Results 14,401-14,420 of 51,063 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: That is not because of the leaving certificate and the Deputy knows that. That goes back much earlier-----

Legacy Issues in Northern Ireland and New Decade, New Approach: Statements (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Is maith an rud é go bhfuilimid ag labhairt faoin gceist seo inniu mar is ceist ríthábhachtach é ó thaobh todhchaí na tíre de agus an easpa dul chun cinn i gcomhthéacs an chonartha seo. It is just over two years since we reached the New Decade, New Approach, NDNA, agreement which restored to full operation the institutions of the Good Friday...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for raising those wide-ranging issues. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to the five families in St. Helen's Court and the challenges that they now face.

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: They are facing eviction and will be in court on Friday. I do not know the specifics of what will transpire in the court case but, suffice it to say, every effort should be made to prevent eviction, particularly when families have real challenges in securing alternative accommodation, whether through the housing list or through the HAP system. There are rules governing evictions and the...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I do not know the specifics of why this-----

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: The matter is before the courts. In my view, every effort should be made to prevent eviction. I do not know whether or not the local authority has been involved with the tenants. That should be pursued. Deputy Bríd Smith raised the issue of affordable social and rental housing. Councillor Daithí de Róiste was in touch with me about what has transpired in the past week....

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: There are many questions here.

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I take the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's point. Deputy O'Callaghan has been a consistent-----

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 to 30, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on education oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in the area of education, including the management of Covid in schools. This committee last met on 13 May 2021. It will meet again shortly. I have regular engagement with Ministers at Cabinet and individually to discuss...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for the range of questions. Deputy Murnane O'Connor raised pertinent issues about getting access to dentists, GPs and acute hospital services, as well as getting access to GPs more generally in respect of non-Covid illnesses. Obviously, Covid has had an impact on our health services, as did the cyberattack last year. In respect of dentists, I have made the point that...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 18, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing met nine times in 2021 and met again on Monday, 24 January. The next meeting is planned for Thursday, 3 March. This committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the delivery of the programme for Government commitments regarding housing and related matters. The focus of recent...

Houses of the Oireachtas Commission: Motion: Cabinet Committees (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Covid-19 met most recently on 17 December. The date of the next meeting has not been set. Following public health advice, the Government agreed that from 22 January, most of the public health measures that were in place could be removed, including guidance in relation to household visiting; early...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy Murnane O'Connor for raising a very important issue. I understand the concern of parents and the need for recognition of Irish citizens born through surrogacy and the rights of parents in that situation. Legislation is being developed by the Minister for Health to come before the House and it will be published shortly. The special Oireachtas committee will be established...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the need for reform of the leaving certificate. It has been reformed incrementally over the years, long before 2016. There are the leaving certificate vocational and applied programmes. The Deputy is right that we need more continuous assessment and more project-based work to be assessed. Covid has taught us that assessment, along with other forms of written exams and so on,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: The directive became redundant because the UK left the European Union and the Government, through the Minister of Health, then initiated a process whereby we would fund and support operations through a North-South arrangement in lieu of the directive. I will check the specifics of the cost and so on, but my understanding was there was a relationship between the HSE and the hospitals...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I will follow that up with the Minister in respect of funding for the home supports.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have sympathy for what the Deputy said. The Sláintecare report identified three elective hospitals in Galway, Dublin and Cork. There is merit in an elective-only facility in the mid-west to free up the hospital for trauma and other tertiary treatments. It is the way to go.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: Two rounds of discussions have been held with the Irish Dental Association, the most recent of which was on 17 December, when the Department and the HSE outlined provisional proposals to invest additional resources to the scheme, including €10 million provided in the budget, on top of the 2022 Estimate allocation of €56 million. The Department is anxious to move the process on...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: -----and we established a range of policy committees.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2022)

Micheál Martin: I have regular contacts-----