Results 19,661-19,680 of 51,305 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna - Questions: Cabinet Committees (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: On its formation the Government established the following Cabinet committees: the Cabinet committee on Covid-19; the Cabinet committee on economic recovery and investment; the Cabinet committee on Brexit and Northern Ireland; the Cabinet committee on environment and climate change; the Cabinet committee on housing; the Cabinet committee on health; the Cabinet committee on social affairs and...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The Government has made a clear decision on that in terms of parental leave and will be bringing in measures as per the Government decision.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Successive Irish Governments have been very committed to legacy issues in successive agreements that arose out of the Good Friday Agreement. There have been ongoing issues in terms of getting agreement and clarity on those legacy agreements and getting them progressed. Unfortunately those issues continue, notwithstanding the new arrangements and new commitments that were made on all fronts...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I will have to discuss that with the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine. I will ask him to make contact with the Deputy. I am not aware whether he sanctioned that or whether it emerged prior to his arrival as Minister. The Deputy is referring to the TB plan, which suggests a very operational plan developed at operational level. I will engage with the Minister for Agriculture,...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: Irish Water has taken a decision in terms of its procurement policy and tendering out to one per county. I hear what the Deputy is saying. It has been an ongoing issue with the centralisation of procurement. Even nationally, the centralisation of procurement has actually disadvantaged smaller operators in the regions. I do not interfere in the operations of Irish Water, and nor can I, but...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: The €600 million that has been allocated to health is designed to try to alleviate the pressures which Deputy Cahill has outlined, which I acknowledge, especially in Limerick. He has raised issues regarding funding for Nenagh hospital. I will engage with the Minister for Health about this and with the Department and HSE with a view to what can be done in the short term to alleviate...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: My understanding is that it will be in the later part of this session. I have asked for this Bill to be progressed. It has been committed to for quite a number of years. There seem to be some issues regarding the content and extent of the Bill. I am determined to deal with those issues and get the Bill published and to get it through the House.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I understand the very difficult situation for individual students, in having a desire to secure a certain course and a target to get the results to secure it. It is heartbreaking when a student does not get the course. This year in particular, due to Covid-19, there was a unique situation with no physical examinations and a calculated grades programme had to be introduced. As part of that...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There is a clear commitment in the programme for Government about recruitment of speech therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists, as well as other disciplines and professions. We hope to do some therapy through the school system by having a greater presence in schools, which is something I have been personally committed to for a long time. I think it is a better model for...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: A replacement should be provided for anybody who is on maternity leave and that should be automatic.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: It is a very difficult situation for certain sectors, particularly in hospitality and tourism. Travel agents are one sector which has had a collapse in revenue and income more generally. The Government took a decision to continue and extend the wage subsidy scheme to April of next year and there will be ongoing monitoring of the impact of that extension on certain jobs and enterprises. The...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I know the situation about sport. Public health advice on this has been consistent from the beginning. They are very concerned about crowds gathering

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: People have been attacking us all day about confusion, clarity and this that and the other. I know the Deputy is genuine in the position from which he is coming but public health advisors have a very strong view about toing and froing and households mixing in cars travelling to matches and congregating. The plan is to allow 200 in a stadium with over 5,000 capacity. In very large stadiums...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I did not just open it, as Minister for Health I made sure it happened and I worked with the people involved. The Deputy wrote to me and I read the letter last evening, but the reasons for the closure were not spelled out. I would like to engage with the Deputy on that. The original idea was that it was to be an addiction centre. Traditionally health authorities are against...

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: On the local services, the Deputy might forward further details to me. A full audit of mental services is there. Recruitment of personnel at a psychiatric level and in child and adolescent centres is one of the challenges for mental health services.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: There are protocols there and the Mental Health Commission, which I established way back as Minister for Health, is there to provide oversight in terms of best practice and what is good and not so good in our mental health services.

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I was not in government for the last budget. We were in Opposition and facilitated the budget under a confidence and supply agreement. Consistently under that agreement, we increased resources for mental health. Notwithstanding that increase in resources, mental health services did not seem to be in a position to convert those resources into recruiting the necessary personnel, both in the...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: In terms of testing and tracing, the recruitment campaigns are already under way. These are not just plans. This is happening and the staff are being recruited. Those are the figures open and staffed now. They may not be exactly what is available. The Deputy will be aware that during the pandemic a significant number of acute care beds and critical care beds were made available.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: A surge capacity was created and that applies here as well.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (16 Sep 2020)

Micheál Martin: I just wanted to give the Deputy the most up-to-date operational details as provided by the HSE for the number of critical beds available. There is ongoing work on procuring additional capacity on an initiative-by-initiative basis in terms of the private sector capacity to make sure we can get some elective procedures done and that elective procedures are not suspended as a result of...