Results 14,161-14,180 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: The absence of any objectivity-----
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: -----in advance of an investigation is quite striking.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: Again, substantial resources have been provided by the HSE, in the context of the winter plan in particular, to facilitate the development of a number of initiatives to clear and have a better flow through hospitals, including UHL. That also includes GP liaison nurses to manage direct referrals from GPs to emergency departments, geriatric community support, enhancement and expansion of...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: -----aspects in respect of capacity.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: To be fair, two significant memorandums were decided on this morning in respect of childcare. These were brought to Cabinet by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and they relate to workforce development and funding models for childcare into the future. Substantial funding was provided in the last budget for the development of workforce pay and conditions....
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy the detailed points he made in the context of supports for those in the hospitality sector. The Minister for Finance is still refining and going through those particular issues. We want to make sure that, whatever we do as a Government, we adequately support and provide supports to the hospitality sector, given the decisions that have been taken. Nightclubs are closing...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: First, on the Adoption (Information and Tracing) Bill 2021, it is not the Government's fault. We published it as far back as last May. It has been in pre-legislative scrutiny in this House since. I think it is out now and that we are in a position to get the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth-----
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: We have just got it. The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O’Gorman, being proactive as he is, has been working in parallel with the committee, monitoring the changes that were going to be made. The intention is to bring the Bill forward as quickly as possible. It is not the Government's fault that it has been delayed. On the regulations and...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: First, the economy is recovering faster overall than any other in the European Union. One just has to look at the tax receipts which were, for the first 11 months of this year, over €62 billion. That is more than €5.3 billion ahead of target. The budget deficit this year is said to be much smaller than forecast, one of the smallest in European Union. This is basically good...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: To be fair, the Government has not been found wanting in supporting sectors in the economy since the beginning of the pandemic. Now, in this fourth wave of the pandemic, given the overall fact that there is a lot of activity in the economy, we have to tailor-make our responses into the future. Economy-wide measures in themselves could end up supporting sectors that do not necessarily need...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: In the next number of days.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: The bottom line is this: the Minister has reintroduced PUP for those who are going to lose work as a result of the measures we introduced last week.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: There are more vacancies now in our economy than there were in 2019, pre-pandemic. Maybe the Deputy should absorb that.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: First, we represent all the people and we have to raise revenue generally to provide for education, our health services and social protection. That is why tax exists. I accept that, because of global developments principally, fuel prices have gone up very high. That is why we brought in and increased the fuel allowance.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: I did not interrupt the Deputy.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: Hold it one second, Deputy. I have also said in this House that the Government is looking at measures to help householders further to reduce their household bills in respect of electricity bills that are a consequence of increased energy costs.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: That is something the Government is actively considering.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: It is very regrettable if the developer pulled out. I do not know the background to the case. I commend anybody involved on providing housing of this type in a co-operative context. I will engage with the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage and ask him to talk to the Deputy.
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: I will ask the Minister to assess this and to see what we can do to help. I would make the point that I do take on board very seriously the report today. Mortgage lending is very robust at the moment and commencements, which are mentioned in that report, have increased very significantly. We are looking at approximately 31,000 commencements from October to October. While it is...
- Order of Business (7 Dec 2021)
Micheál Martin: To be fair, we have been generous enough in the past two years in terms of both the scale of the minor works grant scheme and the timing of it. It is not a question of schools having to choose between a broken window and a HEPA filter.