Results 10,101-10,120 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy raising this important issue. However, we are in a war situation on the Continent of Europe. These are not normal times. An illegal and immoral war is being waged by Russia on Ukraine. That war is being carried out in a manner that targets civilians. Putin is weaponising migration, energy and food. This has caused significant economic upheaval. About 14 million...

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

Micheál Martin: Deputy Gould, it is no laughing matter. If this is described as a catastrophe, then all bets are off in respect of how we provide housing in this country. That is the point I am making. Sinn Féin cannot play it both ways. You cannot say in this House it is a catastrophe and in another chamber vote against housing and housing provision. It is time to get off the fence. I make that...

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

Micheál Martin: The country is on track to exceed the Housing For All target for this year of 24,600. Close to 28,000 homes were built in the 12 months to September 2022. There were nearly 21,000 houses alone built in the first nine months of this year. That already exceeds the total for 2021, which was 20,000. We are projected to reach more than 26,000 homes by the end of the year. It will be the...

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

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is at it again, trying to interrupt. She should allow me to respond to her sound bites and sloganeering and the absence of substance that comes across time and again. The bottom line is that we have to do more than what we have done already. Let us be very clear that we are making progress. The bottom line is that the Deputy is saying that the figures need to increase and we...

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

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very serious issue. The level, scale and nature of sexual abuse carried out in Blackrock College and in other school settings is sickening and shocking. Our sympathies, if that is the right word, and thoughts go out to all the victims and survivors of such terrible abuse. Such sexual abuse causes immense trauma for the entire lives of those who have been...

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

Micheál Martin: I have consistently said that housing is the number one social issue facing our country and it is a priority of this Government. I also said that the Housing for All plan is the most substantive plan document detailed of any plan that has been produced by anyone in this House. No Opposition party has come near it in terms of its detail, variety, breadth and depth. The bottom line is...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Cabinet Committee on Europe oversees implementation of Programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union and related issues. It generally meets in advance of a meeting of the European Council. It last met on 13 October ahead of the regular meeting of the European Council in Brussels on 20/21 October.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Programme for Government (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Government has been working hard to implement the commitments in the Programme for Government, supported through the co-ordinating mechanisms of the cabinet committee process. The eleven Cabinet Committees established by this Government reflect a broad range of policy areas that it will work on during its lifetime, as set out in the Programme for Government. Cabinet Committees meet regularly...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Bacik asked the first question. To make a general point, there is no document of substance on the housing issue that is an alternative to Housing for All. There is nothing with its comprehensiveness, breadth and depth covering all aspects of housing. In it is an inbuilt review mechanism, which is important in any plan. Deputy Bacik raised the issue of a census. There is no limit...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: In local authorities.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I know that. I am just stating what the Minister has indicated.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have listened to the Deputy at length. I am saying where we are in respect of this. Obviously, we will have more definitive figures at the end of the year, when a lot of completions will come in. On the tenant in situscheme, the Minister took the initiative and local authorities have purchased houses where tenants were facing homelessness. He has instructed local authorities to proceed...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: They are doing it, actually. A good few hundred have been purchased at this stage. I do not believe we should legislatively force local authorities to buy every single house that becomes available. There can be all sorts of background issues. Local authorities have to have some discretion in individual cases. Without that, why have local authorities and why not manage everything from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Boyd Barrett raised a similar issue concerning tenants in situ. It seems he is basically saying the local authorities should be automatons and do what they are told across housing. I am not sure that is the right policy and that councillors on the ground would appreciate that approach. There has to be some delegation of authority to local authorities. What we can do is resource...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----in issues that arise in their jurisdictions. On the question of income thresholds, of course there is an issue. There has to be, and some mechanism is needed to resolve it. There is no point in saying there is not an issue because there many people with lower incomes who cannot get housing. Therefore, there has to be a targeting of resources too. We cannot just go in one direction...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: We should allow people their space. There has to be balance in how we raise these issues. I will follow up on Deputy Murnane O'Connor's point on emergency accommodation for men. On Deputy O'Sullivan's comments on the planning review, the hope is the legislation will be published in a matter of weeks. Then it has to be deliberated upon.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Housing Provision (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: It deals mainly with the planning code, not necessarily the OPR or other issues. We will revert to the Deputy on this. Deputy McAuliffe raised the issue Croí Cónaithe. I agree with him that if opportunities arise in the context of interest rate increases, the Land Development Agency should take over sites for use for cost rental or other initiatives. Deputy McDonald raised the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: The point is if one is in favour of free trade, as I unapologetically am, because it means jobs in this country-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: No. I want people working in this country. The Deputies are supposed to be for the workers but everything they are doing is against the workers, as far as I can see. If the Deputies' writ was allowed run here, we would destroy jobs in this country.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (15 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: There is no question about it. We should take the clarity offered by the Supreme Court and amend the Arbitration Act, which would cover trade deals. Investor courts are standard in trade agreements, and the European court has ruled on this.