Results 18,981-19,000 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: In many ways I am engaging and developing and building trust with the social partners and will build a stronger trust with the social partners. That is in my DNA.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: That will happen as Taoiseach. I will ensure, along with my Government colleagues, that we work collectively with the social partners to take the country through the greatest challenge it has with the global pandemic, to keep our economy and the edifice of our economy intact, to protect people's livelihoods, and to work in health, education and housing. These are the essentials for the...

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: First, I was not a member of the previous Government and I am not accountable for its actions.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: All governments are accountable to the people. Deputy Mattie McGrath supported the accession of the former Minister, Shane Ross, to power. He regretted it later, but that is the role he played in the formation of the previous Government.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Through the Chair, I make the point that governments are accountable to the people in general elections. The previous Government was. A new Government has been formed and we have very clear approaches in terms of both the policy agenda of the Government and the procedural dimension to the new Government. The three party leaders in government meet regularly in regard to the agenda at...

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: With the greatest of respect to the Deputy and everybody else, I happened to read the other night, which kept me up somewhat late, a wonderful article, which I would recommend to Deputy McDonald, published in GQonline, by the investigative journalist, James Harkin. It is an excellent piece of journalism and is called "Unmasking Stakeknife". It tells an incredibly sordid story of the IRA and...

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The point is that-----

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: Deputy Mac Lochlainn should read the article. If I was a member of his party and movement, I would be looking around me every day, wondering who my friend is.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The reaction is interesting. Sometimes it is dangerous to stand on the high moral ground. That is where Deputy McDonald has positioned herself in respect of this issue and people's alleged connections. It is a very dangerous place to be and she and her movement should approach it with a greater degree of humility. That is all I will say.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I think the Tánaiste came in-----

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: No, absolutely not.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I am simply saying to the Deputy that the high moral ground is a dangerous place to be.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: There absolutely is in terms of Sinn Féin and its friends.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Tánaiste came into the House yesterday and apologised for an error of judgment. I do not know where else the Deputy wishes to take the matter. He apologised for an error of judgment that was made during the term of the previous Government in respect of an agreement with GPs that, in essence, had been published. The essentials of it had been published and the Deputy knows that....

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: The essentials of the deal were published long before any document was sent to the president of the NAGP. The essentials had to do with chronic disease management, the reversal of FEMPI and other areas.

Leaders' Questions (4 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: When I spoke to the House yesterday evening, I made it very clear that I believe that what the Tánaiste did when he was Taoiseach was not best practice, was inappropriate, was the wrong way to deal with that issue and was the wrong thing to do. To be fair to the Tánaiste, he had no issue with coming before the House. He has come into the House, addressed the issue and answered...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: As regards Deputy Paul Murphy's question, Irish migration authorities operate within their own set of policy parameters and within the legal framework that has been laid down by the Oireachtas. That will remain the position. I will follow up on the specific assertions the Deputy makes, but the work and role of Irish officials in relation to migration policy generally is certainly not as he...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I reject the assertions made by Deputy Tóibín. They are simply wrong and overly simplistic. There has been very regular contact at multiple levels. That is the way it has to be. I am engaged with the First Minister and the deputy First Minister. At the first North-South Ministerial Council in three and a half years, which was due to the Executive being collapsed, an assembly...

Ceisteanna - Questions: Taoiseach's Meetings and Engagements (3 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I would kind of agree with the Ceann Comhairle there.

Ceisteanna - Questions: Covid-19 Pandemic (3 Nov 2020)

Micheál Martin: I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, together. I last reported to the House on this matter on 20 September. Since then I have maintained contact with Prime Minister Johnson. I spoke with the Prime Minister on 8 October when we discussed latest developments around Covid-19 and in particular the situation in Northern Ireland, when I supported the cases for additional...