Results 18,501-18,520 of 50,297 for speaker:Micheál Martin

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The point is, we would love more time for the Bill this evening-----

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----because this Bill is essential for the future of jobs in many rural communities. It is very positive that the Bill is being debated. We would welcome more time for the debate but Deputies will have an opportunity to speak because the Bill will be debated again tomorrow. The consternation is about the hour and a half given tonight and Deputies saying that not everybody will get to...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am glad the Deputy has clarified that aspect of it. I suspected that it might be a reconfiguration of the hospital because HIQA's guidelines said that what was there was not optimal. I will get a report on it. I met with the HSE South team last week. The need for additional beds outside acute hospitals to provide placements for people is an area of considerable concern to it. I know it...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising two issues in his leaders' question. The first relates to the closure of beds. I do not know the specific local circumstances of Killarney or, indeed, Columbanus house which the Deputy mentioned. I met with the HSE for the south region on Friday last. They said they were actively looking for additional beds, in terms of community nursing beds and...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Medical politics should not be dictating these issues. There should be a commonsense approach in these situations. As I stated, I am not aware of the detail of the situation on the ground. The Deputy is saying to me that clinicians within the Saolta group are not willing to use these facilities whereas clinicians in other HSE hospital groups are prepared to use them. That seems to be the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy made that assertion and it raises legitimate questions in respect of why this particular technology is not being used within the Saolta group. I will initiate inquiries as to why that is the case and ask the HSE and the Saolta Group for a report on the points raised by the Deputy. As soon as I have it, I will revert to the Deputy.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am not responsible for operational decisions at the level of individual CT scanners, but I do not accept that this issue must wait until 2022. I will talk to the Minister for Health and the HSE about what is going on there. To be fair to all concerned, Roscommon hospital has been advanced in recent years. There were political rows about emergency departments and election commitments...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I agree with the Deputy on our engagement with the public over the next three months and the three months after that. By the way, we can stabilise the numbers and get them down. We will do our best at the Government level. I know the deputy Chief Medical Officer and his team will do likewise, as will the HSE. This is important. We know from experience that too many people up to now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for his query and I would commit to that. I have publicly said on a number of occasions that the implications of Covid will be with us right through 2021. We need to take it in bite sizes and the immediate necessity is for all of us to take stock on our individual behaviours in reducing social contacts and the level of congregation in which we engage. This is essential...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It does need a wide review, not just of this specific issue, which needs to be dealt with, but also of the influence of foreign money on Irish politics. That is something that needs more rigorous inquiry in this country than has been the case to date. I have been through a number of referendums. That has been a concern for me and it continues to be a concern. It is also a concern that...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There are two substantive issues contained within the question that the Deputy put. In the first instance, I want to say that I fully understand the anxiety and stress that many individual mortgage holders, many people with personal loans and many small and medium-sized enterprises feel in terms of the ongoing impact of Covid-19 on their capacity to repay loans and on the general economic...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Live Register (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Live Register, which is published by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), is a short-term measure designed to provide information on the labour market and those in receipt of a number of benefits. The Live Register is compiled from returns made to the Central Statistics Office (CSO) by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) and comprises of persons under 65...

Written Answers — Department of An Taoiseach: Ministerial Advisers (29 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The persons employed in my Department as Special Advisers are detailed in the table. It should be noted that all appointments are subject to formal Government approval which I will seek in due course. Relevant contracts will be laid before the Oireachtas in due course also. All appointments will be made in line with the Public Service Management Act, 1997 Office...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: In my discussions with the First Minister and the deputy First Minister on the internal market Bill, my objective is to protect the interests of the citizens of this island in the context of the future relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union. Notwithstanding if somebody was pro-Brexit or pro-remain, everyone shares a pragmatic view that the least damage possible should...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: As I have said, I will relay the Deputy's points to the Minister, Deputy Ryan, and I am sure the Deputy will also have opportunities to engage with the Minister on these issues. He is a positive individual whose basic objective is to try to bring people on this journey to a cleaner, healthier and better society by meeting our obligations on climate change because it is the existential crisis...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Northern Ireland (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 8 together. Following my meeting with the Northern Ireland First Minister and deputy First Minister in Belfast on 16 July, I welcomed them and their colleagues in the multi-party Executive to Dublin for the 24th plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council at Dublin Castle on Friday, 31 July, which I chaired. This was the first plenary...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputies for their questions. The heads of the climate action (amendment) Bill were approved by Cabinet this week and the legislation is at a fairly advanced stage of drafting. It is quite comprehensive. It will set a target to decarbonise the economy by 2050 at the latest and then make-----

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: -----the adoption of five-year carbon budgets setting maximum emissions by sectoral legal requirement. It will also establish the climate action council on an independent statutory footing and ensure greater gender balance and increased scientific experience and expertise in its membership. The objective is to have the Bill ready and published within 100 days, give or take a day or two. ...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Deputies Kelly and McDonald asked about the Low Pay Commission. Sinn Féin and Deputy McDonald could take a leaf out of Deputy Kelly's book. Let us argue these issues in as non-political and non-partisan a way as we can. We are all in favour of looking after and doing the best we can for low-paid workers. The problem I see in the exchanges this morning is one party wants to...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Departmental Administrative Arrangements (23 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I have met quite a number of workers. The issue now is how we can try to bring a resolution to this matter and that is not easy.