Results 16,601-16,620 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government will own the new hospital. The issue is the site, which the Government wants to own as well. A religious ethos will have no influence whatsoever in the running of the hospital, nor should the site or the hospital be mortgaged. Furthermore, strong public interest must be reflected on the board of the new hospital, given the nature and scale of the investment by the State in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: My understanding is that St. Vincent's Healthcare Group communicated to us, not necessarily the Sisters of Charity, to be precise about it. The Minister is going to engage with both groups and others in that respect. He is back in the Chamber now, I point out in the context of the Deputy's reference. I am not sure what she is proposing, other than to raise the issue. I have been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----in any shape or form, influences the operation of the hospital-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the sentiments the Deputy articulated and the support he has offered the Government in dealing with this issue. I very deliberately yesterday and today stated that the Government has put in the bulk of funding and investment in St. Vincent's Hospital, both current and capital. The statement yesterday was not, in my view, an appropriate response at all. I said yesterday that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: It can take a long time-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----and it could, let us be honest about it, undermine the prospect of ever getting the hospital built. That has to be weighed up. We do not rule anything out here but that has to be weighed up. The announcement on this was made in 2013. The Mulvey mediation took place in 2016. Planning permission has been granted for this. The enabling works on the car park and the pharmacy have been...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has laid out the chronology of the situation on the new national maternity hospital and a new modern facility. The first prerequisite and objective of Government is to make sure that we can build a hospital that serves the women and children of the nation into the years ahead and that we build a first-class maternity facility with a neonatal facility co-located with a tertiary...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (23 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: COVID-19 has brought grief and loss to our lives in ways that most of us have not experienced in our lifetime. In the Governments Covid-19 Residence and Recovery 2021 The Path Ahead we acknowledged that it will be important as a people that we pause and reflect, take time to remember and pay tribute both to those who have lost their lives but also to everyone who has contributed to how we...

European Council Meeting: Statements (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will attend a meeting of the European Council later this week on 24 and 25 June in Brussels. At this week’s meeting, we will, as has become usual, discuss Covid-19. This week, our focus will be on vaccination rates across the EU, including in the context of new variants, and on progress on the EU digital Covid certificate, as well as an initial exchange on lessons learnt from the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: In response to Deputy Kelly's question, the Government decided today to procure additional Moderna and Janssen vaccines for 2022. I can get the specific volumes for the Deputy. That is in addition to what we have already agreed in respect of Pfizer. This is all part of the European Union pre-purchase agreement framework for 2022 and 2023. The Health Emergency and Preparedness Response...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security Committee (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The national cybersecurity strategy sets out the strategic approach to protecting the State in the cybersecurity realm over the next five years, which I think Deputy McDonald raised. It sets out to develop our capacity and protect the State. In the last budget, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, tripled the budget for the National Cyber Security Centre,...

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Risk Assessment (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 16, inclusive, together. The purpose of the national risk assessment, NRA, is to identify major strategic risks to Ireland's well-being in consultation with stakeholders. Since it was first published in 2014, the national risk assessment has provided an overview of strategic risks and has drawn attention, at an early stage, to the importance of...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: On Deputy Barry's question, I have not heard Ms Lynne Embleton committee's presentation. I am wary of taking on board fully what the Deputy said she said, because people often paraphrase what somebody said and it does not turn out to be exactly what the person said. However, the fact there is no uncertainty as to the continuance of the employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, to the end of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: We cannot keep making up the rules as we go along.

Ceisteanna - Questions: National Security Committee (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 12, inclusive, together. The National Security Committee is chaired by the Secretary General to the Government and it comprises representatives at the highest level from the Departments of Justice, Defence, Foreign Affairs, the Environment, Climate and Communications and from An Garda Síochána and the Defence Forces. The secretariat to the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: To respond to Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, URDF funding will be substantial, at more than €300 million, for the docklands in Cork, which encompasses the south docks as well as the northern side. It will create employment overall in the region, which will be of great significance for the infrastructural works that will facilitate both residential and commercial developments in the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: The ESRI has stated that we should, and need to, build up to 33,000 houses a year. On the taxi question, if I may continue, a €6.5 million package was provided last week for taxi, hackney and limousine operators following my meetings with them and my engagement with the Minister for Transport. That involved €3 million for the continued waiver of vehicle licence fees in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: These supports include the PUP and enterprise support grants, many of which can be accessed by taxi drivers.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I had to race through the details of the taxi package. It is €6.5 million, not €300. Again, I am always open to engaging with the taxi drivers------

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (22 Jun 2021)

Micheál Martin: I have not seen the recent letter. I will follow up on that to see where it is in the system and activate that process. Deputies McAuliffe and Lahart and Senator Fitzpatrick were instrumental in organising that meeting. I will engage with them and Deputy Boyd Barrett to follow through on those issues. The Government has decided to extend the pandemic unemployment payment from the...