Results 14,381-14,400 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I went through all the different sectors where that currently is happening. More generally, the price range now has come way down, because of engagement, by €2 up to €3, which is a very significant advance.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: However, we must always remember that PCR testing remains our core response and 210,000 were given out and done for free, properly so, last week.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy said the Government’s Covid-19 response in general was haphazard and chaotic. I would like to put that comment in context. More than 8.1 million vaccines have been administered in Ireland. We have the highest vaccination rate in the European Union, with 93.4% of the adult population fully vaccinated. The executive director today of the European Medicines Agency, EMA,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: No Opposition party replied to a written request two months ago, after the working group report was published, to detail their specific position on how the scheme should be improved. You need to answer that fundamental question. You could have got involved. You could have come up with your proposals and your plan, but you had no plan and you had no proposal.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The reason you did not is that you simply want to exploit this, unfortunately, for electoral and political gain. We want to provide a solution.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The bottom line is that the Deputy behind Deputy Doherty endorsed the original scheme back in January 2020, a scheme we accept was not suitable. We are saying we must depoliticise the methodology around the costings here. The SCSI on an annual basis updates the square footage building costs. They accept a sliding scale. Most people involved in building and surveying accept the methodology...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----and the upfront costs being dealt with. They will not have to find that money.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, I say to the Deputy that every party and every Dáil Deputy in this House is extremely well aware of and very concerned about the devastation wreaked on many families as a result of the mica scandal. The scandal is not about the absence of regulation; it is about a failure by certain operations to adhere to the regulations. We must call that out. Those responsible need to be...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: National Economic and Social Council (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The National Economic and Social Council (NESC) advises me on strategic policy issues relating to sustainable economic, social and environmental development in Ireland. The NESC work programme includes work in five areas: 1. Shared Island: NESC is undertaking a programme of research covering a range of issues, including economy, regional development, poverty, mental health, climate,...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Advertising (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Since taking up Office in June last year, my Department has spent €1,520,189 in online advertising. €1,507,897of this spend has been on the Government’s coordinated approach on 32 COVID-19 public information Campaigns. Included with the answer is a table with a detailed breakdown of campaign online costs since June 2020 as requested by the Deputy. Campaign:...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Strategies (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Well-being Framework for Ireland is being jointly sponsored by my Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Department of Finance. The First Report on this was approved by Government and published in July. It will help us to consider, understand and measure Ireland’s progress more holistically through the recovery and beyond. A follow-up phase of...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The importance of ventilation as a measure to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 is embedded in Government communications on the pandemic. This will continue to be the case in upcoming campaigns. For example, the current #ProtectOurProgress campaign from the Government Information Service (GIS) which is running on the MerrionStreet.ie social channels emphasises the importance of fresh air. In...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Legal Cases (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The European Court of Human Rights judgment in the case to which the Deputy refers was delivered on 18 November 2021. The Court declared the application to be inadmissible. No external law firm or counsel was retained by the State. The overall cost to the State is not yet assessed but is likely to be modest. The question of the applicants’ costs is a matter for the applicants to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Freedom of Information (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: My Department is committed to providing a professional and consistent service in relation to the processing of all requests received under the Freedom of Information Act. The procedures for dealing with FOI requests used by my Department meet the legislative requirements contained in the Act and are in line with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform's Code of Practice. My...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Programmes (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, I will revert to my officials on the issues raised by Deputy McDonald in respect of a specific school and the point she made that services have not returned. My overall commentary is that the progressing disability services policy or programme was developed nearly a decade ago. I was not in government at the time and I remember having concerns from the Opposition benches and speaking...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Programmes (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I just think work came back. We know from the returns in revenue that the economy has picked up very significantly throughout the summer. Thousands of people got back to work, which is a good thing. It is where people want to be. The changes we have made in the past week, in essence, bring the hours back to midnight. It is not ending any particular sector. Prior to this, intervention...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank all of the Deputies for the issues raised under this heading. Deputies Bacik and Boyd Barrett raised the issue of private healthcare. In an emergency and in a pandemic, it makes sense to use all capacity that is available within the country. In regard to the first deal, I was not in government then but, to be fair to everybody, it was entered into in the uncertainty of the first...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I did. The Department is working up proposals. I do not have a specific date. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the issue of the private hospitals, which I have dealt with. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked about the well-being framework. The Department of the Taoiseach is overseeing the development of a well-being framework. It is along the lines of the late Bobby Kennedy's approach that...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Programmes (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 14, inclusive, together. Since 27 June 2020, ten new Cabinet committees have been established with specific responsibility for a range of issues to advance the Government's programme. Through the work of the committees, supported by my Department, a range of policy work has been advanced since June 2020, including management of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Climate Change Negotiations (24 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Bacik raised the issue of the publication of the more detailed action plans. In the course of her questions, she said she had been engaging with the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications last evening. The Government has committed to publishing that detailed annex of actions, because it is important. I do not have a precise date here and now, but the Minister and...