Results 15,881-15,900 of 50,294 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for raising these issues. On the points raised by Deputy Kelly, there is no reason partners and family members cannot attend scans and appointments relating to maternity services.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: It should not be happening. Clear guidance has been given by the HSE to hospitals. That is clinical guidance. The question is often asked as to who is in charge. In health and in the world of medicine, politicians do not dictate - and have never done so - to medics in terms of clinical guidance. Given that we have had such a successful vaccination programme in hospitals and in view of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am making the point generally. I am not saying it happened in this context. I am making the point generally, which we must acknowledge. We can criticise the health service a lot, but the work it has done in the context of Covid and in the aftermath of the cyberattack has been truly heroic. I must say that. It has stood up to the test and we must say that a bit more because we are...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: Those resources, coming into the winter period, were very effective and had much impact.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: As to the upskilling and recruitment of people, we will continue to work on that. Deputy Paul Murphy stated that it is only a question of whether we use the word “gamble” or the word “choice”. There is a fundamental difference between taking a gamble and making a choice. I say emphatically that I do not gamble with peoples’ lives. I do not gamble with...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will see what I can do to relax the criteria. We did not ask that they be that tight. We want to support community facilities because communities have been very good during Covid-19. They have been very effective in helping the State's efforts and society's efforts to deal with Covid-19. When we allocated the funding, we did not want the criteria to be too tight. Obviously, the funding...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I know, but a 92% effectiveness against hospitalisation is an important point. It was an important piece of research that deserves to be highlighted. That is the point I am making. Also, NIAC has not recommended the mixing of vaccines. By the middle of July, we will be down to only two vaccines - Moderna and Pfizer. That is where we will be once we have completed the second dosage of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: On the maternity issue, I have spoken to the chief executive officer of the HSE. The HSE runs its organisation and the CEO and his management team deal and work with the hospitals across the country in terms of the clinical guidance that has issued from the HSE. That is the proper way for it to happen. I will engage again with the HSE in respect of comments that have been made in the House...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 4 to 8, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on health oversees implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to health, receives detailed reports on identified policy areas and considers the implementation of health reforms, including Sláintecare. The Cabinet committee last met on Monday, 14 December. Since then, there...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: On Deputy Kelly's questions, I will check in relation to Janssen. I have not seen research either in respect of the Janssen vaccine and its efficacy in protecting against the Delta variant. Unfortunately, the situation with Janssen supply has been very difficult in terms of the vaccines being in a plant in America and not being freed up. That has significantly impacted on supplies to this...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: To respond to Deputy Costello, again the wider legacy issues of the Stormont House Agreement have to be dealt with in concert. We will work to see whether we can do it independently but there is a need for all parties to the agreement to move and follow through on it and we are committed to doing so. I will contact the HSE in respect of additional resources and what the situation is with...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 3, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Covid-19 was re-established by Government on 29 June 2020 to continue to assess the social and economic impacts of the potential spread of Covid-19 and oversee the cross-government response. The committee met most recently on Thursday, 27 May. The date of the next meeting has not been set. Our...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, on the very proactive role she has played in dealing with dementia. She has followed through on the role she played while in opposition when she did some great work with former Senator Colette Kelleher in producing a groundbreaking report. The Minister of State has followed through in implementing the report's recommendations in her first...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The purpose of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019 is to set out the legislative framework for a number of important patient safety measures, including mandatory open disclosure of specified serious patient safety incidents, including a process to designate other patient safety incidents by regulation in line with...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The clinicians are responsible in the hospital. The guidelines have been issued nationally. This should not be happening and that family should be facilitated by the hospital. The vaccinations have worked in hospital settings. The incidence of the disease is very low in hospitals because of the positive impact of vaccinations. I do not know which hospital it is-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: If the Deputy sends the details to my office, I will follow through with the Health Service Executive with regard to what is happening at the hospital, what the policy is and exactly why the clinical guidance issued nationally is not being followed, if that is the case.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for the issue he has raised. I know he is a long-time advocate for statutory home care. There is a commitment to do that and I will revert to the Deputy with an update on the progression of that legislation. Through the Minister for Health, the HSE and its CEO, we have given very clear direction on what should happen in maternity hospitals around partners being...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will meet representatives from the fishing industry next week on a broad range of significant issues that face the industry. I am not in a position to direct the SFPA because of legislation passed in this House which separates the executive function from the operational enforcement obligations on the SFPA.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I fully accept that issues have arisen, particularly with regard to the horrific murder of Keane Mulready-Woods. It is important to point out that Garda resources have increased significantly in the area over the past number of years. There are now 331 gardaí in the area as of March this year, compared with 277 in 2015. There has been an increase in Garda resources. There must be...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, allocated significant additional resources to Irish Water in 2020, particularly in the July stimulus programme, as well as in the Estimates for 2021. Of course, the objective of the allocation of those resources was to enhance water infrastructure, including reservoir provision, waste water treatment plants and so forth....