers. Sick leave has gone from three to five days. That was...

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

Micheál Martin: Ar dtús báire, aontaím go bhfuil sé seo an-phráinneach agus gur ábhar buartha é. Is olc an scéal é an rud atá ráite ag an Teachta McDonald. Is é an príomhrud ná go mbeidh an audit cuimsitheach agus go mbeidh sé againn chomh luath agus is féidir. At the outset, this situation is extremely serious and has...

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

Micheál Martin: I hope it will be sooner rather than later to help deal with the concerns and anxieties, but also to deal with the issue itself.

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

Micheál Martin: It is regrettable the Deputy would seek to politicise the issue, as she is attempting to do. The first people who should always be contacted in a situation like this are the families who are affected. That is why correspondence goes from the authorities - in this case, the hospital authorities, that is, CHI - to the families. That is as it should be. They should not be hearing about it in...

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

Micheál Martin: Second, the Deputy must know in her heart it would be unacceptable to try to release piecemeal and case by case in this case. The sensible thing to do is wait. It is frustrating that people have to wait, but we have to wait for the full audit. I know the Deputy is well aware of all this, but it does not suit in terms of the politics of it.

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

Micheál Martin: The bottom line is that a draft report gets sent to all who have been involved.

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

Micheál Martin: The feedback has come back.

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

Micheál Martin: The audit will have all of that information available for everybody.

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

Micheál Martin: That is the proper way to do this.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I would argue that the gardaí have strenuously denied the allegations that were asserted in this House and issued statements to that effect. The Minister took the allegations very seriously. Of course, it is open for complaints to be made to Fiosrú, which is an independent party that can hear any allegations in respect of An Garda Síochána or members of An Garda...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Women in An Garda Síochána have every right to be believed as well. I am not making any comment on individuals here but I would just make that point. There was a strong refutation of the allegations that were made in this House in respect of members of An Garda Síochána, who have no right to defend themselves in this House or do not have that facility.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy asserted that they committed offences, which they would strenuously deny and the context would be strenuously denied. I have to say that. Fiosrú is there to follow that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate that. On the operational issues, those are matters for the Garda Commissioner. I am not in a position to intervene in the operational organisation of An Garda Síochána. The issues have been there for some time. The Minister is in a very difficult position if the Garda Commissioner has not been invited to the conference as well. His predecessor took the same...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Artificial Intelligence (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank all the Deputies for contributing to this debate. It is important. The debate illustrates the importance of the Oireachtas committee on AI that will be established. I look forward to further detailed, sensible and balanced consideration of the issue. We can already witness a divide that is too extreme. There are those who see AI as totally negative, others who see positives in it...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Offices (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 21 to 28, inclusive, together. A Policing Service for our Future is the Government's plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland. The implementation of the plan was overseen by a dedicated programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach and an implementation group on policing reform, chaired by an independent...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Artificial Intelligence (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 20, inclusive, together. I travelled to Paris for the AI Action Summit on 10 and 11 February, co-hosted by President Macron and Prime Minister Modi of India. The summit gathered key stakeholders to explore how we can develop artificial intelligence, AI, technologies and uses globally while ensuring that nobody is left behind. It also discussed...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Get out of it.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: Do not tell me to get out of it.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: You cannot talk about personalities in here.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (29 Apr 2025)

Micheál Martin: This Government and the previous Government built more social houses than had been built since the 1970s in the past four years.