Results 7,341-7,360 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is not about me. It is about the Palestinian people and what actions we take that are most impactful and effective for the Palestinian people. That is what will guide our response on these issues. We are working with other countries to see whether we can get a critical mass of a number of countries together to pursue this agenda. There is a commitment in the programme for Government...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy's points, although I hope the Croí Cónaithe funds - the towns fund, in particular, now provides a grant of up to €50,000 for the refurbishment of vacant properties, and that has been increased recently - will help with vacancy in towns and villages. If the property is derelict, you can get a grant of up to €70,000. There are the help-to-buy...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy loves the phrase "common sense", as do his colleagues.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is as if we are all devoid of it but those in the Opposition. I know what the Deputy is saying and I take it on board.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue because tending to the early developmental needs of our children is perhaps the most important thing we can do in terms of the development of our society and country. I am a great believer in resourcing early childhood education and childcare. Our brains learn more between zero and three than we do for the rest of our lives. I said that to a more...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is an important point because traditionally and historically we did not see it that way, and primary school started at four years old and so on. Children learn vicariously and they learn in different ways but structured childcare and development can be powerful for children. The Government has invested strongly in early learning and childcare. The budget in 2015 was €260 million...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am conscious that I am before Dáil Éireann. I was hopeful I would be in a position to communicate my intentions to the Women of Honour group today. I am minded to recommend to the Government a public tribunal of inquiry. It is a matter of trying to tease through the mechanisms by which we would try to protect certain people who might wish to come forward but not be in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: It would be behind closed doors, and people feel that the whole disciplinary process historically has been behind closed doors, hence the lack of transparency. I am jumping ahead because I have not got to the Government yet, but that is my view and I was going to communicate that today to Women of Honour and then have further discussions with them. There is only one genuine motivation here....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: Which strategy?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue in the context of planning and its obvious relationship to housing. As the Deputy will know, 30,000 houses were completed last year, in 2022. That is a 45% increase on 2021. Our target for this year, the end of 2023, was 29,000. We hope to hit that, if not exceed it. In the year to April 2023 some 50,000 homes were purchased by households. Of...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: The programme for Government states that the Government will honour its commitment to recognising a state of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or, in advance of that, when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a two-state solution or to protect the integrity of the Palestinian territory. We could go solo and do it next week or next year, but what impact...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I share the Deputy's expressions of sympathy with the families of Andrew O'Donnell and Max Wall and the entire St. Michael's College community. It is every parent's nightmare that something like this would happen. It is deeply saddening and shocking. In time, I hope, the great memories they shared with their sons and families will give them some consolation in the very traumatic and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I beg the indulgence of the Ceann Comhairle and Deputy to say that last evening we heard the very sad news of the passing of a former Minister and Deputy, Brendan Daly from Curraclare in County Clare. He was an extraordinarily committed public servant who served in multiple Departments as Minister for social welfare, defence, marine, fisheries and forestry. He worked in the Department of An...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the situation in Palestine, the unacceptable attacks on Jenin and the escalation by the Israeli Government, which I condemn, of violent incursions into the West Bank generally. The last two years have seen a significant escalation in such incursions and violence, which has led to a dramatic increase in the loss of life, particularly the loss of civilian life in...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Websites (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department is fully committed to ensuring the security and authenticity of its web services. SSL certificates are digital certificates that authenticate a website's identity and enable an encrypted connection. They are applied to websites to assure the public of the authenticity of Department of Foreign Affairs web pages. In the past ten years, there has been no instance of...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Departmental Websites (6 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: As the deputy is probably aware most Departments, including my own Department, now host their websites within the gov.ie domain which is managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO). I have been informed by OGCIO that since gov.ie went live in 2019 there have been no occasions where the SSL certificates associated with my Department's websites have expired...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (5 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland's relationship with NATO is conducted through Partnership for Peace (PfP), of which Ireland has been a member since 1999. PfP is a voluntary and cooperative framework between NATO and individual non-members of NATO and there are no funding obligations arising from Ireland’s involvement. In order to manage this partnership, Ireland has a PfP liaison office in Brussels. Along...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Expenditure (5 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has made a number of voluntary contributions to NATO Trust Funds which provide capacity-building support to NATO partners through the Partnership for Peace process, as well as to other UN Troop Contributing Countries. Since 2002, Ireland has supported a number of different Trust Fund projects, as detailed below. Most recently, in 2021 Ireland provided €100,000 and...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (5 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service initially requested further supporting documents from the applicant on 21 April 2023. The final set of further supporting documents were received from the applicant on 26 June 2023. The turnaround time following receipt of additional documents is 15 working days. This application is within the...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (5 Jul 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, this application is within the current turnaround times and has not yet reached its issue by date.