Results 14,541-14,560 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: My view is that the entire senior management should be concerned about voids and vacant housing. Is that the issue? Fine, but it is much more than just having a vacant housing officer. The entire corporation and local council should be seized with the need to get houses back into service as quickly as they are vacated. That is why we provided substantial funding in the July stimulus. We...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: As the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is in the House he will deal with this matter.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Carthy has omitted to point to the fact that this went the whole way to the highest court of the land, which took decisions which resulted in the situation that we are in now. Court decisions and litigation have led us to this unsatisfactory situation in respect of the importation of peat. I accept that it does not make any sense on any yardstick that peat should be imported. I have...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: As the Deputy is aware, we have expanded use of antigen testing. Close contacts are issued freely.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: They are issued free antigen tests. There will be another 300,000 or 400,000 people, potentially, over the next while who will develop Covid-19 and there will be a whole range of close contacts. The issue is that we have expanded its use in many different sectors including through close contacts, as advised by public health. The Deputy is well aware that public health has over time had a...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The medics are of the view that antigen testing has a role but it is not the silver bullet role that some people will advocate. We have made progress on this and we need to make more.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Ceann Comhairle is being too strict. I was really looking forward to a lyrical list of those beautiful Kerry names dripping off the tongue. I agree with the Deputy. I will look at it. It is a very fair point. Deputy Ó Cuív was instrumental in introducing the rural social scheme. It is a valuable scheme. It does a lot of valuable work throughout the country. It is very...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will certainly examine the issue. Advances have been made in nursing through the nurse education and degree programme we introduced many years ago and through advanced practitioner courses. It is very clear in many specialties that nurse-led teams do enormously effective work, from gynaecology to children. In neurology, which historically has been an underfunded area, there is much to...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have raised this issue myself with the Minister for Education and others. It is an easy issue to raise but it will be more challenging to fulfil. I would not start from Covid; I would start from climate change. With regard to tearing up the rule book, the way we should approach school transport into the future is through the prism of climate change. The Deputy is correct that if we want...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising what is a very important issue. I will engage with the Minister for Justice on this with regard to the reforms that are required and I will revert to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We certainly do not. The Deputy should look into his own party

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Context is everything. I do not think anyone is glorifying organised crime. It is not on that the Deputy has suggested Deputy Cowen or anybody was glorifying organised crime. That is just not on. For whatever cheap political points the Deputy wants to score, it is just not on to be suggesting that. We could all throw things back with regard to glorifying criminality, murder and mayhem....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Drug crime is one of the worst horrors to visit an individual, community or society. We have to deal with drug abuse, drug trafficking and criminality around drugs in a multidimensional way, first, with regard to those who suffer from addiction with a healthcare-based approach. With regard to criminals we should take a very strong justice approach involving the Special Criminal Court and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I accept the points the Deputy has made on the need for widespread coverage of the National Ambulance Service. Other Deputies have raised this in the House. The facts of the matter are, as the Deputy has said, overall investment is now €200 million. This is up from €170 million in 2019. Approximately 2,000 people are employed in the National Ambulance Service, which is up...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am responding to Deputy McDonald. There is an action plan containing 22 actions. From my exchange and engagement with people down through the years, I understand that the most important action is access to information and tracing. We published legislation, which is groundbreaking legislation. No other Government before this Government has produced legislation of this groundbreaking nature.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: No, it is an important point. The legislation has been at the pre-legislative scrutiny stage for six months, then the Government gets attacked for delaying. The suggestion and implication there was that we deliberately produced the scheme yesterday. I hope the Deputy is not suggesting that. Last week, we were being asked when the scheme would be published.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy mentioned those younger than 60-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The target and expectation of the HSE is that those aged 60 to 69 will receive boosters by the end of December-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I know, but we have engaged regularly with NIAC on the need-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (17 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----to review this. NIAC provides the advice. There is a balance here, and I must be honest with everyone in the House. People ask if the Government will do this or that. The Government acts on the advice of NIAC. I do not want to put the committee under the spotlight unduly either, which really is the implication of what the question is about.