Results 9,941-9,960 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am saying that the political context has changed. This is a political organisation attacking Government and wanting to undermine confidence in it. That is what is going on here so we are entitled to respond. I am fully cognisant of what is going on here-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil rátaí morgáiste ag ardú ó thosach na bliana agus níos luaithe. Níl aon amhras ach go bhfuil sé sin ag cur brú ar dhaoine agus ar theaghlaigh. Tá a fhios againn faoi sin. Mar aon leis sin, is léir go ndearna an Rialtas an-chuid sa bhliain seo caite ó thaobh an chostais mhaireachtála. Ó...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: British-Irish Co-operation (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I have had regular interactions with the British Government in respect of the legacy Bill, especially in the context of the Good Friday Agreement. As outlined earlier, I attended the Queen's University events and so forth. I met the British Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, in person at the Munich Security Conference in mid-February. We have made very clear, as I did in my speech in...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: President Zelenskyy described his talks with President Xi Jinping as being meaningful and I believe they lasted well over an hour. As to the degree to which China can influence Russia, that level of engagement could have positive outcomes but we must wait and see. Any influence that can be exercised over Russia to withdraw and to cease the war is important. Russia started this war...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Good Friday Agreement (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue and for the motivation behind his question. The visit of President Biden in the month that we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement was indicative of wider American support for peace on this island. Throughout his visit, President Biden spoke of the importance that the United States attaches to the agreement. The Taoiseach...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Good Friday Agreement (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I agree with most of what the Deputy has said. It is also important to point out that President Biden has appointed Joe Kennedy III as an economic envoy to Northern Ireland. Joe Kennedy spent a lot of time in Northern Ireland both prior to the week of the celebrations of the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement and during that week. He has had a lot of engagement with industry,...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Good Friday Agreement (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy. In all of my visits to Northern Ireland and in my engagements, I have always ensured there was a community dimension to my programme. I refer particularly to meeting communities on both sides of interface locations, for example. I had a very interesting visit to Creggan and surrounding areas last year. It was striking that residents on both sides of peace walls...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Intense fighting is continuing in eastern Ukraine, particularly around the city of Bakhmut. Russia is continuing its regular missile attacks on cities and civilian infrastructure across the country. Ireland remains unwavering in its support of Ukraine's sovereignty, territorial integrity and right to defend itself against Russia's brutal...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Ukraine War (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Foreign Affairs Council met earlier this week, on Monday, and the foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, addressed that meeting by video conference. He is seeking a broad range of supports from the European Union, including the provision of weapons from those member states that are providing them in as timely a manner as possible and action to prevent the circumvention of sanctions. He gave...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Relations (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy again for his insightful and detailed presentation of the case. I was about to say earlier that the focus of the EU's approach with Sri Lanka has been the generalised scheme of preferences plus arrangement, which aims to support Sri Lanka's economic development through increased trade with the EU, as well as by diversifying its exports and attracting investment. That...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. We are in the busy season for passports, as citizens prepare for their upcoming summer travel plans. The passport service is successfully responding to the high demand, and has already issued 350,000 passports to date this year. All turnaround times are at their target level and there are no backlogs. The customer service hub is responding to...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: There is no backlog at the moment; none. Phone calls are being dealt with very quickly; within two to three minutes. As I said earlier in my replies, the longest wait for a call to be returned last week was five minutes and 350,000 passports have been issued this year. What can we do to help first-time applicants, including helping them to complete their applications correctly? A...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for their comments. Some 350,000 passports have issued to date this year. All turnaround times are at their target levels and there are no backlogs. The customer service hub is responding to over 3,000 queries per day and it has handled over 200,000 queries to date in 2023. The Department of Foreign Affairs website includes a dedicated passport service section where...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Passport Services (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: Those issues have improved immeasurably.

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland Institutions (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for the points he has made. Last week at the three-day event on the Good Friday Agreement a significant dinner was hosted by the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland involving all those who participated in the agreement, but also many community groups and representatives of all the political parties. That gave me an opportunity to informally talk to all the leaders of...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland Institutions (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: We are all conscious of the particular milestones that have been outlined. I do not want to speculate on those or the impact of them on the restoration of the institutions. I found it interesting that in the debates and various contributions that took place last week no one said they were not going to go back into the institutions in the fullness of time. Groups have raised issues...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Relations (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is absolutely correct; we are in a global world and it is a smaller global world. Sri Lanka has been facing huge challenges, not least relating to the impact of climate change, which has been severe. Sri Lanka is facing a severe economic crisis as a result of high national debt and the collapse of tourism during the Covid pandemic. This lead it to suspend foreign debt payments...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: International Relations (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: As I said, the country is continuing to respond to a severe economic crisis, which escalated in 2022 due to the high debt burden and also the pandemic-related fall in tourist numbers and this lead to the suspension of foreign debt payments in April 2022. There is a small Irish community in Sri Lanka. We continue to provide consular assistance and advice to Irish citizens in Sri Lanka...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Foreign Conflicts (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: To address Deputy Carthy’s point, the numbers are fluid because some may not have registered with the embassy in the first instance. The numbers have increased. In the first evacuation, Irish citizens were probably among the first to be evacuated and 50 left in the first 24 hours of evacuation. As people saw that, more registered. There are now 116. As I said, the situation is...

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions: Northern Ireland Institutions (27 Apr 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. The full and effective operation of all of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement across all three strands is a key priority for me for and for our Government. The people of Northern Ireland are entitled to a functioning Assembly and Executive. In recent weeks we have seen cuts to services that will affect Northern Ireland's most vulnerable....