Results 11,461-11,480 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: God only knows what happened when Sinn Féin and the Provisional IRA were one and the same thing. No one knows where the money went then or how it was translated. That is the bottom line.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I really would love scrutiny and transparency in respect of all of that. When I come to Deputy Nash, his party has had alternative means of fundraising through a proportion of trade union subscriptions down through the years as well. Many of those trade union members were Fianna Fáil supporters and voters as well as anybody else.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Let us not pretend that this was some sort of stroke or whatever. It is not. We have some of the better legal frameworks governing political fundraising in this Republic.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Yes, thanks to Fianna Fáil, actually, and other parties in what has transpired over the last 20 years in terms of this Legislature.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: The comments have been overstated. It struck me that when Deputy Fitzpatrick raised what for him and others in the north east is a legitimate issue, he was shouted down by everybody because he was not obeying the dictatorial attitude of everybody. In other words, because he was not discussing the issue the Deputies raised, all of them were saying he was out of order. All he wanted was time...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is democracy - shout down the Independents because they are raising issues of legitimate concern to them but that do not suit the agenda. It is a sign of what is to come if we do not toe the line with certain agendas on a given day, politically and democratically speaking.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, there will be a full debate after committee in respect of the issue he raised, namely, participation in four PESCO projects as opposed to one. I have no difficulty with that. We need interoperability and we need to work on a whole range of issues, from peacekeeping to peace enforcement, and making sure we have the capacity to do all that. Deputy...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: This is a democratic Parliament.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I remind the Deputy that he is criticising me for facilitating the Green Party and the Minister, Deputy Ryan, to come into Government. If I recall, at the time, there was no one more relieved than Deputy Healy-Rae that we formed a Government. His only exhortation to me was that it would go the full five years and not four years.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: What the Minister, Deputy Ryan, is saying, as the Deputy knows well-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----is that the social welfare system is there for anybody who is in genuine hardship to go to seek assistance. That is well known. That is what the Minister, Deputy Ryan, was referring to. It is wrong to take his words out of context and endeavour to undermine a Minister of integrity. The Deputy may not agree with the Minister's ideas and he has been in denial of climate change and a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: The bottom line is that people are under pressure. There is no doubt about that. It has been caused by Putin's war. There is no doubt about that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: What happened at the European Council was a European-wide decision. We are not dependent on Russian oil and gas imports. Other countries are and they took much more difficult decisions that we did. We cannot condone the war. I hope the Deputy is not saying we should take no action against Russia. We must keep pressure on Putin's regime to stop this war. We cannot just look after...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: The European Union has correctly decided to put sanctions on the importation of Russian gas and oil. Our task is to alleviate pressure on people in this country. The forthcoming budget will give us an opportunity to do that in a strategic way that does not lead to runaway inflation again. We cannot go back to the 1970s and cause second-round and third-round inflationary impacts. If we...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----we would do exactly that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the cost of living. There is no doubt that Putin's war on Ukraine has pushed inflation worldwide to its highest level ever. That is the reality. It is affecting prices of imports of energy, food and other commodities. The Government is acutely aware of the enormous pressures on people arising from this round of inflation, which has been imported as a result...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: We have also decreased the excise duty on petrol, diesel and green diesel, saving motorists between €9 and €12 each time they fill their tank. Public transport fares are now down 20% and 50% for young people. We have changed health costs for people with changes to the drugs payment scheme threshold. In education, we took measures on examination fees. We reduced VAT from...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: Right across all areas we will move to help people.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, has met with Nursing Homes Ireland, NHI, the representative body, and continues to do so. At the moment the Government is allocating approximately €1 billion for the care of approximately 22,000 residents on an annual basis. The Exchequer contribution as we speak is quite significant and will obviously grow in terms of demographics and of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (14 Jun 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. As it transpires, the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is meeting with the CEO of the National Treatment Purchase Fund, NTPF, Mr. Liam Sloyan, to discuss the issues the Deputy raised and the general issues that face nursing homes and their ongoing relationship with the NTPF. The nursing home representative bodies are also in discussions...