Results 16,981-17,000 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I pay tribute to the "RTÉ Investigates" programme last evening, which revealed the extraordinary work of front-line healthcare workers in protecting our people and achieving incredible outcomes for a significant number of patients whom we saw on the programme. Unfortunately, a number of those patients passed on, which was very traumatic for the staff and all those who work in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. We wish Lynsey Bennett the very best as she travels to Mexico. I spoke with Lynsey on the telephone over two weeks ago with regard to her devastating situation. It is devastating for all of the women involved and their families. In terms of the issues relating to the establishment of the tribunal, prior to this Government being established,...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: That is an important issue. The Deputy raised the issue about liability and negligence and I want to make the point that it is an important distinction and it is an important issue. There is no Government edict stating that pembro should not be available.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I will pursue the point that the Deputy has raised. There should not be an issue. Neither should there be an issue with the medical cards, and I will pursue that also. What has been committed to should be honoured and I will undertake that it will be honoured in respect of those two issues. What the Deputy says about the Morrissey case changing is contested. That is not accepted...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: No. I was speaking in terms of queries coming through about transfer of cases and so on.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I believe the tribunal offers a better forum than the High Court. It gives a great opportunity for mediation and in my view would be more expeditious and effective. It is a forum that should be given a chance in light of all of the work that has been put into it.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: First, these are clinical pathways. That is what the Deputy is referring to.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am not a clinician. I am not going to attempt to presume expertise in an area in which I do not have expertise.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The point I am trying to make is that there is no issue with resources from this Government's perspective. Four billion euro has been allocated to the health service this year - €2 billion for Covid and €2 billion for non-Covid matters. I ask the Deputy to hear me out. There can be no question, therefore, of any financial resources being pulled from any particular sector.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: More than 7,000 additional staff have been recruited to the health service-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am getting to the specific point if the Deputy would not interrupt. In comparison with January 2020, there were 7,000 additional healthcare staff in place last month. The point I am making to the Deputy is that where staff can be recruited, they are being recruited. That is across all categories. I talked to the CEO of the HSE this morning, not specifically in respect of this issue but...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: There can be no argument that resources are not available to recruit-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: -----the specific personnel that are required in this area, no more than any other area. All healthcare personnel that are out there are being recruited by the HSE. It has recruited 7,000 additional staff in one 12-month period alone. In terms of-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry. There is an existing clinical team within the HSE and so on. The Deputy referenced the Morrissey judgment in terms of the tribunal and so on.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: Okay. I will come back to Deputy later on that.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I am disappointed that the Deputy's party saw fit to raise the age to 66 years in Northern Ireland and voted for it. The Deputy did not even respond to that point. That is what Sinn Féin did. It is just hypocrisy and double standards. Historically, Fianna Fáil was responsible for significant increases in the State pension down through the decades, particularly in the late 1990s...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. It is quite extraordinary the two-dimensional thinking and approach from Deputy McDonald and the Sinn Féin Party more generally. They say one thing in this House and do the exact opposite in Northern Ireland on the Executive, for example. The Deputy calls for a pension age of 65 years here, yet in Northern Ireland last October the exact...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: The relationship between Ireland and the United States of America is an important and historic one. While arrangements for marking the St. Patrick’s Day celebrations are not finalised, any arrangements will take account of the situation with regard to COVID-19 and related measures both here and in the US.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Shared Island Unit (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: On 22 October, as part of the Government’s Shared Island initiative, I launched the Shared Island Dialogue series to foster inclusive and constructive dialogue on all aspects of a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. The first Shared Island Dialogue was held online on 26 November on the theme ‘New Generations and New Voices on the Good...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Shared Island Unit (10 Feb 2021)

Micheál Martin: On 22 October, I set out the Government’s vision and priorities on Shared Island in an online event at Dublin Castle. Over 800 people participated online, comprising a broad range of civil society, community, sectoral, and political representatives, across the island of Ireland and in Britain. A Shared Island unit was established in my Department in September to drive and...