Results 14,301-14,320 of 50,151 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: There is a scheme being developed but we have to get best value as well for the public purse. It is important that we just do not dive into it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: That will happen and we will bring the details to the Deputy. It is our intention to do that, we have indicated that and we will do that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I would again say, standing back from this, that the fundamental variables that will really change this are actually reducing socialisation, which people are doing, and the booster campaign, which is going to have an impact in terms of the prevalence and continuation of the disease. That is the key approach to this, in my view.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I believe the income thresholds in terms of eligibility for social housing should be increased. As part of Housing for All, that is being examined, along with other issues pertaining to social housing as well, because the Government has a very large social housing programme under its remit. We want to build record numbers of social houses through the approved housing bodies and direct...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have no interest in that kind of carry-on - none - because this gets produced or this gets produced. The bottom line is that I want to get people housed. That is all I am interested in. I have said to the Deputy that I believe it should be increased. I do not think the Department is either, to be honest with the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: What we are interested in is getting houses built. Some 1,200 new tenancies for homeless people have happened already in terms of the Housing First strategy. These are people who had a history of rough sleeping and who needed additional supports. The Minister, to be fair to him, has kept a weekly oversight of the homeless strategy. Real progress is being made in regard to it and we will...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We all have a duty in here to be honest with people and not to put forward ideas or proposals that do not have any credibility attached to them and cannot be done.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is more of the politics-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Yes, we have been engaged on the matter.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We have had a discussion across Europe. I want to make the point – if I could do so without interruption, as is a consistent habit of the Deputy opposite-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I want to make the point that we understand fully the pressures on households. The carbon tax does not apply to electricity bills. That is a separate issue. We are monitoring the situation in terms of household pressures. We did increase the fuel allowance. We did provide taxation measures in the budget to try to help people cope with the costs. The costs are global and are driven by...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----in terms of the response to Covid. We are going to see what we can do.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Our main focus is not to try to come up with false ideas that would never carry, but rather to ask how we can get household bills down in the short term. That is where the Government's focus is. That is why we have used receipts from carbon tax to significantly increase the fuel allowance and increase the numbers of people who will be eligible for the fuel allowance, all to protect people...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is what we intend to do.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, I take the opportunity to thank the Irish people for responding to the current situation. All of the research is indicating, in particular in the past week or two following our announcement, that people are adjusting their behaviour significantly, which is ultimately the way to reduce the current pressure on hospitals and in regard to Covid-19. I watched what the WHO had to say in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, energy price increases are almost totally driven by global price rises which are being felt in Europe and across the world. The rebounding of international economies has led to supply chain constraints and real pressure on gas and oil prices. That is the fundamental driver here. It is a global phenomenon and is not unique to Ireland in any shape or form. There is a diesel rebate...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The popular thing to do is to defer because then one will not create any waves but it is not right thing to do for the future of the planet and its people. We need to protect people from rising energy prices and the carbon tax will help us to develop, for example, a really comprehensive retrofitting programme, which is ultimately the best way to reduce energy costs. A lot is happening in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Under EU rules, our reduced VAT rate of 13.5% on energy prices cannot be reduced below 12%. If we were to attempt to reduce the rate to 9%, for example, for a few months, the VAT would revert to the standard rate of 23% because we would be opting out of the derogation we currently have. Again, the Deputy needs to put forward proposals that are credible and that can actually be delivered.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Staff (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: No employee in my Department has been removed from their position, transferred to another role or had their employment terminated in the period in question due to breaches of departmental standards, professional misconduct or incompetence. However, during the period in question, four employees were not retained following completion of their probationary contracts.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Commissions of Investigation (23 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is a topic that needs serious discussion, but we must build up the existing capacity of the system to deal with these issues in a substantive way and avoid the necessity for inquiries that take an inordinate length of time, by any yardstick, to come to a conclusion and at great cost.