Results 10,881-10,900 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I take the Deputy's points and I will talk to the Minister regarding this issue. A priority waitlist for test appointments has been established to allow vehicle owners to avail of any test cancellations. The average waiting period for a test appointment is now just under 24 days. The Deputy referred to an appointment in March, so I will need to follow up on this. The average waiting time...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: No, that-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. I attended a meeting over dinner in Madrid on Wednesday, 29 June 2022, hosted by Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, which brought together leaders of EU member states and those of NATO member countries. While the event took place alongside a NATO summit, it was a separate event and not a part of the summit. The...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: First, I accept the points the Deputy is making. There are huge gaps. In my view, the roll-out of the progressing disability services, PDS, model has been very problematic and challenging over the years. I would have had my own views prior to coming into government in terms of the PDS model. I have engaged with the Ministers for Health and Education, the Minister of State with...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Within different parts of the health services, therapists can be recruited more easily than seems to be the case for the disability sector. That is a challenge. We are meeting regularly now to try to deal with this and the HSE is part of those meetings.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy cannot raise this issue and pretend there is no extra 21,000 places, which everybody in the Opposition seems to want to do. I am not saying she is doing that.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: In that specific case, the Deputy acknowledged the person should be getting the ticket.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: If Bus Éireann said it was going to give the person a ticket, it should give them the ticket. I do not dispute that. It is a matter at a local level in terms of operations. The more fundamental point, to be fair, is that the company needs more buses, and it is securing more places on buses, because of the exponential growth. The easier thing would have been to do nothing and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: These are decisions that will be long lasting and will leave a legacy in terms of how we deal with climate change and getting people out of cars and into buses. The decision was taken to do it and we did it. It has caused challenges; I do not dispute that. We will sort those challenges out in the coming short while.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is, in my view, a serious development that needs review. The citizens information service was one of the more outstanding services provided. I said last week in the House that when I was Lord Mayor of Cork, I gave the freedom of the city to the late Maureen Curtis Black, who was a pioneer of the citizens information service and a volunteer in...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy knows, the Minister waives all fees for the school transport scheme. This measure is saving families up to €650 a year. This very substantial cost-of-living measure should be acknowledged in any comment on this scheme. It was coupled with an increase in the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance and the extension of the school meals programme. Over 124,000...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have memories of that site. Ultimately, Amgen was not in a position to locate there. In the first instance, it is a very valuable site that will ultimately land a significant project. In turn, it will become a catalyst for acceleration. The Deputy is asking that the road be done now and have it approved and upgraded. I do not disagree with him but there are constraints on the funding,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I believe the price in the Boherboy affordable scheme is much lower.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Boherboy scheme is in Cork also, as the Deputy is aware, and the prices are lower. Obviously, it depends on location and a whole range of factors, such as input costs and such matters. I pay tribute to Cork County Council for moving on the affordable schemes a bit faster than other local authorities. That is what we want. There is no one uniform price.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: There are different levels of affordability in different locations, taking into account the costs involved in developing a particular site and so forth. Our main aim and target is to get housing as affordable as we possibly can for people and, through other schemes such as the first home scheme, to make houses that young people wish to buy affordable also. It is not just the affordable...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Government is investing in retrofitting on a massive scale. Some €8 billion will be allocated out to 2030. The revenue has to be generated to allow that to happen. That is giving certainty to the industry and allows the supply chain to scale up, creating thousands of high-quality jobs and delivering a critical national objective. Demand across Sustainable Energy Authority of...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I could continue with more details. Everything that can be done is being done to expedite these issues.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have sympathy with Deputy McGrath's position on this issue and what he advocates. There were obviously safety reasons for that age limit being introduced in the first instance but the world has moved on in that people are living longer and have better quality of life as they age. That should be taken into consideration. The Minister is looking at the issue and I will engage with him...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Housing for All plan that the Minister published last year represents the most substantial policy response and funding response to the housing crisis that we have seen in the past decade. No political party in the Opposition has produced anything near the substance of the Housing for All plan.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (20 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: None of them has done so.