Results 10,081-10,100 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising that. It has been raised by a number of Deputies. Regarding any anomalies of that kind, we do not want to punish people for being on a training course or that they would lose the once-off payment. We will come back to the Deputy to clarify that but my understanding is those anomalies are being dealt with. The Deputy raised issues in terms of pensions, which...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for highlighting the fantastic work the Samaritans do. When I was Minister for Health we had a discrete lottery fund allocation at the time and were able to assist Dublin and Cork Samaritans with new facilities. We should always seek to ensure their facilities are good and any training or whatever is supported. That is theiresprit de corpsand ethos. The Deputy's...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy's acknowledgement that this is a good scheme. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, about the specific issue the Deputy has raised. I presume it is to do with valuations - I am not sure - as to why different rates apply to different counties. I will follow it up. I know it is the Deputy's objective that we would create a scheme that can help people and get...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The negotiation of trade deals is a Commission function and Parliament here can decide to ratify it, if it wishes, or not. We must have a balanced approach to this. I have not heard compelling arguments against free trade agreements, particularly from a country like Ireland, which is an open economy that exports 90% of its goods and services and creates thousands of jobs. The Canadian deal...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important road safety issue. I will write to the RSA to communicate his views and concerns around the road safety aspect of this. It is complex with regard to the wider issues and how we deal with it. I will not go into the different methodologies and so on. I have been reading a lot of articles on what they do in other jurisdictions, but if we...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I would not be immediately aware of the details of that specific school and the issues there. Suffice it to say, the quality and commitment of Irish teachers are the bedrock of our education system. I will ask the Minister for Education to look at the specifics to see what can be done to help the school more broadly in terms of the curriculum choice that requires the specialist teachers and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I think I understand fully where the Deputy is coming from. There has been huge pressure on that hospital over recent years. The workforce has increased - I went through that with the Deputy - and the budget went up 20% in one year alone. In 2022, it is €315 million, an increase of 19%. Actually, that is since 2019, so it was not in one year. The new 60-bed module was put in in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Yes, and we have to work to-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: No. In the south west, it is essentially Cork University Hospital, CUH. There is Mercy University Hospital and so on, but CUH is a tertiary-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: A bigger population. It does not matter. We need to resource and advance Limerick more. We have to. It does need more capacity in terms of personnel, facilities, beds and so forth. The enhanced community care side of it is very important also so that we can reduce the number of people presenting who do not need to go to accident and emergency departments. It is very important they have...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There are a range of plans in place, particularly in terms of the cancer control programme and the role of cancer services. I am not sure as to the reason for those particular chemotherapy appointments being cancelled, but in terms of the overall cancer programme, it is extremely important that appointments be kept and that people get their treatments in the manner prescribed by the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: If information has come, it should obviously be referred to the Garda-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----immediately. We must allow the Garda to pursue cases.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: People should be brought before and held accountable to our criminal justice system. There can be no hiding place for anyone in that respect. That will be an issue we will have to assess in terms of what potentially will be the impact of an inquiry on cases that are live and current and are being proceeded with. I will engage with the Deputy further on the matter.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am not clear on the big picture point the Deputy is making. We are commencing houses. We are allocating resources to approved housing bodies and to local authorities to build social houses. We want them built as fast as we can get them built and, on a 12-month basis, we can see at the end of the year how many we get built, how many we acquire and how many we lease. That is the key point.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I will go back to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and get it to respond to the Deputy's specific query, but the broader point is we set a target of 24,600 units of all types of housing this year. We want to exceed that if we can. Next year, we have a target of 29,000, which will be more challenging because of pipeline issues and so on, but we are determined to try...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: What I would ask is for the Deputy to send the details to the Minister for Education in respect of the specific schools. Every effort should be made, be it by providing temporary accommodation in respect of some areas, to make sure that kids and young people can access schooling. As the Deputy has said, some of this can get resolved by the time the next academic year starts, but there are...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I answered quite a number of the questions that the Deputy raised in respect of rapid builds and so forth. As I have said, my strong answer is that we are in a wartime situation. That is why so much hotel capacity has been made available to take people, including women and children, who are fleeing war. That is why. There is no easy solution to this, but we have managed it so far. There...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and I appreciate his interest in my longevity in politics. On a serious note, we have to keep working hard to effect change. We all have to keep at it. It is interesting that in the last 20 to 25 years, health has been transformed. There is no comparison between outcomes and survival rates today when compared with 20 or 25 years...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to those who have come forward, including Mark and David Ryan and others. The sexual crime management unit of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau has received a number of new complaints this week. Obviously, the Garda will be fully supported in carrying out its work in pursuing every lead possible. I agree with what the Deputy said about the need to give support...