Results 961-980 of 50,909 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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

Micheál Martin: On what?

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

Micheál Martin: I am sorry but we have significantly increased the minimum wage. We have significantly increased it over the past number of years, and it will continue to increase. The Deputy talks about the living wage. The Government does not pay the living wage. He does not pay the living wage. Employers pay the living wage. Shops pay the living wage. The Deputy's local Centra pays the living wage,...

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

Micheál Martin: The Deputy raised this a number of weeks ago. There are laws in place and there is a regulator. The regulator is the Central Bank. There is a tendency in the House to keep asking if we can investigate this and investigate that, but the established regulators have a function and an obligation to investigate if they receive complaints. I am not clear whether the individuals who have been...

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

Micheál Martin: I disagree fundamentally with Deputy Bacik's analysis in terms of housing policy more generally. Fianna Fáil and the previous Government did not double down on the policy of the last number of decades. The bottom line is, in 2023, for example, we saw the highest level of delivery of new build social housing since 1975. That is not doubling down on previous policies. It represents a...

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

Micheál Martin: You did.

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

Micheál Martin: In the past three or four years, the then Government, and the Fianna Fáil Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, gave power and resources to the Land Development Agency. Its work is under way.

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

Micheál Martin: The Land Development Agency will get more equity and support to build more houses. That will happen but that is not the full story. We have to do much more. The bottom line is we have made a step change in the past three years. From approximately 20,000 houses built in 2019, we are now building approximately 30,000 plus. Housing for All targets were exceeded but everybody said they were...

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

Micheál Martin: Now, we need to get to 50,000, which the ESRI said. The real challenge for the Opposition and the Government is how to go from 30,000 to 50,000. We will not get there with the populist, popular soundbites I hear every week we come into Dáil Éireann. That will not build 50,000 houses. We need real solutions that can deliver. The Government will do everything it can across all...

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

Micheál Martin: -----that passes in here for housing debate all the time. I am interested in getting real solutions and getting to the 50,000 per annum we need.

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.