Results 11,081-11,100 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Local Authorities (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Louth County Council received €10,000 in 2016 under the Local Diaspora Strategy Development Fund (LDSDF) which made up to €10,000 available for each Local Authority to invest in developing strategies for diaspora engagement at local and community level. A total of 24 Local Authorities received funding under this programme in 2016. Diaspora funding was transferred to the...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Commissions of Investigation (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Certain information relating to matters in the Final Report of the Commission of Investigation on Mother and Baby Homes were disclosed in a newspaper report prior to the consideration of that report by the Government. In that context, I requested that an investigation be carried out. A senior official in my Department is carrying out the investigation and it is being done in the context of a...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of the staff in my Department have been working from home since March 2020 with some business units maintaining a continuous on site presence throughout due to the nature of their work supporting the essential operation of Government Buildings to support the work of the Taoiseach and Government. A phased return to the workplace has been...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Commemorative Events (14 Sep 2022)

Micheál Martin: As part of the programme of events for the Decade of Centenaries, a cultural event will take place on Saturday, 17 September to reflect on the Centenary of the Civil War and to remember those whose lives were lost. The event will take place in the National Concert Hall, Dublin and it will include a variety of musical and spoken-word performances, involving the National Symphony Orchestra and...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: We now have the highest number of commencements on record. We have the highest number of planning permissions in over a decade. We have the highest number of completions in over a decade. We have established a high-level housing delivery group. Unfortunately, in the past two years we have been hit by Covid first, with two lockdowns, and now by a war on Ukraine, which is affecting...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: This does not apply just to education but to anybody living and working in Dublin or in the major cities in respect of any profession. One cannot single out just one profession. There is no doubt but there are challenges and that people will opt for a lower rent situation that would meet their personal requirements if they can get it. Until we get supply to a really significant level, we...

Post-European Council Meeting: Statements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I attended a meeting of the European Council on Thursday, 23 June, and Friday, 24 June, in Brussels. The meeting was preceded by a meeting of European Union and western Balkans leaders, in which I also participated, and was followed by a meeting of the Euro summit, at which leaders were joined by the President of the ECB and the President of the Eurogroup. It was the fifth meeting of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Ireland has a rent pressure zone, RPZ, rate of 2%, and that is a fact. Looking at the data-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: They are working for existing houses and the Deputy knows that. By the way, I did speak to Prime Minister Mark Rutte about housing. The Dutch have huge challenges in housing and they have to build on an even greater scale than us. There is not a country that does not have issues with housing, particularly in cities.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Dutch are not in as benign a situation as the Deputy suggests.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I dealt with most of what Deputy Murphy raised. The overall story is that Ukraine's application to join the European Union opens the door for substantial funding by the European Union and the world more generally for Ukraine. Other countries have come together, especially during the Lugano conference, and committed to supporting the reconstruction of Ukraine given the extraordinary...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 14 to 20, inclusive, together. Ireland submitted its national reform programme, NRP, for 2022 to the European Commission on 4 May. The NRP was laid before both Houses of the Oireachtas and published on gov.iethereafter. The NRP is an element of the European semester, the annual cycle of economic and fiscal policy co-ordination among EU member states. As...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Strategies (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: In terms of housing more generally, I have said consistently since I was elected Taoiseach that it is the most pressing and significant social issue facing our country. That is why we developed a comprehensive plan for housing, to which no party in the Opposition has responded in any detail beyond sound bites and slogans and some proposals that would make the situation worse. The proposals...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together. The Prime Minister of the Netherlands, Mark Rutte, travelled to Dublin to meet me on 23 May. I was pleased to host him and his delegation for a working dinner at Farmleigh House. Ireland and the Netherlands are like-minded on a wide range of issues, and we co-operate closely at EU level. Coming ahead of the special meeting...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Richmond raised the issue of financial support. There are two elements to this. There is the current financial crisis facing Ukraine. I met with President Zelenskyy and I was the first Taoiseach to visit Kyiv. I just received a letter from the President thanking Ireland and me personally for supporting the historic decision of the European Council of June 23 to grant Ukraine the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: First, on Deputy Richmond's point, I like the phrase "protocol-busting Bill" that he coined. We had a detailed discussion with the delegation in respect of the issues around the protocol. The delegates included both Republicans and Democrats and some had expertise in the trade area. They found it very difficult to comprehend what the issues were on the UK side. Their view was that the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Murphy referenced John Bolton, who is a Republican hawk. I do not accept at all that it is appropriate for any country to be organising coups in any other country. However, Mr. Bolton was a Donald Trump appointee, as the Deputy knows, and his views would not, in my opinion, be representative of mainstream opinion within the US. That has to be said.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: I would like the Deputies' insights on Russian interference across the world and seeking transparency from Vladimir Putin as to how many coups d'étathe is organising, how many people he is leveraging pressure on-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and how many professional private organisations like the Wagner Group are being funded and organised and creating mayhem across the world. To me, right now internationally - let us call a spade a spade - President Biden is a voice for peace.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (13 Jul 2022)

Micheál Martin: He is a voice for reason in international relations and we are fortunate he is at the helm in the United States in the context of a terrible war on the Continent of Europe that could escalate into a horrific nuclear conflagration if we did not have someone as sensible as him in office. That is a fact. Deputy Murphy will never accept that and will never bring himself to acknowledge it...