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 33 of 117.
“It believes in allocating about €2 billion to €3 billion right now. What do we do in October, what do we do in December, if the consequences of this crisis continue? We have a budget coming up. We want to protect investment in services, education, health and children right across the board. These are real choices we have to make. I am sure the Deputy herself must realise that. It is probably one of the more generous packages being developed across Europe. I do not know what instructions she has given to her own Ministers in Northern Ireland. I think a total of £30 is the only benefit towards upcoming bills that it is giving. It cannot decide where an additional £17 million that is available is to go.”
“Then there is a very specific measure for the haulage industry, which Sinn Féin would not support and which it was warning us against doing yesterday. The reason we are doing that is that the haulage industry is absolutely central to our trading and to our economy. It is extremely important that over the mid-term we make sure structurally that we create a sustainable haulage industry into the future to underpin what is a very strong exporting economy. That is the targeted nature of this. The fuel allowance has been extended for four weeks, which will take us up to 1 May. I think any reasonable person would say that by that stage - yes, climate and the weather change and so on - we will be in a warmer situation. It is logical to target about 470,000 families on low incomes. I know Sinn Féin opposes that.”
“Every government is limited as to what it can do in situations like these. All the international advice from the ECB, the IMF and so on is to target temporary, affordable measures because we do not quite know what is around the corner as to how this will unfold, not only in terms of the war itself but also in terms of the Strait of Hormuz and the impact on oil and gas installations that have already been destroyed. There will be a lag time now of a couple of years before some of those are restored to capacity. The wise thing to do, therefore, is to introduce measures of the kind we have introduced today, that are targeted and that give some degree of universal support in terms of the reduction in excise and petrol duties. That is important.”
“Ní aontaím leis an Teachta. Is éard atá faoi chaibidil ag an Rialtas ná cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine ar ioncam íseal agus do na daoine is boichte sa tír. Sin é an fáth go bhfuil, ó thaobh cúrsaí leasa shóisialaigh de, cabhair agus tacaíocht á dtabhairt againn. Tá níos mó cabhrach agus tacaíochta á dtabhairt don tionscal haulage chomh maith mar tá sé riachtanach ó thaobh cúrsaí geilleagar na tíre. This is a moment of great instability and uncertainty in the world, and the war in the Middle East has created without question the greatest oil supply shock ever in the history of the markets. That is a very sobering and significant reality that has to be taken on board by any responsible government. We have no intention of being reckless or irresponsible with this crisis. We want to be flexible and to give supports to people.”
“It seems I have got to the bottom of this in terms of the note. What has been said is not accurate. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the National Ambulance Service, NAS. That is the case. To ensure a fair and transparent allocation of posts, graduates have been asked to apply through a confined internal competition. This is exactly how things operate in other parts of the health service, including for graduate nurses. Graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences. However, where a vacancy is oversubscribed, the process being implemented will ensure a fair and equitable selection process has been established to allocate roles.”
“I cannot get into the details of every specific school project but I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue in respect of St. Mary's in Lucan. I do not know why the Department cannot accommodate the alternative proposal. What is important is that the project is completed. Sometimes deliberations can slow the process down. I understand the importance of the playing pitch. Physical education is as important as intellectual and academic education. We have to be healthy in mind and body and playing pitches facilitate that. I will speak to the Minister.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There are too many deaths on our roads. We do not have the figures for how this year will look, but we have already had too many deaths in the first two or three months of the year. I will give consideration to the Deputy's suggestion. The Minister for Transport comes before various Cabinet subcommittees. We have quite a number of them. I take the Deputy's point on road safety and will revert to him. I will give consideration to it.”
“Yes, it is a compliment. Our tradition of storytelling is part of the Irish story and we do it particularly well as a nation and a people. There are towns around the country that excel in amateur drama, Wexford being one. I think of Rossmore in west Cork, for example, and many others where there are decades-long generational commitments to amateur drama.”
“I will indeed, but the Deputy should declare a conflict of interest given his annual performances. I believe he was in the pantomime this year. People will say he is forever in the pantomime in Dáil Éireann and so on, but he is one of the great pantomime performers. Alan Corcoran on the local radio station in Wexford has spoken volumes about the Deputy's genuine acting ability in theatre, and he has been a great participant in amateur drama. Amateur drama is very often the pipeline for future talent to emerge. It is a wonderful part of the Irish story and tradition.”
“I did not interrupt the Deputy. We are going to continue to do that. That should be acknowledged. On the latter point on the tenant in situ scheme, some councils were taking that funding to do deep retrofitting, which was never its purpose. It was meant to prevent people from falling into homelessness and we have done that in a lot of cases across the board.”
“I disagree with some of the points the Deputy has made. We have the highest population since the Famine. It went up by 52% since 1995. I am not going to go into all of the reasons and factors that underpin the homelessness situation, but they are quite varied and there are ones we did not have to deal with before. The Minister has a specific initiative in terms of families who are homeless. The most effective way is to build more social housing. We are building more social housing than at any time since the 1970s on a consistent basis.”
“I appreciate the issue. About 350 special classes have already been sanctioned, which is higher than the number sanctioned last year. That illustrates the need, and bringing the date forward has clarified the extent of the need for the school year beginning next September. I ask the Deputy to engage with the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan. I will alert him to the fact the Deputy has raised this issue. He takes an on-the-ground approach to this. He and the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, are working flat out on this question.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I am reminded that Deputy Timmins was the only Deputy in the House yesterday who said we need to be careful not to think that public expenditure has to increase all the time. We need value for money, too. The Deputy is looking for more money, but we did allocate approximately €1.13 million to Kerry under the LIS. That is the largest amount in a long time and is the highest in the country. All the Deputies in Kerry, the Deputy's colleagues on all fronts and his good self, have been on to us in respect of that. I am not going to go through the details in Kerry, but the overall allocation was €65 million. About €180 million has been allocated to the LIS since 2017. The need is always there - I get that - but our public expenditure is high and we are continuing to increase and expand.”
“Mar a dúirt mé cheana inniu, bhuail an tAire, an Teachta O'Brien, leis na comhlachtaí cheana. Mar aon leis sin, tá an CRU ag déanamh fiosraithe ar an margadh faoi láthair agus go háirithe na praghsanna wholesale go dtí retail. Tá sé sin faoi chaibidil ag an CRU ag an mbabhta seo. Mar aon leis sin, tá an tAire, an Teachta Peter Burke, ag déileáil leis an scéal chomh maith leis na húdaráis a bhaineann le comórtas - the competition authority - chun iad sin a shoiléiriú i dtaobh cad atá ar siúl ag na comhlachtaí éagsúla. Ní cóir d'aon chomhlacht buntáiste a bhaint as an ngéarchéim seo. Is léir go bhfuil roinnt acu á dhéanamh. Beimid sásta aon rud is féidir linn a dhéanamh a dhéanamh.”
“We are getting close, so. I was going to call it was a drop in the ocean, if you will excuse the pun. I will ask the Minister to engage with the council to see what can be done here. It is important work that has to be done. It has been a long time since that storm damage. We will see what we can do.”
“I appreciate the Deputy raising the issue. I was at the weir some years ago and saw the damage done and so forth. It is a huge amenity in a beautiful area. What is the cost? I am not aware of the council having come to me about the issue.”
“I will talk to the various Ministers. Every year, people look for an extension of deadlines that we already put in. There is a reason they are there, by the way. There are two sides to the story and we need to be conscious of the other side as well. For safety, it has to be done. I will talk to the Ministers to see what the actual position is and get the background to the situation.”
“The graduates have been asked to select their three preferred locations in a region from the available vacancies and every effort will be made to accommodate first preferences.”
“This issue was raised yesterday. The note I have here states that there will be continued expansion of the front-line workforce of the National Ambulance Service. Plans for 2026 include an additional 263 staff and €20 million in new funding. That will deliver 21 extra crewed ambulances operating at peak demand, four additional intermediate care vehicles and continued development of the clinical hub and alternative care pathways. The HSE has confirmed that full-time permanent contracts are available for all year 3 graduates completing training with the NAS in 2026. These roles include vacancies arising from retirements and promotions, as well as new posts linked to service development under the national service plan.”
“I have asked the Minister to try to be as flexible as possible on that population threshold but we will see where that ends up.”
“It is opening in the next two weeks. There are no restrictions on where it can be applied or on who can apply, and there never has been, other than the population threshold. Some new developing areas have received it as well as areas where people wanted the rejuvenation of older parts of a city or a town. The Deputy has named so many towns that I would say he would nearly take the budget himself. Under the old URDF if funding was allocated, the local authorities needed to get the work done faster. The Minister is going to apply timelines and if it is not used, we will take it back and use it somewhere else. There was an inordinate length of time to get funding through with the last URDF. This is the new living cities and towns initiative.”
“There are two points there. First, an extra 20% has been allocated for services, some of which is for respite and residential. I have asked for this item to be put on the next agenda for Cabinet subcommittee in respect of accommodation. We need to create a proper sustainable structure linking the providers, the section 39 bodies, the HSE and the local authorities in terms of proper structures and options for families particularly those with adult disabled persons who require accommodation with varying degrees of supports. That is a priority of mine and I am going to focus on that.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising what is a really important issue for the community of Gaelscoil Coláiste Mhuire. I will certainly speak to Minister for education on this. I do not have a clear timeline yet on the issue. Obviously, there was a contractual conflict that resulted in us ending up where we are now. The suspension of works notice issued in May last year and the termination of the contract in July. I will seek clarity from the from the departmental officials and I will ask them to communicate to the Deputy on that.”
“We did that in the budget and one of the manifestations of that is the fact that 50,000 people this Thursday will get the fuel allowance who otherwise would not have got it in previous years - those on the working family payment. They will get back pay of about €380 next week but they are getting notification this week on Thursday. We keep everything under review and it is important that we do that. We understand the potential pressures on people. Agreements have already been reached with the company in terms of hardship cases. People will not be disconnected in any shape or form. The exceptional needs payment is there as well for anyone in particular difficulty or in need.”
“We are working flat out. We have allocated €15 million to support the post office network. We had allocated funding last year and the year before to maintain the post office network. I cannot get into every specific post office, obviously, but generally speaking we are very supportive of the postmasters. We understand the role that post offices play in communities the length and breadth of the country. An Post is fully conscious of Government's desire in this respect.”
“In our view, the expansion that is required is important for the protection of women and newborn babies. We would have preferred if planning was given. In our view, it was still justified, notwithstanding whatever happened in 2017 in terms of the colocation declaration. All of the medical world believes in colocation.”
“The essentials of colocation are there. We did not starve the Rotunda of funding. How dare the Deputy say that? I just opened facilities. There has been investment in the Rotunda. This is an important development.”
“There is a lot of infrastructural stuff we cannot get done. There was a Deputy in the House recently who had legitimate concerns about a gas generation station, a solar farm and a wind farm - all three. I am left asking the question: how do we switch the light bulb on if we do not do something?”
“I could not agree more. It is something that has annoyed me a bit. I have been talking to various Ministers. We have to incentivise rain harvesting for non-drinking purposes and there are a lot of easy ways of doing that. We are all waiting for the summer. Hopefully, we will get a bit of sun. If we get the inevitable banning of utilisation of water for the garden or whatever, we will all eat our hat, given the amount of rain that has fallen over the past number of months. The Deputy is absolutely correct on that. I will make a general point. Ireland is a small enough country. Many of our people and families are living in the midlands or in Dublin. Protecting their future is what we are about here. I am not saying the Deputy is doing this but I hope people do not use this politically or electorally.”
“Extensive preparation and studies have been undertaken and Uisce Éireann will continue to monitor the project during and after its construction. I was told by Irish Water representatives, when I met them two weeks ago on this and other issues, that any impact on local communities will be negligible. We are very conscious of kayakers, anglers and those who use it for amenity.”
“Each was found to be insufficient to meet the scale of long-term demand, did not provide the required resilience or carried significantly higher environmental or cost impacts. Leakage rates are coming down. Uisce Éireann has reduced water leakage from 49% to 36% nationally and 37% to 30% in Dublin, driven by a €2 billion investment in the network, including leakage reduction, over the past decade. It is important to remember the level of the Shannon and its flow are currently monitored and managed within a standard band by the ESB as part of operations at Ardnacrusha. Uisce Éireann is working with the EPA and the ESB and is clear this will not compromise the ecology of the Shannon or water services for local communities.”
“The midlands will benefit enormously from this and the midlands needs development. People are advocating for new cities, for Athlone and so on. If we do not do this, people can forget about all of that. This is essential. I accept one thing, and I have said this to Irish Water. There needs to be a comprehensive communication approach to explain to people on the ground the benefits and how it will not impact on areas of importance to bed and breakfasts, hotels and businesses that depend on the amenity and recreational value of the Shannon, and anglers and so on. Desalination was looked at, as were groundwater sources, new reservoirs, additional abstraction from other rivers and further leakage reduction. All of those were fully assessed.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I appreciate there are concerns but I would say to all public representatives of all parties that we need to imbue in our nation a sense of strategic direction. Historically, we got it right in terms of utilities. That underpinned inward investment into this country and economic development without question. We are at a tipping point now in respect of whether we are prepared to make the big leaps forward and to underpin, for future generations, basic utilities for economic development and for the very basic supply of water itself. We acknowledge there is a housing crisis. Water will enable us to build more houses. If we do not get this done, there will be thousands and thousands of houses we cannot build. Moving on to the core issue, alternative options have been examined.”
“Last year the RESS 5 and the ORESS Tonn Nua auctions were delivered and at a very competitive price for consumers with both auctions clearing. I will not go through the specific prices. RESS 5 involves 1 GW of new renewable electricity capacity. The Deputy knows this. A lot of good groundwork was done by the last Government but the Deputy's predecessor knew exactly the timelines as well as everybody else. I would argue that what we are doing now in offshore wind is accelerating it to a greater extent than would have been the case if we had not taken over the portfolio, to be blunt about it. On the gas, it is about security of supply. That is the core issue there. If anything was to happen to current supplies in terms of the interconnector, we would be in deep trouble. The Deputy should at least acknowledge that.”
“The Deputy keeps articulating his false narrative, but that does not make the narrative true. It is a dishonest portrayal of the Government's commitment in this area. We are a bit more pragmatic than the Green Party was, I would respectfully suggest. I have great respect for the Deputy and his party in many areas-----”
“The Irish Naval Service and UK divers had to inspect them, after a particular ship of the shadow fleet lingered over those gas pipelines, to make sure nothing untoward had happened. That is the reality. The Deputy should not paint that as some sort of shift away from our climate and our commitment to offshore wind. I think that is very unfair.”
“Why did we move to create an LNG strategic reserve? The Deputy should know this too. It is for security. The papers and the files in the Department are very clear. The advices are very clear. Deputy O'Gorman talked about security of supply. Because of security vulnerabilities, if anything happened to our gas interconnectors our economy would be stalled after ten days. That is the advice. We need a security backup. A State-owned strategic reserve facility is being established to give us that backup in the event of malicious or malign forces undermining the gas interconnectors. That is not fanciful. We just have to look at what happened in the Baltic Sea with interference and interventions with various pieces of infrastructure. We know our subsea cables have been monitored. We know the gas connectors were monitored.”
“I had them around the table. The Secretary General of my Department chairs it. I attend it and I chair for the hour and go through it. We have brought in industry and every single Government Department. We have talked to all the various agencies involved as well to look at any generic obstacles that we can remove, or any barriers to accelerate offshore wind. We have carried out an onshore wind revolution in this country over many decades now. Every party that was in government over the last 30 years, and the county councils, have facilitated that. The Deputy should acknowledge that. We have not shifted our focus. I want to get it done as quickly as we possibly can. It is absolutely essential. It is wrong of the Deputy to say that somehow we have moved to LNG as opposed to offshore wind. The evidence does not suggest that.”
“I disagree with the very false narrative the Deputy has put before the House in respect of the Government's position on renewables. It is a deliberately created false narrative by the Green Party in order to present the idea that it is indispensable to climate change. I have to say that strongly because I really reject what the Deputy has said. I think it is wrong and it is deliberately wrong. We are one year in government. Any delays in offshore wind, for example, cannot be laid at the hands of this Government because the Green Party had that portfolio for the last five years, subsequent to 2020. The Deputy must be well aware of the challenges. We are totally focused on offshore wind and getting that out there. One of the changes I have made is to establish a clearing house for offshore wind. I brought industry in.”
“In our party we have a free vote, and I initiated that well over a decade ago on matters pertaining to life and death. Let us acknowledge that this has been a hugely contested area in our country. It was a major decision by the Irish people, and one I supported, as the Deputy knows, both inside and outside the House, in respect of the change that occurred. The Government will examine the review, and we will revert to the House once that examination takes place. I will consult with the Minister for Health in that regard. It is important to point out about 575 terminations occurred under section 11 of the Act between 2019 and 2024 but the Deputy instance about 240 women who have had to travel to the United Kingdom. We need to hear from the experiences of those women to inform the governmental and political review.”
“There should be no excuse for the absence of bereavement counselling in situations such as this. I will pursue that with the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Department, as to what transpired. As regards the wider issue, the Act itself is consistent with the debate and commitments that were given. Section 11, in particular, puts in that provision.”
“In many respects, one of the key motivations for a lot of people who voted "Yes" to repealing the eighth amendment was the experience of women who had been through fatal foetal abnormality. I met quite a number of women who told me the harrowing journeys they made to the United Kingdom and back. Certainly, I found it a very powerful, motivating factor for a proper humane response to a situation such as this. Again, there was a lot of contested debate around this; hence what has transpired in the termination of pregnancy Act 2018 and in particular, the section referring to the provision before or within those 28 days of birth. There have been issues out of that as a result of the referendum and Act itself. I do not understand why bereavement counselling was not made available; it should be made available.”
“I wish to extend my deepest sympathies to Denise Whitmore, Mark and the entire family on the tragic loss of baby Éadha, and the very difficult and traumatic circumstances of both Denise's pregnancy and what subsequently happened with the travel to the United Kingdom, particularly the journey back. As the Deputy knows, the legislation came as a result of the constitutional referendum we had in respect of this issue a number of years ago. The legislation was consistent with commitments given in the debate to the Irish people prior to the repeal of the eighth amendment. It was a contested referendum and various arguments were put forward on both sides. Various commitments were given in respect of how subsequent legislation would be formulated and what it would contain.”
“We will also continue to engage on that issue as a Government, and we will have further meetings today relating to that specific item.”
“We are investing in renewables to an unprecedented extent. Between 40% and 45% of all electricity generation is through renewables in Ireland today, and approximately 40% through gas. One of the structural problems with this, of course, is across Europe there is a coupling of gas and very often gas dictates the ultimate price. Price caps generally do not work and we would need to consider that very carefully before we would implement such a measure. We will keep everything under review in terms of how this situation unfolds and we appreciate the pressures that are on people. Again, the CCPC is there to investigate and engage with companies and the market to fundamentally ensure price-gouging does not happen and that unfair advantage is not taken of people.”
“Real wages have increased by 3% over the past 12 months. That is the reality and that is a fact. Members can dismiss that easily through rhetoric or something, but that is the reality. That said, there are still pressures on families. We will keep all of this under review in terms of how this unfolds over the next while.”
“Of course, the fuel allowance was increased by €5 per week, but also the numbers of people benefiting went up significantly because we extended it to the working family payment to such an extent that 26% of households are now entitled to the fuel allowance and it is backdated to January. It is not a true story to say that the Government has done nothing or the Government has not intervened. We have also extended the reduced VAT rate on energy bills, from 13% to 9%, and that will be extended to 2030. We have also taken very substantial measures in terms of retrofitting, which will ultimately reduce the costs for households who benefit from that over the long term, and immediately once it is done. Our interventions have been targeted in many areas and we will continue to support households and families.”
“It has eased considerably in Ireland in inflationary terms, but the impact on the cost of living and the elevated prices remains for many households. We significantly reduced all the medical expenditures that were there five or six years ago in terms of the drugs payment scheme threshold being reduced and getting rid of quite a lot of hospital charges that people had to fork out. In terms of social protection, we had a €10 increase in the maximum rate of all State pensions from January of this year and likewise, for the jobseeker's allowance. There was the biggest increase ever in child support payments,. For any child over 12, the family gets €16 additional to €78 a week, and for children under 12, plus €8 to €58 a week.”
“Of course, we have intervened in the cost of living over the past three to four years. More than any other government in Europe, we intervened with our allocations, both in the once-off cost-of-living interventions that we made for over two years at huge cost, but then with more permanent measures such as the free books scheme, which is a substantial reduction in costs for parents and families of school-going children and the hot school meals in every school across the country, likewise helping families. We acknowledge families are under pressure. Of course, they are. Ever since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the post-Covid period and the weakening of supply chains, there has been an inflationary spiral.”
“The Deputy says it is a small gesture. That is the point. The carbon tax on its own would be a number of cent or whatever, but when we look at the carbon tax collectively, it has supported farmers, in particular, in terms of environmental agri-schemes with approximately €173 million allocated this year to that. We would not have the retrofitting scheme without it because we have ring-fenced it. We give all that back to the people through retrofitting. Then the third pillar is those in social protection. It is fuel poverty that the carbon tax addresses. The money goes back to the people who need it most. It goes back through retrofitting and it goes back to farmers.”