Results 15,341-15,360 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, it is always condemnation of the European Union. They condemn nobody else-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----who have done very little when it comes to the export of vaccines. I refer to over 150 countries and 800 million vaccines being exported by the European Union. I would argue with the Deputy that the European Union is the most progressive entity in respect of global supply of vaccines. It is about time he gave it some acknowledgement.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: To be fair to the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, he has a very good relationship with the sector and engages regularly with it on a whole range of issues. As for children more generally, I do not know whether or not the Deputy accepts the public health advice or the importance of it, but the public health advice is such that the rates among five-to-11-year-olds and their parents are very high at...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Let me finish, please. In the context of contact tracing, that was public health advice. We need to make up our minds on these matters. Are we to become the public health experts on everything? I take it we can interrogate and deal with the advice. In respect of children, 8,000 free antigen tests were given out and dispatched yesterday free in schools.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is not the truth.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is a great mystery that we gave out 212,000 PCR tests last week and no one got them, apparently, and no one can get them in Kerry. Is that what the Deputy is saying? We need a bit of balance.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy needs to come off the stage, for God's sake.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have no issue with discussing this in considerable detail. I do object to the sloganisation and the ideology around it because I am not convinced at all that it produces one extra vaccine. In the case of BioNTech or any other company that has produced vaccines in record time, if you waive the intellectual property, who will do the next vaccine in six months' time for the next variant?

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The point is that what has happened in the world did not happen the last time we had close to a pandemic with SARS. They were all over the place at European level and globally in terms of production of vaccines. I accept that we need to get vaccines to less developed countries. There are many issues involved. Some of those countries refused the Pfizer and other mRNA vaccines initially...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, €2 to €3 is the cost in quite a lot of multiples. I am not going to name them all. It is not €8, and the Deputy should not be putting that out as an average cost. It is not-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: Your colleague was asked on radio what-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: On the basis of the Government working with the multiples, the cost is down to €2 to €3. The colleague of the Deputy opposite was asked whether Sinn Féin had costed its scheme. I believe the party was advocating a free scheme, costing approximately €500 million per year. Those are the choices.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: We are giving out free antigen tests. More than 100,000 close contacts have received one. More than 130,000 in the agriculture sector received free antigen tests when required as part of serial testing. A total of 22,000 people in third-level colleges have received free antigen tests while there were 8,000 yesterday for schools. We are averaging 4,000 free close-contact antigen tests per day.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy on South Africa. We must pay tribute to the South African authorities for the honesty, transparency and speed with which they have responded to Omicron. They should not be punished. We have to develop mechanisms to support countries that identify very quickly and in a transparent way such variants. The Omicron variant is likely to be in this country. There are now...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The committee has discretion in that regard.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: First of all, as a general point nothing at all is rushed in this House. It takes a very long time to get things done in this House and to get legislation through this House. I make no apologies on housing because we have had too much delay on housing right across-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is related. Members of the Opposition are having an each-way bet every day and every week on a whole range of issues. It seems to me that it suits the Opposition at times that there is paralysis in getting things done. Let us consider the Maritime Area Planning Bill, which is essential. Last week, Deputies were complaining that a major wind energy company was pulling out because we...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----and it will be given more consideration, but it needs to be dealt with. They have been talking about it for years.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: When I became Taoiseach, I was determined to get it published and through the House in order to create a landscape for the next ten years so that people who want to develop wind energy in this country, and fulfil our climate change objectives, can get on with it. I make no apologies for that either.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (30 Nov 2021)

Micheál Martin: The planning Bill will go to the committee. On mandatory quarantine, the Deputies know what that is. It was not so long ago that they were all screaming for it in a previous phase of the pandemic. We could not bring it in fast enough.