Micheál Martin
Cork South-Central · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“At the beginning of April, the Government approved the establishment of the Cork city futures group to guide development of Cork city for the future.”
“We have to have a budget that reflects the need to sustain that level of work in our economy so that people will have access to jobs. The AI issue is causing a lot of concern. I take heart from the investment announced by Intel this week, which will be AI-propelled, actually.”
“Dublin City Council is progressing the establishment of this new legal entity, in line with the timelines laid out in the roadmap; a ten-year integrated area strategy for Dublin city centre to optimise funding and investment and tackle vacancy and dereliction; and accelerated delivery of landmark capital projects in the city centre throug…”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 30, inclusive, together. This will be a long answer because there is one task group and one futures group.”
“I think Deputy Hayes was being a bit petty, if that is the word I am looking for, in what he said about Spain. Well, using the word "petty" might be a bit uncharitable today. It is more a Spain is more vociferous than us kind of thing. We have worked very well together on the Middle East. It is a very serious issue.”
“A dedicated body, to be known as The Cork City Futures Group, will work to unlock the city’s full economic, cultural and academic potential, alongside further investment, innovation and infrastructure. I think people are familiar with the terms of reference.”
The complete record
Every one of 5,818 lines we hold for Micheál Martin, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 30 of 117.
“We are going to diversity more into renewables. We have diversified substantially into renewables in this country. Over 40% of electricity generation now is onshore wind generation. We have had two successful auctions for offshore wind. I actually agree that the only way to avoid these types of global shocks is by having more renewables as they contribute to the grid. There is no other way. If one looks at all the shocks from the 1970s onwards, they were shocks because of wars or fossil fuel shocks. They have dislocated economies and caused pressures on families and jobs. We know that from various recessions we have had to encounter in previous decades. Therefore, it makes logical sense that we would invest in the resources we have. As the Deputy knows, we had auctions for offshore wind, which is a significant opportunity.”
“We are in government. I will accept any constructive proposal on the cost of living, a sustainable way in terms of climate and also energy security. Thankfully, we have national oil reserves. Last week, we had a round-table meeting with those involved in NORA and in energy security. I can share that with the Deputy if she wishes.”
“I understand why and I think we need a discussion about it in this House. There is a lot of what went on that the Deputy would not have agreed with, if she is honest. That was evident in the voting pattern last evening. I think the Deputy got a glimpse of what sidling up to Sinn Féin can mean for her party and the damage it can do to it in the time ahead. I would welcome a debate in terms of priorities or a discussion and engagement on priorities. The Deputy's party opted not to go into government; that is fair enough. That was her decision and she opted not to go into government because she was afraid of the people alongside her. We are in government-----”
“That is the reality but it still does not mean that people are not under pressure. We introduced some fairly radical schemes that would not have been thought possible five years ago, like free book schemes for every child going to school and free hot school meals. Across the board, we have brought in measures such as extending free GP care and many other measures in health in particular and in transport to try to ease the pressure on people in a systemic way. I would welcome a conversation because I think the Deputy has a responsible approach to politics although I thought last week she was noticeable by her silence.”
“I would say no Government in the European Union has provided as many cost-of-living supports over the past five years as this Government.”
“I fully accept people are under enormous pressures, in particular because of the war in the Middle East. People have had to endure a range of shocks going back to Covid and right through the war in Ukraine which had a severe impact on oil and energy prices and fed into general significant inflation in those years. Then we hit the tariffs a year ago, which is having an impact on a number of our companies, and now there is a war in the Middle East which has had a severe impact on oil prices again and is feeding into inflation. There is no question that people and families are under huge pressure. The ESRI also said successive Government measures shielded people substantially but could not cover everything.”
“There is the highest number of direct builds ever built in our country - 8,500. There is a lot of work going on in social housing. I am not specifically responsible for what transpires in Dublin City Council and it is a matter for the council. Again, I have to go into the details of what is proposed. I do not have the details of the specific differential rent scheme the council is introducing.”
“There is no question about that. Also, the number of social houses we are building that are of a very high quality is the highest since the 1970s. There were close to 12,000 social houses delivered last year.”
“-----in terms of refurbishing flat complexes, in particular, which I have been in in recent years and which I accept are not acceptable. A lot of capital money has been allocated to Dublin City Council and, essentially, there is a huge issue of housing maintenance. The city council obviously has a revised rent structure now. It is a matter for Dublin City Council, the executive and the council itself to explain and defend that. We do not run the councils.”
“That is something you have not been prepared to do. I regularly engage with people in terms of protest. I am not a member of Dublin City Council. We have a system of local government in this country and there is a differential rent system. It is a critical piece of the State's system of local government which, as you know, is far better than the private rental sector or anything near it. It is subsidised housing costs and supports households. I believe Dublin City Council should do far more in terms of regeneration. We have funded local authorities up and down the country in terms of regeneration and they should do more-----”
“On what happened, I fully respect the right of people to protest, even the people in the Gallery in terms of the Dublin City Council situation in regard to rent. People are entitled to protest. In my view, you seem incapable of saying it is wrong to blockade our only oil refinery. You cannot say that is wrong, even though it would have led to a scarcity of oil supply and an increased fuel crisis. You cannot say that it is wrong to blockade ports, even though it would destroy our economy.”
“That is the reality, despite the Deputy's description of what transpired yesterday. The truth is that I am extremely disturbed that Deputy McDonald has not yet, as the main Opposition leader in this House, had the courage of her convictions or the decency to separate what is right from what is wrong. Yesterday, one of her Deputies could not condemn threats or intimidation against An Garda Síochána. On a programme last night, Deputy Kerrane was asked a straight question-----”
“In reality, we are in a period of dramatically escalating angry rhetoric in politics. The escalating rhetoric of Opposition here too is unprecedented. The Government has a clear democratic mandate. We have an ambitious programme for investment and services to support people and protect our country.”
“Everyone here should understand that you cannot share platforms with them, express your support for them, call them the voice of the people and then deny your responsibility for legitimising them. I condemn utterly the sinister targeting of gardaí and of oil lorry drivers. I have told the Garda Commissioner that we will fully support his efforts to find and prosecute those involved. I also condemn the direct and indirect threats to Deputies and Ministers. The online threats against homes and offices should be condemned by everyone here. We should all be concerned with the attempts to import extreme ideologies here, something we saw with the number of online social media accounts which originated in America, Britain and elsewhere and which were spreading inflammatory comments about the blockade.”
“There is another deeply important point arising from recent weeks concerning the nature of political behaviour in our country. There are many extreme groups which claim to speak on behalf of the people without ever securing the support of the people. It is standard practice for people to shout in the streets and online that they are the real people of Ireland and that the Dáil and the Government are a non-representative elite who know nothing and care less about this country. Parliamentary democracy is something we should all affirm and defend. The great majority of people who have protested have done so reasonably and democratically. We all saw that this was not the case for some other elements.”
“That said, no group has the right to say to the rest of the country that it will decide who gets fuel to go to work or who gets fuel in general or that it will block Irish firms from exporting the goods which pay workers' wages. No action by the Government was taken in haste. Time was given for people to make their point, but action was required and was taken. Gardaí acted with the utmost professionalism under often extreme pressure, and with the specialist support of the Army, lifted the blockades. I thank them again for their work. I also thank the officials and Ministers in various Departments who worked tirelessly to make sure that essential services, particularly health services, remained available in the face of extreme challenges.”
“Nobody has the right to prevent people from getting to cancer treatment, to be visited by their carer or to distribute vital supplies. The House needs to face up to the fact that these actions were very directly threatening the basic fuel supplies of the country. This went far beyond the drying up of fuel pumps which people saw throughout the country. We were informed in Government that our only refinery was in danger of being closed and export-dependent companies were about to start sending workers home. The ports and refinery blockade meant that at the very time when global supplies are scarce, oil intended for Ireland was about to be diverted elsewhere. I absolutely understand the pressures people feel and the need for measures to reduce the impact of rising oil prices.”
“People speak up looking for funding for local services, special education supports, childcare, disability services, pensions and many other political, environmental and social issues. These demonstrations often involve closing roads in co-ordination with An Garda Síochána. The general public and businesses accept the inconvenience as part of what comes with living in an active democracy. The blockade of critical infrastructure of last week went far beyond this. It was a destructive blockade which threatened to cause much deeper damage. Everybody has a right to protest but nobody has a right to appoint themselves as the voice of the people and to threaten the jobs and livelihoods of many thousands of families.”
“A combination of immediate and long-term actions is required but any politician here who pretends there are no hard choices to be made is being dishonest, and they know it. What the people have a right to is sustainable supports, combined with sustained action, to tackle the structural drivers of rising costs. This has to be the focus. Today, it is of course important to address events of the past week. Our action and engagement on fuel prices was ongoing before the blockade and will continue well after the blockade. This is a country which ranks in the top ten in the world for freedom of speech, the right to protest and the right of democratic participation. Every week, the streets outside of Leinster House are filled with groups passionately advocating for their cause.”
“One thing the Opposition never does is respect the fact that we have to fund social services and investments. We have to secure basic energy and food supplies and keep open trade and exports - exports which are responsible for 90% of what we produce in any one year. We have to protect our ability to overcome new shocks which may arise. The measures we are implementing involve a very significant amount of public resources and directly support those being hit by the shock of increasing world fuel prices. They go further than other governments and combine both general and targeted assistance. As I have said, I am happy to return to the House to discuss prices in general and action on affordability.”
“As the publicly available facts show, the Government is already spending dramatically more on measures to help people with fuel costs than it is receiving in extra taxes. Before today, the measures provided by Government was costing close to €28 million a week while the additional revenue has averaged €4 million. Our actions also amount to proportionately the largest assistance package of any European country. The closest any country comes is Spain, where the support package is over one quarter smaller. The packages in Germany and Poland are roughly 90% lower than the supports we are implementing. As for Northern Ireland, the actions taken by the Executive and the British Government combined are a fraction of what we are implementing. The basic, core claim that we are doing nothing and are falling behind other countries is simply untrue.”
“At €500 million, it is a comprehensive package. It is not about helping special interest groups. We all depend on transport, food production, haulage, fisheries and other fuel-intensive industries. That is why we are implementing specific measures tailored to these critical areas. These reflect the ongoing open and constructive discussions and interaction we have had with representative bodies. I will not attempt to address all of the false claims by Opposition Deputies but I will reply to a clearly untrue statement by Deputy Carthy. He claimed the Irish Government is the biggest profiteer - his words - on oil prices and that budget coffers were being swelled. The Deputy is intelligent enough and has enough access to research to know this is flat out untrue.”
“This is manifestly untrue and directly ignores the fact that we are implementing significant action, that it goes beyond anything being done elsewhere and that the core concern pushing up oil prices is an international conflict, namely war in the Middle East between the US, Israel and Iran. From the first days of this latest conflict, we have been directly taking action to reduce the impact on Ireland and have held ongoing discussions with representatives of the full range of groups impacted. The first intervention we implemented last month helped by cutting duties, benefiting everyone, and directly helping families. It amounted to €250 million. The latest measures go further and are based on detailed discussions with different sectors about their specific needs and they are designed to very directly help protect jobs and keep costs down.”
“There are structural issues which have to be addressed. I will be happy to return to the Dáil to discuss our investment plans for permanently reducing the upward pressure on key costs, especially energy costs. I welcome an honest debate about getting electricity prices permanently down in international terms. The House will note a report published this morning which explicitly states that since 2022, Government measures have shielded consumers considerably. However, today I will focus on the immediate issue of recent major increases in costs arising from rising oil prices. The Opposition claims that nothing has been done to help people, that other countries are helping more and that the Government could easily sort out everything.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann reaffirms its confidence in the Government. I welcome this debate and the opportunity to again discuss important issues facing our people. Each of us here has a mandate and a duty to show respect for others and conduct a debate that shows respect for the people by acknowledging the full range of concerns at this deeply challenging moment in history. We need to talk about the huge impact of rising oil prices, but also the wider context of protecting jobs, funding services, investing to get costs down and getting Ireland through a period of international turmoil. Wars and a pandemic have led to sustained pressure on costs faced by families and businesses for nearly five years. The Government has had to act on a wide range of fronts, including securing basic supplies.”
“I thank the Deputy for his constructive, low-hanging fruit-type ideas. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, in respect of those issues and how we can incentivise or trigger a greater uptake and utilisation of them. On the EV question, something has to be done there.”
“Optimally, we want the day procedures operating all of the time, 24-7, if possible, for throughput, and also getting that further project completed.”
“It is a very significant moment. People have used that for their campaigns for about 50 years. To get praise for the investment in the hospital is a major watershed moment politically. I jest, but Deputy Kenny makes a very serious point. Mallow General Hospital, Bantry General Hospital, Cork University Hospital, Mercy University Hospital and South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital all have to be used now as part of integrated care model. Cork University Hospital covers the entire region. If there are huge pressures on its emergency services, it makes sense to use Mallow hospital every now and again if there are spare beds to alleviate the pressure at Cork University Hospital. I take the Deputy's point, however.”
“Deputy Stanley spoke about waiting for a decade and a half. I have waited about three and a half decades for a Member from the Opposition to compliment the Government on its investment in Mallow hospital, so I will take it.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is a very difficult and challenging issue, primarily for those who got long Covid, and they did incredible work in the healthcare service during Covid-19. I met them last June and that resulted in the extension to last December. As the Deputy knows, there was then the Labour Court recommendation. It recommended a final extension and that got expanded. They are now in the public service sick leave scheme and the Deputy has indicated that the full payment will come to an end. I will talk to my colleagues again to see what can be done in endeavouring to support them given the circumstances around their particular case. I will come back to the Deputy on it.”
“-----that he has been getting a consistent reply from the Department for a decade and half. I understand the issue but let us be honest: when these guidelines emerge, they will probably lead to a reduction in the number of wind farms. We cannot dress it up and say that the guidelines will help to expand the supply of onshore wind energy because all of the impetus from Deputies and others has been aimed at restricting the growth of onshore wind farms. Let us be honest: we have had incredible expansion. That is why I think offshore is where we need to go now for the next decade. That said, onshore wind farms have made an enormous contribution to electricity generation. We kind of shield ourselves from the hard choices as a society. I said yesterday that I was in this House when people were against onshore wind, gas generation and solar.”
“My sympathies go out to Joachim's family. It is quite a shocking event and very distressing and traumatic for the family. There has been extensive investment in piers over the last number of years. A significant amount of Brexit adjustment reserve funding was allocated to piers. I am of the view that we should continue to invest in piers the length and breadth of the country. We are an island nation and safety is paramount. Local authorities have obligations in this regard as well, as do some port authorities. The consistent annual provision of funding is key in getting to grips with the numerous inlets and piers, including smaller piers, around the country.”
“Local authorities are advised to set aside a minimum of 10% of the grant given to them as a contingency to deal with severe weather events and damage to the network. We will follow up on that.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Bohernabreena Road opened yesterday, which was some help. We welcome that. The flooding as a result of Storm Chandra was quite shocking. As the Deputy will know, it has had a significant impact. The Minister sought submissions from all county councils in respect of the damage done to the roads. We announced various investments in February. Some €718 million for regional and local roads was announced. The Department is liaising with the affected counties, including Wicklow, which was significantly impacted. Approximately 300 local roads were damaged with over 50 left impassable across eight counties. Working with the local authorities, we will see what we can do to respond.”
“The implications of this war are widespread. The danger is that there will potentially be secondary effects on the wider economy. Governments cannot chase inflation. We cannot compensate for every price increase everywhere. That will not work. We have to try to target our resources as best we can at those most in need. There are concerns about the inflationary impacts of this crisis, which may feed into the wider economy. It could affect all areas and sectors of the economy. The ECB has already downgraded its economic growth forecasts for the European Union. It was predicting growth of 1.4% for 2026 but it has now reduced that to 0.9%. We will also have to look at our growth figures. I would say there will be some decline in what is expected and anticipated as a result of this crisis.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. He is saying it is an illustrative example of the challenges when numbers are reducing and then the impact on capitation. We did increase capitation by a record amount of €20 in the latest budget, which is unprecedented in terms of the scale of the increase. The Deputy has raised a very interesting point that I will bring to the attention of the Minister in terms of the next budget. He is essentially proposing a tiered structure that would take into account the impact of declining numbers in rural schools. That is certainly food for thought and I will talk to the Minister in respect of it.”
“We are working with the ETB to provide additional resources to enable that school to operate as optimally and effectively as it can for the benefit of the young people who attend it.”
“I do have confidence in Cork ETB in respect of special education. A number of years ago, it stepped into the breach to establish the school to provide desperately needed places in an area where children could not get places at the time. We had to take action. For the long term ETBs have a very significant role in special education across the country. That is my view. If we look at how it is evolving, some of the section 39 bodies have pulled back from education so the State has to get more involved in this particular area. The structures of ETBs are such that they have flexibility in providing resources. On the specific case in Carrigaline, I have been in touch with the ETB and I am fully aware of the difficulties and challenges that have occurred there.”
“We are constantly investing in public transport and public buses as well. I do not have the specifics of the breakdown between replacement and additional buses arising from the very significant investment in 60 double-decker buses. I will revert to the Minister of State with responsibility for transport who is here and who is from Galway as well. I will get the full details and background on the breakdown of those 60 buses. We need to continue to invest more in public transport. This will be additional and also important in terms of emissions reductions and so on it will be impactful.”
“The Deputy does not have a monopoly on horror and condemnation of what is happening in the West Bank. She just keeps doing it.”
“It is an outrageous assertion that we have waited and watched for years and done nothing. That is just wrong. The fact of the matter is that Ireland has strongly articulated on the West Bank issue for many years. We have taken a range of measures with the other EU member states in terms of sanctions against violent Israeli settlers in the West Bank. We have deplored and condemned the behaviour of Israeli settlers in the West Bank. We have taken legal action in international courts. I do not know why the Deputy says things like that just to attack the Government. She seems to be more interested in attacking the Government than Israel. I can never get my head around that sort of orientation and that view. What is happening in the West Bank is horrific.”
“That is a matter of great concern and I will ask the Minister for enterprise to examine the matter and get back to the Deputy on it.”
“Ireland has been very strongly adherent to the EU sanctions framework and principles. The Aughinish plant is not subject to EU sanctions, and there is no proposal at EU level to sanction it. Alumina is not a sanctioned commodity and so under the current framework that is the position. There were reasons for that in terms of the complex supply chains in the modern era where different industries in different countries are interdependent. Some member states depend on the output of the production in Aughinish for their industries. Of course, as I said yesterday, I view with great concern the report in The Irish Times and the assertion that the Aughinish product went, via intermediaries, to Russia, to help in many ways to facilitate Russia's war machine.”
“My sympathies go to the family of Chloe Maher, who died recently. She was formerly, as the Deputy said, a patient at CHI's spinal services. I offer my deepest condolences to Chloe's family and friends at what is a very sad time for them. As the Deputy knows, the Minister has announced that Mr. Remy Farrell has been appointed as the facilitator for the scoping exercise in terms of an inquiry into the spinal services at CHI and paediatric services more generally. Mr. Farrell will engage with patients, families and advocates to assess and consider what steps and what actions may be appropriate in terms of the inquiry and the format of an inquiry.”
“I take the Deputy's point about the need to try to improve that to give people access closer to home. That is accepted. People generally want to stay at home for as long as they possibly can. There comes a stage, I accept, when a nursing home is required. Obviously, the closer to the family home for the family the better in those situations.”
“I fully appreciate the Deputy's advocacy for his home county. In terms of home care, day care and meals on wheels, there are very significant extended resources all working together and they are particularly effective in rural areas. I am sure the Deputy will agree what is needed is additional resources, particularly in County Clare. That is what he is advocating for. The fair deal scheme supports people to access nursing home care. The more people have, the more they pay in terms of income levels. It is structured that way. The less they have, the less they pay. Again, there are huge costs involved here. There are about 24,000 people on that scheme, with 80% supported in private nursing homes and the remainder in HSE-run facilities. The cost has gone from €968 million to €1.2 billion in 2025. That will continue to rise.”
“A strategic workforce advisory group on home carers is working with the Department of Health on exploring options. We are also using assistive technology in home support initiatives to directly address rural home support provision. The Health (Amendment) (Home Support Providers) Bill 2025 has passed Second Stage. That will improve the regulation of the sector. More importantly, it is the first step in ensuring that home care will be provided in the context of a statutory home care scheme. We are also providing additional funding to meals on wheels, with about 3.3 million meals a year being provided. A total of 313 day centres will be resourced to support nearly 16,000 people in 2026. I might respond to the Deputy's comment on the fair deal scheme after the supplementary question.”
“That will support about 62,000 people by year end. In the Clare and Limerick county integrated healthcare area, in 2025, 1.38 million hours of home support were delivered. That exceeded the target of 1.35 million hours and represented an increase of over 500,000 since 2024, just two years ago. That is a massive increase in the number of hours we are providing. The Deputy is correct, however, that there are still challenges. There are about 694 people on the waiting list for home support services in the Clare and Limerick county integrated area, down from 748. The service has expanded so much that there has been a challenge in recruiting home carers. The HSE, private providers and others have undertaken a lot of external overseas recruitment initiatives endeavouring to get more in. That is an international challenge.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. It is fair to say that we are ageing as a society. Our lifespan has improved dramatically compared to 20 years ago. Irish lifespan has increased more than most in the European Union, which is a good thing for all of us, potentially. On the other hand, it creates more challenges in terms of care costs, health costs and so on. Every year, there are substantial increases in the budget as we try to provide for an ageing population. The budget for home support in 2026 is the largest ever at €914 million. That is an increase of over 87% on 2020. That illustrates how services are expanding to meet the needs of a population that is ageing and living longer. That investment will see additional support, and complex home support hours will increase to approximately 26.7 million.”
“------the significant reduction in excise duty that he is proposing because he would have to find the money from somewhere. We cannot have everything we want. We cannot have our cake and eat it, which seems to be the Deputy’s response. The Government is targeting its resources and 50,000 extra families on the working family payment are in receipt of the fuel allowance. We introduced that in the latest budget and they will gain from the extension of the fuel allowance. He is wrong in saying that working families will not benefit from that.”