Results 9,621-9,640 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Nobody in this House is voting for homelessness. We want to develop policies that prevent homelessness. It is our view and the advice we have received that an indefinite long-term ban on evictions would make the situation far worse and would create a greater degree of homelessness over the medium to long term. Why? It is because it would take people out of the rental market entirely....

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 174 and 175 together. The Passport Service is is successfully meeting the current high demand for passports. All turnaround times are at their target level and there are no backlogs. Over 275,000 passports have been issued to date in 2023. The busy season for passports in 2023 is underway, and demand forecasts indicate that the Passport Service will issue just...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Each year the Passport Service proactively plans for the demand forecasted for the following year. Part of this planning involves a public communications strategy carried out by my Department, with a view to ensuring passport demand is manageable throughout the year, by encouraging citizens to apply in plenty of time for their passport prior to travel. The 2022 communications campaign for...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputy has enquired, supporting documents for these applications were received by the Passport Service on 22 February 2023. The Passport Service requested further supporting documents from the parent on 15 March 2023. These supporting documents were received on 22 March 2023. Turnaround time from receipt of further supporting documents...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I remain extremely concerned about the continued detention of this Irish citizen, especially given his ill health. I can assure the Deputy that the citizen's release remains a strong priority for me and my Department. To that end, there continues to be extensive engagement by the Government with the authorities in Iran on the case, including through my own discussions with the Foreign...

Written Answers — Department of Defence: Defence Forces (30 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 179 and 181 together. On Tuesday last, following Cabinet approval, I published the report of the Independent Review Group on dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces. As the Deputy will be aware, the Government has agreed to progress, as a priority, the report’s recommendations. These include the: - Establishment of a statutory inquiry to...

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The reality of a dramatic escalation in prices throughout the world has also hit Ireland. There is not a single person in this House who has denied this and no person can honestly say that the Government has failed to act, particularly to protect the most vulnerable. A total of €9 billion has been put in place in a range of measures to limit the impact of rising prices. The biggest...

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Confidence motions have a long history in Dáil Éireann. They are intended as a mechanism for stepping away from day-to-day arguments and focusing on the fundamental work of government. For much of the past century, they were tabled by Oppositions seeking to offer a systematic alternative to the Government. They were an opportunity to address the full range of economic, social and...

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: They are offering no alternative to a Government that in some of the toughest of times in our modern history has worked successfully with the Irish people to deliver sustained progress on key issues and has put in place the policies to deliver much more during the rest of the term of our mandate. We are having this debate today because the Labour Party decided it needed to do something to get...

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: It has adopted a strategy of trying to match others' angry rhetoric and empty promises. Just like other left parties, it remains so terrified of Sinn Féin's troll army that it is increasingly incapable of presenting a distinct position from that party on any market.

Confidence in Government: Motion (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is little purpose served by taking apart the reality of the Labour Party's tactics and demanding a confidence vote. All I will say is that when I hear the loud words of attack on us in relation to housing, I cannot help quoting aspects and the last policy on renters outlined in a Labour Party manifesto. The Labour Party made this commitment: "We will also seek to create the regulated,...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Foreign Birth Registration (29 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: My Department is responsible for processing Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) applications for people who are born abroad and claim Irish citizenship through a grandparent born in Ireland or through a parent who has claimed citizenship also through FBR, Naturalisation or Post Nuptial Citizenship. Demand for this service increased significantly as a result of the Brexit vote in the UK. The...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Middle East (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I welcome the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk’s annual report on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. Ireland has commented on the report in the current session of the Human Rights Council. The report crucially notes the deterioration of the situation on the ground during the reporting period, in a persistent climate of impunity by...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Public Procurement Contracts (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Since 2016 to date, my Department has not entered into contracts with, or engaged, any of the companies identified in the Deputy's question..

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Travel (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Each of the three visits by the Ministers in my Department, in common with all visits for St Patrick’s Day, involved a programme of outreach to promote Ireland’s economic interests, connect with our Diaspora and engage with key interlocutors in the countries visited. For my own part, I travelled to New York and Boston from 11-18 March. Minister of State Burke travelled to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific application about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service has issued a passport to the applicant.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Official Engagements (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: Ongoing, high-level political engagement with the United States on critical issues for Ireland is a priority for the Government. I have had several interactions with senior U.S. officials and members of Congress in recent months, including during my visit to New York and Massachusetts for St. Patrick’s Day. There were several other visits by Government representatives to the United...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Religious Persecution (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his question. The promotion of freedom of religion or belief is a priority area for my Department, and Ireland strongly condemns all forms of persecution on the basis of religion or belief, irrespective of where they occur or who the victims are. We work closely with our partners in the European Union on this important question. At a multilateral level, the right to...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Passport Services (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: With regard to the specific applications about which the Deputy has enquired, the Passport Service will contact the parent directly in relation to these applications.

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Meetings (28 Mar 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Department sought the services of the Irish Centre for Diversity to review the Department’s work to date on Gender, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, to conduct a confidential and impartial staff survey and to assist with the development of an action plan and training programme for all staff. The total cost was €17,576.70.