Results 11,801-11,820 of 50,136 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July 2020. It has met a total of 19 times, most recently on 28 March. The next meeting is scheduled for 16 May. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment; the Minister...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. I will engage with the Minister on the issue. It relates to post-primary placements. About 287 additional special classes with 1,700 new places for the 2022-23 school year have already been approved and provided. There is, however, an issue with second level placements, as I discussed with Deputies yesterday. There is in place legislation by...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have spoken to the Minister for Health about this issue. It is a supply issue. It is not just an issue pertaining to Ireland but is a global supply issue. I have made it clear we will do everything we possibly can to secure additional supplies because it is very serious and not acceptable at current levels. I will ensure the Minister keeps in touch with Deputy Higgins about the matter.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: All the recommendations of the pensions commission are integrated. One cannot cherry-pick them with the ease with which the Deputy has just done. There are significant cost implications also. The report was published in October 2021. I note that in Northern Ireland, the Deputy's party supported increasing the pension age to 66, so there is somewhat of an inconsistency in Sinn Féin's...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and supportive measure in addition to the State pension.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I will ask the Minister to go back and formally check that with the Department and we will come back to the Deputy on the matter. Generally, the Government has taken a very significant initiative on wildlife, particularly with the creation of a new agency in the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, and a significant expansion of resources and staff. We are very anxious about the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I extend my deepest sympathies to the family of Lisa Thompson following her horrific and barbaric murder. I do not believe there is any toleration of such barbaric acts in this House or in society. I genuinely do not believe there is any tolerance threshold for such violence at all. Very significant new measures have been brought in in respect of...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I am very familiar with the Irish Men's Sheds Association and the very many different groups I have met across the country. I pay tribute to the work they do and the camaraderie, the collegiality, the ending of isolation and so on, which are very positive community developments. Local authorities assist such sheds on the ground and various groups across the country. Each has different...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I, too, pay tribute to Cara for what she is doing to raise awareness in respect of autism. I am very conscious of the situation of her two brothers, John and Neil. I have visited Scoil Chormaic Special School on a number of occasions but I do not think I have been to Ardfinnan National School recently. I salute all those involved in that area....

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. To cut to the chase, the expert team will not just be about firefighting. Its purpose is to look at the entire management process and what is going on within the hospitals. There was a very good article by Paul Cullen in The Irish Timesyesterday about how some hospitals have developed systems that are getting better outcomes than others. He...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is a fair point. I will speak to the Minister again to see what can be done in respect of the seven-year timeframe the Deputy is suggesting. It is a fair point.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is saying that at the moment people may have to go seven years, which would be too long. We did not close down medicine during Covid. I am not saying that facetiously. We did close down construction twice - in the first and second lockdowns - which had impacts.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: The students went online. I take the Deputy's point but the nature of apprenticeship is that the student is on the job-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: In the case of medical studies, many doctors were in hospitals and gained different types of experiences. We did not close that down. I take the Deputy's point. It is valid but there are specific-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is aware that I have been involved in apprenticeship as a Minister in different capacities. There are specific block periods of release that apprentices have to do, with specific facilities and all of that.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: The Government, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Department of Foreign Affairs, has condemned, and I condemn, the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu Akleh. Media freedom and the safety of journalists must be protected. There is an extra obligation on state forces to ensure the protection of journalists. We express our deepest condolences to her family. We have...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: I answered that question earlier, but the lease does give effective ownership to the State. In my view, there is no question about that. I have read the letters from Professor Deirdre Madden and Dr. Sarah McLoughlin. Again I make the point that it is not clear to me at all and no one has actually specifically explained from their perspective - from Deputy Bacik's perspective, for example -...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----saying this should go ahead.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: But the conditionality only relates-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (11 May 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----to the utilisation of the site, which is not an imposition on the maternity hospital, if you read the-----