Results 21-40 of 51,089 for speaker:Micheál Martin

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: An Garda Síochána will be to the fore in examining this and the background to it. I cannot comment on the case. Perhaps it is still under investigation and, potentially, a follow-through on that. I will talk to the Deputy afterwards. I was not aware of the ownership there.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this serious issue. I agree on the need for additional capacity in the planning sense within local authorities and generally within the planning system. I was in the House yesterday and a question about solar panels and agricultural land was raised. People also want guidelines to restrict onshore wind. We need a general debate on how we plan this because...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy. I will ask the Ministers to examine that. That seems very precise detail and I do not know what timeline governs it but I will certainly have it examined.

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I thank the Deputy for raising this important question because the nitrates derogation is of course a critical element in the economic sustainability of many family farms and the broader rural economy in Ireland. I acknowledge the huge efforts being made by farmers in terms of the water quality issue and compliance. Water quality remains the fundamental issue as does the Habitats Directive....

Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I appreciate that farming and the food industry have been extremely important to the national economy, but of course it is particularly important to regional economies and to communities across the length and breadth of the country in terms of purchasing power and the impact on other sectors, the supply chain and so forth. It is a significant industry in Ireland, and farmers are taking...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I gave a comprehensive reply to the Deputy yesterday at Leaders' Questions. The simple matter is that we are in the same position this year as last year. There is an Estimates process under way and then there will be a budget. It is at that stage that clarity will be brought to a range of issues pertaining to supports for students-----

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: -----highlighting in particular that I would like to see additional supports for students with disabilities and students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and through SUSI and thresholds to help a broad range of students.

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: First, it is critical that the recommendations of Dr. Shannon be implemented and that our focus is on that. There have been many calls for inquiries in many areas. The Government yesterday took a very significant decision on the establishment of a commission that will have an enormous body-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: Balance and perspective are required in discussing this issue, which is very serious. The Government is very committed to continuing investment in cancer care. It has invested very hugely in cancer care in recent years. It invested up to €645 million between 2021 and 2024 alone. New treatments such as CAR T-cell therapy, radio-labelled therapy and specialised radiotherapy are now...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: -----because all the experts told us that centres of excellence were the way to go. I would appreciate greater clarity from the Deputy in respect of his assertion that 93% of patients attending private hospitals had a better outcome as against those attending public hospitals-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: ----because the view was - and we have done this at St. James's Hospital, the Mater and Cork University Hospital-----

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: We have put centres of excellence there. That is where people should go.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: We have more work to do. That is acknowledged. In his commentary, the Deputy has acknowledged that there have been improvements but he gives no credence to the fact that there has been very significant investment in cancer services. The number of staff in our health service has expanded dramatically.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: The Deputy has just created an image of thousands fleeing the country.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: He should concentrate on the increases in numbers in the health service. He cannot and should not ignore that because to do so reduces his credibility. He is making good points on one level but he is also using language like "antique" and suggesting that everyone is feeling the hospitals when there are increases in the number of staff year after year. We have invested hugely in increasing...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: On Letterkenny, we did work on Altnagelvin, which helps people in the north west both in cardiology and cancer care, which we invested in.

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: That is the Government's intention, commitment and determination to do. The specific issues the Deputy has raised are being examined in considerable detail with a view to enabling Government to have the powers, ultimately, to deal with those particular mechanisms that have been used. We want to make sure that the financial capacity is retained in the country and made available to provide...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: It is intriguing how the Deputy presents the case. In one sentence he says that the Government is going to jack up insurance awards and in another sentence he says that we are dithering. He is apparently urging us to bring clarity but I do not think he is urging us to bring clarity. I think he is urging us to fulfil maybe entirely the implications of the Act so that he can then start...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: I have just said it to the Deputy. It will be laid before the House but there will be no accompanying motion to the House to approve. However, this is something that the Oireachtas in its entirety has to reflect on. There will be implications in that decision for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board because essentially now we have a vacuum here in terms of personal injury awards. There...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (9 Jul 2025)

Micheál Martin: That was the agenda. I know it.