Results 11,261-11,280 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: If information has come, it should obviously be referred to the Garda-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----immediately. We must allow the Garda to pursue cases.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: People should be brought before and held accountable to our criminal justice system. There can be no hiding place for anyone in that respect. That will be an issue we will have to assess in terms of what potentially will be the impact of an inquiry on cases that are live and current and are being proceeded with. I will engage with the Deputy further on the matter.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am not clear on the big picture point the Deputy is making. We are commencing houses. We are allocating resources to approved housing bodies and to local authorities to build social houses. We want them built as fast as we can get them built and, on a 12-month basis, we can see at the end of the year how many we get built, how many we acquire and how many we lease. That is the key point.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: I will go back to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and get it to respond to the Deputy's specific query, but the broader point is we set a target of 24,600 units of all types of housing this year. We want to exceed that if we can. Next year, we have a target of 29,000, which will be more challenging because of pipeline issues and so on, but we are determined to try...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (16 Nov 2022)

Micheál Martin: What I would ask is for the Deputy to send the details to the Minister for Education in respect of the specific schools. Every effort should be made, be it by providing temporary accommodation in respect of some areas, to make sure that kids and young people can access schooling. As the Deputy has said, some of this can get resolved by the time the next academic year starts, but there are...

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

Micheál Martin: I answered quite a number of the questions that the Deputy raised in respect of rapid builds and so forth. As I have said, my strong answer is that we are in a wartime situation. That is why so much hotel capacity has been made available to take people, including women and children, who are fleeing war. That is why. There is no easy solution to this, but we have managed it so far. There...

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

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and I appreciate his interest in my longevity in politics. On a serious note, we have to keep working hard to effect change. We all have to keep at it. It is interesting that in the last 20 to 25 years, health has been transformed. There is no comparison between outcomes and survival rates today when compared with 20 or 25 years...

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

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to those who have come forward, including Mark and David Ryan and others. The sexual crime management unit of the Garda National Protective Services Bureau has received a number of new complaints this week. Obviously, the Garda will be fully supported in carrying out its work in pursuing every lead possible. I agree with what the Deputy said about the need to give support...

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.