Results 18,341-18,360 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I have no objection to it. I think it makes sense in terms of-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: Where there are parties with different perspectives in government, and this is a three-party coalition Government, there is a need to make sure that the policy programme, as per the programme for Government, and the perspectives of parties are brought through. In respect of the offices that have been established for the leader of the Green Party and the Tánaiste, that makes sense in...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: Hear me out, please. It is also in terms of the person's former capacity as an adviser, when I was Minister for Health and Children. There is also a unit within the Department that has been dealing specifically with Covid, even before I came into the office, and it is being dealt with at a very high level within the Department. Obviously, NPHET provides public health advice to me and to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: We, have actually. An investigation is being established, and the Minister is making sure. I do not know whether the Deputy submitted his testimonies for investigation.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: No, I think the investigation should happen because exploitation should not be tolerated and student nurses should not be abused and exploited. They should not be exploited, and any exploitation that takes place, I genuinely believe, should be investigated. If the Deputy has evidence of that, and I have no doubt he may have, it should be forwarded to the authorities. We will protect the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The old culture, and old habits, die hard. The whole transformation of nurse education is not something we should just erode and then happily go along with that, which is what the Deputy is really suggesting. He has not dealt with that question at all in any of his comments on this to date. I have to say that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy’s speech back in 2016 meant, and People Before Profit’s position was, that the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, should be repealed in their entirety. If FEMPI was repealed in its entirety, it would have meant that with regard to the pension reversals to which Deputies Boyd Barrett and Paul Murphy referred, those people would have got their...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: No, we cannot actually do that without undermining the entire edifice. That is the point.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: Of course, the Deputy pretends that this is a deliberate and premeditated act to look after the high rollers, and he knows damn well it is not. He knows it is not. If he had his way, he would have been doing this in 2016, given that is what he proposed at that time. That is the reality.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: Taxation is the way to deal with that.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: We have. We have one of the most progressive taxation systems in Europe. The higher that people earn in this country, the more they should be taxed, and that is the reality. That is the fairest way to deal with this, not the approach the Deputy takes, which is just short-term political opportunism, deliberately distorting the truth and deliberately giving false narratives in terms of the...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 3 to 9, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment first met on 8 July. It has met on a total of eight occasions, most recently on 4 December. The next meeting has not yet been scheduled. Membership of the committee is comprised of the Taoiseach; the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Employment and Trade; the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. She is correct in identifying mental health as a key issue and a key priority for society and for the Government. There is, and has been, an issue with the recruitment of psychiatrists, particularly in child and adolescent psychiatry and particularly in the south east. It is something the Minister of State, Deputy Mary Butler, is very possessed...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy is referring to 2005 legislation. With regard to assessments of need, we have provided additional funding in the budget. My view is we should do everything we possibly can to get timely assessments of need for children and meet our obligations in this regard. I have no difficulty supporting this.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Ministerial Advisers (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 and 2 together. Under the terms of the Public Service Management Act 1997, special advisers may be appointed to Ministers and Ministers of State. The requirement for specialist policy input and advice is a matter for each individual Minister to consider having regard to the area of responsibility and the support in place in the relevant Departments. ...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I do not have the details of the case. Is the Deputy saying that the family has heard nothing from the new school or the special education needs organiser? The family should be informed as to progress relating to their child in terms of the placement in the school in the first instance and the allocation of an SNA. That should happen. I do not have the details but if the Deputy forwards...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: There should be review of the thresholds. We have long waiting lists as matters stand. In those cases identified by Deputy Paul Donnelly, in the first instance the people involved should appeal. It is difficult for those families and it is unfair, given that they were 11 and 12 years on the list. Due cognisance should be taken of the fact that they are so long on the list and that the...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: These guidelines have come from NPHET and the Health Protection Surveillance Centre. Music, particularly singing, unfortunately, can, as a result of droplets and so on, act as a vector in the spread of the virus. It is a cautious guidance that was issued in respect of weddings. As with many other areas, our view all along in terms of the onset of the virus has been to adhere as close as we...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Back in March, admissions to St. Brigid's hospital were suspended and it was designated as a Covid-19 step-down facility. It is proposed to utilise the existing premises as a base for a newly created community healthcare network in south Tipperary, along with it serving as a base for members of a chronic disease management team with a focus on...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (9 Dec 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----a senior dietician, a staff dietician, administrative staff and a podiatrist. These individuals will provide enhanced services at St. Brigid's. This is a unique opportunity to change our approach to the prevention and management of chronic disease in the south east. I am happy to work with the Deputy if he has further ideas for the utilisation of the building.