Results 16,081-16,100 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----which is an important point. We are not doing enough either in the public service or more generally to facilitate people with disabilities to work.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: As I have said, the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, will work on that. If the Deputy wants my honest perspective on things, one can ratify conventions, but we need the system and we need people to work and deliver. That is the most pressing issue for me right now.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thought the Deputy was against wealth taxes given that he votes against most of the taxes on wealth when they are introduced in the House. However, to be serious for a moment, the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe, are working on the recognition of front-line healthcare workers-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----and will come back to the Cabinet in respect of that issue, and then will bring it before the House.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy that the vaccine task force did an exceptional job. It was multidisciplinary and involved different aspects of the public sector and some of the private sector. Our vaccination record of 93.5% of adults is an extraordinary achievement for the country and reflects very well on all concerned. The waiting list initiative is now key. As we emerge from Covid-19 we...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am surprised the Deputy is raising that issue. I am informed that nobody in south Tipperary is waiting for home help hours as of the end of August. If the Deputy talks to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister has produced Housing for All, an unprecedented, comprehensive strategy backed, in an unprecedented way, by resources to make a far greater number of houses available to enable people to buy houses and afford them. More than 90,000 social houses will be delivered over the period of the plan, along with thousands of cost rental and so forth. I have always stated that housing is...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: Eleven hundred apartment units were planned in the area. I do not know what the individual case-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: The point is that the Deputy keeps opposing it all, and that is a problematic issue-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: What has been announced in Housing for All is unprecedented. The investment is unprecedented.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: It will be the largest number of social houses built in the history of the State. It needs delivery, but to get delivery we need to ensure all of us in this House show leadership in respect of the housing applications that come before us from here on. Otherwise, there is no point in having this kind of across-the-aisle stuff about how one group should get a grip on the issue when the Deputy...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is the one Minister in this House who wants that to happen. That is what he wants. He has not delayed anything; he just gave a realistic assessment of where things are and are likely to be, given the planning issues and so on. Be under no illusion, it is a priority and the national development plan will deal with that issue as well. One has to be honest...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, I appreciate the issue that Deputies McDonald, Barry and McGrath have raised. It is very difficult to comprehend how this occurred because this was the subject of a very exhaustive and comprehensive inquiry in the past across every single hospital in the country. The Dunne inquiry would have been involved in that. That this was done without the consent or knowledge of the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: Basically, SOLAS and the HEA have been working with the training providers. The resources have been provided to get back up to speed, but also to increase and expand.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is tempting me. Obviously, on-the-job training, off-site training and so forth are important. The blended programme I referred to should make up time, and there is a desire to get people back on track in terms of the timeline so they can complete their apprenticeship programme within the timeline identified at the outset. I cannot give guarantees in respect of that but I would...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: First of all, as I said earlier, it is not by accident that they are looking at the west. There is a strong proactive Government approach to encouraging investment into the regions where that is possible and where we can facilitate it. That is a very important point. I take the Deputy's point in terms of railways more generally. In the context of climate action, the climate change agenda...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising the question. It is a very pertinent question that goes to heart of the challenges that face us in terms of Housing for All and having the requisite skill sets, but also across the broader economy. There is a waiting list for craft apprentice off-the-job training in electrical, plumbing, carpentry and joinery. The Deputy is correct on that....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: I understand there were 4,500 workers on site engaged in construction alone, including those of Banagher Precast Concrete, which is first in the world at what it is doing in respect of that plant and Intel sites all over the world.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: We can knock ourselves a lot. We need to recognise the challenges but, sometimes, we also need to acknowledge and appreciate the good stuff that is happening in the country.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (28 Sep 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The first point I would like to make is the Government is very committed to regional development and to reorientating the economic development of the country, rebalancing it and making sure we get greater activity across the regions generally and particularly the west and north west. The Deputy referenced one plant. That is an ongoing issue the...