Results 10,981-11,000 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy should give me the full details and we will follow it up. Give me the full background and we will see where we can identify a potential source of revenue. The last question was from Deputy Joan Collins and dealt with the referendum as well.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I do not have the date.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I was elected to a local authority in 1985. What was the major issue of the day? Water.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: It is well sorted. The only issue is it gave campaign fodder for some of you people around the table. We had dealt with it by the mid-1990s, and then there was a by-election somewhere in Dublin and the Labour Party-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: European Parliament (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 6 to 8, inclusive, together. I visited Strasbourg on 7 and 8 June. I began my visit by meeting representatives of the Council of Europe to mark Ireland's six-month presidency of that body and took the opportunity to visit the European Court of Human Rights and meet with Irish staff members in that court. At the invitation of the President of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: There are a number of issues there and in fairness to Deputy Martin Kenny I did not answer his last question-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----in the last bout, for which I apologise. There is national implementation board oversight between the Department of Justice and my Department and that is working well. We launched and published the strategy itself just before the summer recess and that will report to the Cabinet subcommittee on social affairs and equality. We have outlined that to the Deputy’s party leader and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: No concerns were really raised at that stage. It was only just before the summer. We will allay any concerns we can and there will be proper oversight of the implementation of the strategy. On the issues the Deputy raised on the survivors of mother and baby homes, to be fair to the Minister overall, this Government has moved on a range of issues and has got action and delivery. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Again, the Minister is in constant contact with survivor organisations. There are limits to how he can interfere with the commission because of the legal framework governing commissions of investigation and the manner in which they are set up and that has been problematic but he wants to publish in full the testimonies and he will work with survivor organisations to discuss that issue and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I would share the Deputy's concerns and I have heard reports on a change in the non-opening of Citizens Information centres. They have been one of the great and enduring civic actions of citizen empowerment and participation down through the years and I would be a strong advocate of them. When I was Lord Mayor of Cork, I had the honour of granting the freedom of the city to Maureen...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Bodies (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Paul Murphy should acknowledge that significant progress has been made in recent years in cementing the public ownership dimension of Irish Water in terms of the State structure that has been introduced. There is no question about that. I do not believe there is any reason for workers to be concerned. The fundamental issue around the referendum on water is control of a natural...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy O'Callaghan raised the question of renters. Housing for All is our strategic response to housing. It is the most substantive housing policy. I have seen nothing near it from any Opposition party in terms of substance, breadth or depth. The reality is we will need a range of measures to deal with housing and homelessness. Unfortunately-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The population is rising, and is more than 5 million. There are more Irish people coming back than Irish people leaving. The housing issue is not just Irish; it is European. It is an issue everywhere, basically.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy made his points. I am addressing all the points he made, because I have written down what he said. We need to study the facts. The bottom line is that a number of factors have really conspired against us, Covid being one, but more importantly, the war and the increase in the cost of commodities. However, we are responding to that. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am coming to them. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the transport service in south Dublin. The funding was obviously coming through some agency prior to that, was it not?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: I know, but what agency are they dealing with?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Government did not meet as a Government and say they were not getting funding. The Deputy should know that. He made the political point that the Government refused it. We did not.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Who did they ask?

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Normally, in terms of groups in that specific area, funding is provided through a particular agency or whatever. I do not know the full background to the case.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Reports (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Well, there must be other reasons and factors we need to tease through.