Results 16,941-16,960 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: We are in a very severe level 5. It is not only Members but the people behind the scenes who lead to a Dáil sitting happening. There are far more people involved than just the elected representatives. The public health advice has guided the behaviour of the Parliament in this issue. That should be acknowledged. Numbers are still high out there. Society is in a very severe level...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Aontaím leis an Teachta maidir leis an méid dímheas a léiríodh do na máithreacha agus na leanaí a bhí sna tithe seo i rith na mblianta agus ó thosach. Is olc an scéal é ar fad ar fad agus níl aon dul as sin. Dá bhrí sin, caithfimid uile ár ndícheall a dhéanamh sa lá atá inniu ann ardmheas a...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I do not know how it happened.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I should not, actually.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am not a member of the commission. The commission decided to do this and I do not know why it did so. It is making assertions that it did this on the basis that it guaranteed anonymity to those who came forward. No member of Government was involved obviously in the commission's work, as the Deputy knows. That is important, because the impression is being given that the Government could...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising a very important issue, one on which I share his thoughts. He knows that as a humble Cork man, I have always been a great admirer of the literary creativity and innovative character of Kerry people. I have been in awe of the genius of the Kerry DNA for a long time, as a neighbour across the county bounds. The Government has a target of 255 direct builds in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his affirmation of all those who work in the housing department in Kerry County Council and in the construction industry more generally. Yesterday I met representatives from the industry to discuss the degree to which they have developed innovative approaches to safety in the workplace, particularly during the Covid pandemic. The return-to-work protocol became the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank Deputy Shortall for raising the issue. When the pandemic began, testing and tracing capacity within the country was virtually non-existent, in terms of the requirements to combat a pandemic. It was literally built from scratch. The Deputy is correct that for quite a number of years there has been a lack of resourcing of public health medicine in general. The Deputy will know that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is correct that this has been going on for 15 years, but this is the first Government that has allocated the necessary funding required to action it and to give concrete reality to all of the reports and aspirations. This Government has decided to do that and this Government has allocated the funding. The issue now is structure, framework and how it is done for the future. It...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I have received very moving correspondence from Mike Molloy. As Deputy McDonald said, he wrote the moving piece about a year trapped in fear. It brilliantly and emotionally captured the enormous stress and strain being felt by family carers and those who care for their loved ones, which in Mike's case is his mother who has Parkinson's disease....

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I genuinely regret the politically-charged manner in which the Deputy is presenting this issue. I did not think that the Dáil on its own was going to decide on who gets vaccinated first, in a political way. To juxtapose the vaccination programme so far with suggesting that 500,000 people are the "forgotten people" is wrong. No one here wants to forget anybody regarding vaccination....

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Cabinet Committees (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government is firmly committed to achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals. These cut across policy areas within the responsibility of many Government Departments and agencies, and touch on both domestic and international policy approaches. The Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications has lead responsibility for promoting and overseeing the coherent...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Public information campaigns in relation to Covid-19 have been advertised across a broad range of media, including national and local newspapers, and this will continue to be the case.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Departmental Contracts (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: My Department has not entered into any contracts for public relations advice or consultancy since January 2021.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Communications (17 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Following success in the elections in November, I wrote to then President-elect Biden and to Vice President-elect Harris to offer my personal congratulations. I spoke with the President-elect by phone on 10 November. We discussed the great value we both attach to warm and close bilateral relations, the importance of protecting the Good Friday Agreement and the US’s unwavering support...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I understand the issue raised by the Deputies but we are in the middle of global pandemic. There is no easy answer to this. Provision was made for people who need tests for essential purposes and those involved in essential services and so forth. Additional staff have been hired. Some 40 temporary driver testers have been hired and 36 who were approved for retention were rehired in 2020....

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: We are not rushing through CETA. It has been in provisional operation for three years, since the Commission signed it, and it has been of considerable benefit to quite a number of Irish companies that export goods and services to Canada, which underpins jobs in Ireland. That dimension of the debate should be articulated a bit more publicly because it is getting no airing. As a country, we...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: This global pandemic has caused enormous stress, anxiety and strain on people generally, and no more so than on younger people in terms of the degree to which their lives have been upended. The routine pattern of life has been completely disrupted. Particularly in the context of this year's leaving certificate, given that the students lost some months last year and have lost some this year,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Minister is engaging with all the partners. It is the correct way to do this so that when we make an announcement, it will have been thought through and there will be clarity for the students. There has been reform of the leaving certificate over time and that should be acknowledged. There will be ongoing reform of the leaving certificate. Its one greatest strength is that it is...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The Government does not benefit from reduced emissions; society does. We are all the Government, at the end of the day. The State is the taxpayer and represents all citizens. It is part of the social contract that we improve the environment and the climate for all of us, and improve our quality of life. In the context of the remote working strategy, everything will be looked at in the...