Results 17,761-17,780 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government does not want Dublin Zoo to close and we will do everything we possibly can to ensure it stays open. I will be working with the Minister to make sure that happens. This issue came up the last time I was in government, when Bertie Ahern was Taoiseach. To give him his due, he engineered a significant investment for Dublin Zoo which set it in train to become the very modern...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Cabinet handbook was followed. The Minister for Justice of any government brings one name to the Government for a judicial appointment. We would have known on a certain date prior to the date on which the judge was appointed-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----that the Minister intended to bring the name of Mr. Séamus Woulfe to the Cabinet. As I said before and have said publicly, as a matter of courtesy the then Taoiseach, Deputy Leo Varadkar, informed Deputy Eamon Ryan and I that Mr. Justice Woulfe had come through the Judicial Appointments Advisory Board. That is it. Before the Cabinet meeting-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I have answered it. The Cabinet handbook-----

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I certainly have answered the question.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The legislation on affordable housing is making progress. I assure Deputy Cian O'Callaghan that there is much work under way in that regard. On the precise timeline, I hope to be in a position to publish that Bill towards the end of the year. Obviously, there are issues with progressing but it is going in the right direction. We had a meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee on housing this...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his remarks. Generally it is the policy to try to have as much development in towns and villages as we possibly can. Part of the reason is the high cost of infrastructure and the disproportionate cost if new schemes are being developed. We have to prioritise. In Deputy Healy-Rae's first contribution he identified a range of schemes that needed investment, such as in...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Táim buíoch don Teachta as an gceist seo a ardú. Aontaím go bhfuil an polasaí a bhí ann roimh chinneadh na cúirte ceart ó thaobh bac a chur ar trálaeir mhóra teacht isteach laistigh de 6 mhuirmhíle ón gcósta. Is oth liom a rá gur olc an scéal é go bhfuil na trálaeir mhóra ar ais laistigh den...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Unity is strength. The technological university for the south east must be seen in that context. However, Waterford has also grown extremely well in recent decades and it has created its own niche, as has IT Carlow, in different faculties. Each institute of technology has significant strengths. If we talk to people in industry, they all identify the role of institutes of technology as...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising these issues, but I did not get the name of that estate.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: To be frank, if that is a health risk, and from the data, the Deputy is suggesting that it is a health risk, there should be no excuse for not sorting that out. We are conscious of the need for Irish Water to get additional capital, and, to be fair, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, gave additional funding to Irish Water in the July stimulus package and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Sinn Féin has a habit of continually repeating a claim and then asserting that it is the truth. What the Deputy has just said is an untruth. It is not verifiably true that there was horse-trading involving the position of Attorney General. Stop misleading the House in that regard and deliberately creating a story that has no foundation in fact. The Deputy should withdraw that claim...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Last week's announcement by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, on the urban regeneration and development fund allocation of €80.6 million, involving a total package of €110 million, with €30 million committed by the Department of Transport, is a major shot in the arm to the south east. It is essentially a game changer for the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: First of all, I have taken questions on this issue as Taoiseach. I took them yesterday and I am taking questions right now. The Deputy is asking questions and I am going to take them. The Deputy's question was very interesting. At the outset, I must say that her assertion that there was horse trading involved in the appointment of Paul Gallagher as Attorney General and some connection to...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Social Media Monitoring (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: As part of the normal operation of the Department’s press office, traditional, print and social media are monitored for content of relevance to the work of the Department. In all cases, this involves only published content that is publically available - whether traditional media, print media or social media.

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Covid-19 Pandemic (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government’s medium-term approach to managing COVID-19 is set out in Resilience & Recovery 2020-2021 - Plan for Living with COVID-19 which contains a Framework for Restrictive Measures across five levels. Each of the five levels contains a “basket” of measures which are intended, collectively, to contribute to lowering risk of transmission in alignment with...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Interdepartmental Committees (18 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Ireland is implementing the new EU ‘traffic lights’ approach to travel. A cross-Departmental Senior Officials Group meets regularly to review the position in relation to international travel, covering issues such as public health advice around travel, approaches to pre-departure and post-arrival testing, and operational issues arising. Membership of the group includes senior...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (17 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Regarding the questions from Deputy McDonald, I too commend the HSE on its analysis and study of a very worrying and deeply troubling female suicide cluster in Ballyfermot and in other areas the Deputy identified, and the multiple factors that gave rise to the issues there. I will engage with the chief executive and board of the HSE to ensure that this issue gets priority attention. The...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (17 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am sorry. We will come back to this issue again next week. There was also Deputy Boyd Barrett's question.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (17 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Yes. Again, the HSE was under a lot of pressure in this House concerning the need to recruit contact tracing staff and have a separate workforce as quickly as possible. The agency is being called on from all fronts in the House to do this, that and the other. I presume that is why it did what it did in respect of how it procured the services of CPL. I can get that checked, but I presume...