Results 19,501-19,520 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

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

Micheál Martin: What I mean is that it had already been arranged last week, prior to the consternation, that there would be presentations from the HSE and from the Minister this week. Not within the timelines last week, but the following week. That was agreed, actually, by the Covid committee. That is my understanding.

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

Micheál Martin: Hold on, please. Equally, I am saying-----

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

Micheál Martin: People are saying that we will not have time. There is an hour and a half on the forestry Bill. An hour and a half.

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

Micheál Martin: What is being suggested is that nobody on this side of the House should have any opportunity to speak at all.

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

Micheál Martin: That is what is being said.

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

Micheál Martin: When one boils it down-----

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

Micheál Martin: A Cheann Comhairle-----

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

Micheál Martin: It is only an hour and a half. Divide up an hour and a half as much as you like. The Minister will be coming in.

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...