Results 16,641-16,660 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take questions Nos. 1 to 4, inclusive, together. The cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment has been established and first met on 8 July. It has met on a total of 11 occasions, most recently on 12 April. The next meeting is scheduled for 6 May. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister, clearly, is not responsible for the operation of bus schedules, but the NTA has a role in that and I will certainly convey the concerns of Deputy Bríd Smith to the NTA in respect of the points raised. On Deputy Nolan's point, the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Social Protection have been making progress on this issue and are engaging with the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: As I said earlier, my view is that we have to provide for social and affordable housing and move away from creating barriers to getting housing built in this country given the crisis that many people who cannot access housing currently experience. I do not know the specifics of the case in question or what happened so I cannot comment on it or on whether there is a mechanism for getting the...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: We want to give every housebound person in this situation a vaccine. I do not know whether the Deputy has spoken to the GP or the HSE about this but these are issues that ordinarily are dealt with by engaging with the local doctor and HSE. The National Ambulance Service has been doing this and it has been doing an excellent job. Quite a significant number of housebound people have been...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: This legislation has been progressed for some time but there have been challenges in regard to it. The Minister has succeeded in getting it through. A range of issues have arisen in respect of it, including state aid. The key point is that the agency will have a very significant impact. I will refer the Deputy's concerns to the Minister. The agency is one of a number of measures that,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the important issue of the expansion of services in the mid-Cork area, particularly the Macroom-Cork city route, which he has raised previously. The Government has committed to reviewing the frequency of that service. The National Transport Authority, NTA, is also working on this. The Deputy is correct that it makes absolute sense that we enhance high-quality...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I deplore the practice of employing workers in this manner, particularly not registering workers under the atypical working scheme and making sure workers get their full entitlements under the law. What happened here is very wrong. I read the reports about the two individuals whose lives were endangered but who, thankfully, were rescued. It is unacceptable. The investigations have to take...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I will refer the issue again and I will engage with the Minister for Health on it. The entitlements people, including medical card recipients, have must be honoured and fulfilled. I will pursue that.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is very stressful for individual business owners, in particular publicans. The insurance companies should honour their obligations and commitments in this regard. The Minister of State, Deputy Fleming, is engaged in this topic more generally. I do not have the specifics of the case which the Deputy identified but we will pursue the issue more...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will speak to the Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government in that regard because I think all burial grounds in mother and baby homes should be protected and no violation of those grounds should occur for any reason. I will engage with the Minister in terms of the local authorities.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue and key priority for the Government, namely, the challenge of climate. Tomorrow is Earth Day and we can all do our bit. The Ceann Comhairle may look with fondness at the wild garden in the back lawn of Leinster House. I walked by it yesterday, just to have a look. I wrote to the Ceann Comhairle about this when in opposition. It has...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy McAuliffe for raising the issue. He is a long-time champion of specific and targeted initiatives to deal with disadvantage and drug dealing and to support communities more strongly in particular situations. I look forward to receiving the report. I have asked officials in my Department to look more broadly at this issue with a view to auditing existing services and...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I met with principals recently. The Deputy's constituency colleagues, Deputies James O'Connor, Stanton and Sherlock, have also raised these issues consistently. Two issues arise, the first being school enrolment at second level in east Cork because the area is probably the fastest growing in the county. A substantial investment programme, probably one of the largest ever for east Cork,...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: The selection of a person to fill the post of Secretary General in the Department of Health was an independent process, the Top-Level Appointments Committee, TLAC, process. It was open to international competition for anybody to apply, and quite a number of people applied. The person selected is experienced and has served in various capacities within the public service. He would be...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: This is an issue about which we are very concerned. The Ministers, Deputies McGrath and Humphreys, have made progress on it. It has been an outstanding issue for a long time. It is an identified priority of ours to resolve this as best we can.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy that we should do everything we possibly can to make sure those children are protected and safe. I will engage with the respective agencies and Ministers to ensure that we can bring this to a satisfactory resolution. I will take the point on board.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: The TWSS is under the care and management of the Revenue Commissioners, who are independent of Government in the administration of the scheme. More than 644,000 jobs have been directly supported over the period and many more indirectly.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: It is a sizeable and significant intervention. The value of payments made to date is approximately €2.9 billion under that scheme alone. The Deputy is making the case that Revenue will determine people's tax liabilities in respect of the income they receive.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: Revenue has made arrangements with employers in some instances where employers may have overestimated and drawn down too much initially and so forth. That is an issue that Revenue will have to continue to work on.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (21 Apr 2021)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate that the Deputy did not make that assertion but other people have made it and I wish to make it clear that is not the agenda of the Government. The purpose of all of these restrictions, and they have been very challenging for people, is to get to a stage where we can open up, where we can get the level of cases down so low that we can return to religious worship safely, for...