Results 10,721-10,740 of 51,889 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy. In the context of his recent announcement, I wish him the very best, although he very quickly said to me in the corridor that it would not spare him from harassing me, politically speaking, for the next while. He will be as robust as ever. I acknowledge the Deputy's long-standing and consistent support of the long Covid issue. Very few Deputies have put as much work...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: As I said, the national service is being rolled out with about €6.6 million allocated for 2023. That will provide post-acute and long Covid clinics. The long Covid clinics currently operational under the new model of care include St. Vincent's University Hospital, Beaumont Hospital and University Hospital Galway. The post-acute Covid clinics operational under the new model of care...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Sinn Féin is very adept at using language like "targeted", "interim" and so on. When mortgage interest relief was last in operation in 2008, it cost about €700 million. Research showed that the top two deciles of income benefited the most. The broader cost-of-living measures we have introduced in the past 15 months, from January 2022 onwards, will help those who are coming...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I dealt with this issue last week. It is very fair question. Discussions are currently under way in respect of the issue, which essentially involves pay and conditions. The Departments of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, and Education are working on addressing the situation pertaining to adult...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I did not interrupt Deputy Boyd Barrett. He should have the decency to allow me to make a reply. The Deputy has just asserted in a distorted manner the idea that NATO wants to escalate the war on Ukraine to a nuclear status. That is a disgraceful and wrong thing to say. Germany is in NATO. France is in NATO. They did everything they could to persuade Putin not to launch that war. They...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----because they pick up something that does not look like a bomb but is a bomb. Deputy Boyd Barrett is saying we should not help to train people to prevent that terrible impact on civilians.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I am the leader of the Fianna Fáil Party, of which Frank Aiken was a member. He was the first Minister for Foreign Affairs to sign the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. My party and colleagues in the Government in this House have a very proud record on the international stage with respect to nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: This country has a strong record in that regard, even in its most recent iteration on the Security Council of the United Nations for the past two years. We do not have any blind spot about nuclear weaponry. We have been consistent. More than a decade ago, we were the leaders, with Norway, the Vatican and others, in having the international convention banning the use of cluster munitions....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: We have been very strong in terms of holding accountability in respect of Israeli attacks and atrocities. We condemned what happened last evening. It was wrong. We are very concerned about the trends in regard to that issue. The fundamental point is this. We stand by the international rules-based order, the United Nations Charter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Putin has breached it in an appalling manner. All we are saying is we will help to train some Ukrainians in respect of their capability in medical combat, in bomb disposal and in other areas of that kind. It is not too great an ask for this country to make and it does not threaten in any shape or form our neutrality, which is defined by non-military alignment. We are not members of NATO....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: A key consideration has to be the likely impact of any extension on supply. Recent data shows that around 21,000 home sales last year involved landlords selling their properties while just 7,500 homes were bought by landlords. That means a net loss of 13,5000 homes to the rental stock. We have to ask the question why the smaller landlords are leaving the market in droves. We have a whole...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: -----and were then extended in 2019 and 2020. The issue of trust is vital so we must be very clear in terms of what we are doing in this decision and I am sharing these issues with the Oireachtas now because it has to go beyond the catch cry of "you are the uncaring Government that wants to do x, y and z and we are the people who are for apple pie" etc.. There is a real issue here. We...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I find Deputy Boyd Barrett's remarks deeply disturbing and unfair. Inevitably in every contribution he makes on the war in Ukraine he brings it around to the NATO issue, and it is NATO's fault ultimately in his mind. It is a disgraceful and distorted assessment of his that he has just articulated now, that somehow NATO wants to escalate this.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: In my time, we put unprecedented investment into infrastructure in Cork. Regrettably, in the past while, significant proposals did not come forward to the degree that they should have.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I come from the region and I am well aware of the position. The projects are now coming on stream. The lack of ready-to-go projects in respect of certain hospitals has been a cause of concern for me. That is why we are looking at a faster method in the context of getting projects delivered. We are saying that we will build more facilities and increase the number of beds. We are going to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Parallel with that, there has been a massive increase in the number of people working within our health service. in that context, there are 17,000 more people working in the health service than was the case at the beginning of 2020. That is a 15% increase and it includes more than 5,000 nurses, nearly 3,000 health and social care professionals and 1,800 doctors and dentists. We need to and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: First, I wish the Deputy well. This may or may not be the last occasion on which we have an opportunity for questions on a Thursday morning, but I thank her for her courtesy and respect in her capacity as leader. I thank her and her colleague, Deputy Shortall, for their commitment to the public good and public interest as leaders of their party. Through very challenging times during...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Ceann Comhairle for reminding us of the horrors of nuclear war, and for his comments in respect of the terrible war being waged upon the people of Ukraine as a result of the illegal and immoral invasion of their country by the Russian Federation. Closer to home, like many others, I find myself struggling to comprehend the savagery and depravity of last night's attack on...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Irish Prisoners Abroad (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: I remain deeply concerned about the continued detention of this Irish citizen, especially given his serious medical condition. 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 on the citizen's case with the Iranian authorities at senior political and official levels. I emphasised...

Written Answers — Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Departmental Projects (23 Feb 2023)

Micheál Martin: Below is a table of studies, reviews or research currently being undertaken or commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and when they are scheduled to be completed. Name of Study, Review or Research Expected date of completion Evaluation of Ireland’s Expo 2020 Dubai. Q2 2023 The Application of Ireland’s Soft...