Results 7,821-7,840 of 50,134 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: In a more serious vein, I think the broader issue of crime which the Deputy introduces-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: A very significant resource allocation has been made to recruit a thousand more gardaí. That will continue year on year, and applications have been received and so on in that respect.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: I would have to get the context of the visit to Disneyland to understand the full policy wraparound as to why gardaí are there.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Disneyland set me off.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Last year we announced about €1.1 billion in tax cuts and about €6 billion in additional public expenditure in respect of a whole range of services. Shortly before the summer recess, in the summer economic statement we will give the financial envelopes as to how much more we can spend on services and how much we can do as regards taxation. That taxation will take many forms....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----and lead to investment flowing out of the country. His model is to kill enterprise. That seems to be his view.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy raises a very important issue, given that we have virtual full employment in this country, so the economic model the Government has been pursuing is working in respect of employment. We have never had more people working in the economy since surveys began in 1998. We have more than 2.6 million people now working in the economy. About 40,000 work permits were issued last year but...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I would say at the outset that there is no cap or ban on the granting of planning permission for new homes in rural Ireland.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Planning authorities provide a target for new housing as part of their statutory development plan, including for rural areas outside of their towns and villages. There is one statistic that may not be well known, which is that it has generally been one quarter of delivery nationally for the last 30 years. In terms of overall house construction, one quarter has been new rural homes,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Will I have a chance to come back in with supplementary remarks?

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: The match at the weekend is in Navan.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: We go forward with all modesty and so on. In respect of the issue, I was going to mention the vacant and dereliction grants which give real opportunities but I take the Deputy's point. I understand the sincerity of what the Deputy is saying in terms of people who want to build on their family's land. The overall planning policy over the years has been to try to move to areas that are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: It is fair to say there has been significant enhancement of workers’ rights over the last two and a half years since this Government came into office in terms of the Sick Leave Act 2022, the payment of wages and the Redundancy Payments (Amendment) Act 2022. Crucially, and I would have attended the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, programme last year, the report of the high-level...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: First, I would not agree with the Deputy’s assessment of the Government's position. I would argue that the Irish people did take a fundamental decision on the repeal of the eighth in a referendum, but that followed a significant level of constructive engagement, informed engagement, and a listening exercise within the then Oireachtas Committee on Health – it may have been the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: I genuinely believe that the approach we took in the referendum was the correct approach. This is a sensitive issue and people have different views on this issue, and those views go deep with people. The idea that you have an Oireachtas committee to look at this in a detailed way should not be a surprise or should not be attacked, and you are attacking that. Through the Chair, I am not...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, I am not looking for confrontation. I am not attacking anybody's motivations or bona fides in respect of this. However, I respect the fact that this is a legislative assembly, with people who will potentially be asked in due course to vote on or have a view on legislation relating to this area and the very least that should happen is that the report should be examined by...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: Every year, resources have been increased and expanded, and correctly so, in respect of special needs and the families to whom Deputy Doherty referred and whom I have met. There is not a Deputy in the House who has not met families in situations such as this. Staffing is now the issue. I refer here to the recruitment of staff. The funding is there to recruit staff to these services and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy Bacik for raising this issue. She made a very fair point in respect of the significance of Meta's announcement. It is a significant number of job losses. Our thoughts have to go to the employees who will lose their jobs as a result of this announcement and their families. Notwithstanding that the economy is strong, people are committed to the particular jobs they are in at...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Data Protection (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: All Department of Foreign Affairs official mobile devices and apps which run on them comply with guidance provided by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This guidance is based on risk assessments appropriate to the circumstances and is kept under continuous review by the NCSC. The Department of Foreign Affairs requires all users of our official devices to exercise appropriate...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (25 May 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 103 and 105 together. The Human Rights Council adopted Resolution 31/36 in March 2016, calling upon the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights to produce a database of all business enterprises involved in activities relating to Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory. The Human Rights Council did not specify implications for...