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.”
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“We are concerned about the situation pertaining to Seamus Culleton. We fully accept people's concerns. I heard about the case yesterday. As I said earlier, our officials are engaging. The local consulate general in the US is engaging with ICE officials. We do not have the authority to interfere in the application of law but we do have the capacity to advocate strongly on behalf of our citizens to ensure that they are properly and humanely treated. We are conscious that this happened is in the middle of an application for status. We do not want to do anything that would undermine the securing of that status for Seamus Culleton. The Minister and the officials are engaging. They were meeting before I came in. I will have a further update when I leave here and I will see where we take it from there.”
“Seventeen extra gardaí have been recruited to Waterford since last August. The Minister visited Waterford and Dungarvan Garda stations recently and had good conversations with the chief superintendent, superintendents and gardaí more generally. People are seeing many more gardaí much more often now. The good news is that 215 trainees entered Templemore last Monday. That is the third intake in a row where the numbers have exceeded 200. Those candidates were all recruited from the 2024 and 2025 recruitment campaigns. We are on target. The Government is making progress on significantly increasing the number of gardaí in the force. That will continue.”
“However, I fully accept the frustrations of those locations which have not yet received the benefit of the increased number of gardaí being recruited.”
“I agree with the Deputy's condemnation of the horrific murder of Mary Holt and Tadhg Farrell. The savagery involved absolutely numbed people. We are increasing throughput in Templemore. The Commissioner is taking a position of allocating substantial numbers to given locations. The first tranche was given to Dublin in order to increase visibility in a meaningful way, which happened. Cork and Limerick have now benefited. Instead of putting dribs and drabs of two or three here and there, the bulk have been allocated to the centres. That will happen gradually. There will be three more attestations this year. We have healthy numbers coming through, so we will be in a position to get to Edenderry and Laois-Offaly more generally. The policy in this regard is having an impact where it is being rolled out.”
“I have made that point to the NTA. It has improved in many areas regarding its consultations with communities. As the services are being rolled out, some communities do not feel they are getting what was envisaged.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know he has been particularly strong on the DART+ South West project and the need to have it greenlighted. He has, more or less, been successful in achieving the latter. I will support the Deputy's dialogue with the NTA. I have made the point that, generally speaking, there has been a great deal of negotiation, dialogue and engagement with residential groups across the country, particularly in Dublin and Cork, in respect of BusConnects. This has created a lot of challenges. Given the fact that the NTA is a State agency, there needs to be a constant, robust mechanism for engagement with communities, because some of these proposals are not landing well. Different age cohorts have different responses to how BusConnects manifests itself in the context of, for example, safety and so on.”
“I will discuss this with the Minister for justice. If a garda or any other person is guilty of domestic abuse and violence, that takes away from acts of heroism or courage. There is no doubt. I do not know the specific case or the act of bravery that merited the award of the Scott medal, but it must have been a significant act of bravery and perhaps An Garda Síochána took the view articulated by the Commissioner. However, I think there needs to be a broader look at that. If a person engages in domestic violence or sexual abuse , it takes away from courageous acts the same person may have undertaken.”
“Please wait, and I will give the answer. We either want a genuine debate or Deputies just want to score points. They should make up their minds. Some 93 patients had been transferred at that stage, and 114 beds are now open in the Central Mental Hospital. In 2025, we funded the recruitment of 41 additional staff to open a further 18 beds, two of which opened in December. The other 16 will be opened next month.”
“The study of politics in UCC has always been a very positive and productive endeavour, as I know myself to good effect. The issue the Deputy raised is very serious. The Central Mental Hospital relocated to the new state-of-the-art purpose-built health facility at Portrane in November 2022. The new facility cost of €240 million, which was a demonstration of moving to a new era in respect of forensic psychiatry. It is now one of the better facilities of its kind in Europe.”
“What is interesting is that the debate moves along the continuum, depending on given situations. I take the Deputy's presentation in very good faith and I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of it. There were quite a number of cases like this seven or eight years ago. That reversed and the mood changed in Irish society and more generally. There have to be rules for migration. The key issue is that we accelerate the applications for asylum as quickly as we possibly can in order that people are not here for any undue length of time, and that we also accelerate the appeals dimension. However, there has to be a framework governing migration to give everybody-----”
“As I said earlier, I heard of the case yesterday. The Department of foreign affairs has been aware of the case since October and has been engaging with homeland security through the consulate general in Austin and the embassy in Washington. There are further meetings being held today. When I finish Taoiseach's Questions and so on, I will be updated in respect of the matter. I will proceed as I see best in helping Seamus Culleton. We are very concerned about the conditions he is being held in and in terms of his seeking permanent status in the US.”
“What we will endeavour to do is to enable people, as they register, to regularise their planning over a period of time, to give people time. By the way, I know the Deputy is concerned about Courtmacsherry and all of that. Brad Pitt is on his way to Timoleague, apparently. The Airbnbs will be full now for the next couple of days.”
“No, it does not. I want to make it clear that the short-term letting Bill will be brought to the House by the Minister, Deputy Burke. We had a meeting of the housing committee yesterday. We dealt with it. The issue in terms of variation is a matter of law as we stand, and that is anywhere, not just in the context of short-term lets. For any premises, permission has to be obtained for a variation of use to commercial. The Deputy knows that because he is a TD and he knows his way around the place in terms of these kinds of issues. Let us not pretend innocence. I would say the Deputy has helped a good few people down through the years to navigate all those kinds of things. Deputies on our side of the House are very anxious that we go to the 20,000 figure. We got the balance right and we have to bring forward the legislation.”
“A year or two ago, if, bar in the case of home sharing, someone wanted to change the status of a particular house to an Airbnb scenario, by law, as it currently stands, the person would need planning permission to do that.”
“In terms of the planning status I thought the Deputy would have been aware that any variation from residential to commercial and Airbnb - we sought the Attorney General's advice on this - requires planning. That is just the law as it is. We are examining the process of registering so that we would facilitate opportunities for those registering to regularise planning over a particular timeframe. That has to be tied down with a degree of precision. That will happen before the Bill comes to the Dáil. That is all fairly imminent. Those are the factual legal positions. I think we can achieve it. I would not be coming forward with the potential doomsday scenarios the Deputy came forward with. We need to keep calm here and facilitate regularisation, if people have not done that already.”
“It is above 20,000 and we are trying to get the balance right between tourism and housing. It is important to note, there will be an obligation to register. The Bill is the short-term letting and tourism legislation. We published that, as the Deputy knows. We got Cabinet approval. I think it has gone through pre-legislative scrutiny. It will introduce a national register of all short-term let properties to improve oversight and compliance. It also aligns domestic law with the European Union short-term rental regulation, which will be effective from 20 May 2026. There are various criteria. The Minister, Deputy Browne, will then develop a planning statement on short-term letting.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. It is an extremely important issue. The ultimate priority, of course, is housing. All of us in this House agreed a long time ago that housing is a priority. Short-term lets, particularly in cities and large towns, have replaced a lot of rental properties for housing. That is the ultimate priority. Cities and large towns provide the best opportunity for short-term letting properties to be returned to the long-term rental market. We had a meeting last evening of party leaders and the Ministers responsible, Deputy James Brown and Deputy Peter Burke, who is initiating the legislation. First, it will be for towns above 20,000. Many people thought it would be 10,000. I thought that Deputy Collins was getting up to welcome that development but anyway-----”
“The Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, and the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, are absolutely committed to expanding this. I am not clear about that 29-year reference but I repeat that in terms of mental health, the perinatal mental health service is now available in all 19 maternity hospitals, supporting pregnant women and women with a baby up to one year old. That is the current position. As we discussed this morning, both the Minister and the Minister of State are quite committed to prioritising this even further and also in terms of the mother and baby unit in St. Vincent's Hospital. Again, I see no difficulty in the Government working with the Opposition in this area and working with the campaign in terms of ensuring that we do the best and the optimal for the women and children of Ireland.”
“That has to also be acknowledged. Significant developments have taken place with postnatal depression and care after pregnancy. We acknowledge clearly the need to do more and are prepared to do more.”
“Without question we have more to do and we will continue to invest in this area as we have in maternity more generally. There will be a successor to the current national maternity strategy. The current one runs from 2016 to 2026. That is imminent and work is under way on that. The programme for Government commits to the mother-and-baby mental health unit, doubling the number of multidisciplinary teams for pregnant women, increasing the number of perinatal mental health midwife posts, and proactively providing mental health supports through maternity hospitals following trauma events connected to pregnancy and childbirth. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is strongly committed to this. There are a range of other programmes in the gynaecological and obstetric area where there have been very substantial investments and improvements.”
“In terms of the mental health dimension, the expansion of specialist perinatal mental health services has been prioritised and again funding has been provided for additional posts this year to meet the demand, particularly in the busiest of hospitals. The HSE is reviewing the model of care this year with a view to further expanding services as per the programme for Government. The perinatal mental health service is available in all 19 maternity hospitals nationwide, supporting pregnant women and women with a baby up to one year old with an existing or new mental health challenge. Work is under way to deliver Ireland's first mother-and-baby unit with a site currently being confirmed at St. Vincent's hospital. There have been a lot of service improvements.”
“Without question care for mothers particularly postnatal is absolutely important. Despite what the Deputy said, the Government has made a lot of progress in this area over quite a number of years, in particular the establishment of nine postnatal hubs, giving women access to postnatal care in community settings. Additional funding of €2 million in 2025 will initiate four further hubs which will bring the total network to €13 million. Some €28 million in new development funding has been invested in the national maternity strategy, transforming maternity services for mothers and babies. Over 550 additional full-time staff have been funded across maternity services, including 44 consultants, and 381 nurses and midwives.”
“The issue is status, it seems to me. That is the number one issue that I would like to see dealt with. I cannot promise anything in respect of securing that, but I would have thought it would be the objective for Seamus Culleton. He is married, he has been there for 20 years and he has a business. That is the ultimate objective that we want to achieve.”
“There are a number of cases. It could be five to six cases, but they vary in status. The Deputy is implying, wrongly, my approach to this. I would have thought that the prime objective is to secure status. People want to get out of the detention facility. The Deputy knows best.”
“We are concerned about the conditions that exist in the place where Seamus Culleton is being held, but we are also anxious for the matter to be resolved in the context of the status issue.”
“It is a very traumatic and difficult position for people to be in when it comes to their families and the many who have established homes there and so on. Families in the US are always watching over their shoulders and worried about a knock on the door or their being in a position where they would be deported. Deportations have been going on for quite a number of years. There is a particularly intensity in the current ICE campaign. Of that, there is no doubt. The Government's position is that we will do everything we can to help Seamus Culleton, but we have to do it in a way that can really help and be effective for him. We cannot promise anything, because we do not control American migration law or practice. However, we can engage. We have engaged and we will continue to engage.”
“We came very close a number of years ago with the E-3 visa. At that time, we lost out by one vote on having a number of thousand visas from the Australian visa allocation allocated to Ireland. One vote stymied what would have been a significant breakthrough on that occasion. It has been extraordinarily difficult to get consensus on the Hill in respect of migration for any one specific country because Hispanics and Latinos will all want similar deals. It is either a deal for all or none, and that has been the consistent position in the US for the past decade or so. That makes it particularly difficult in terms of endeavouring to the get the Irish who are undocumented in the United States regularised.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I first became aware it yesterday via the media. That is fine. The Department of foreign affairs became aware of the case in October and had been providing consular assistance to Seamus Culleton and his family via the teams at the consulate general in Austin, the embassy in Washington DC and our consular unit in Dublin. We have migration law in this country. We have laws. There is legal status in Ireland and there is undocumented status in Ireland. All countries, bar none, have migration laws. We have sought, over the years, to try and regularise the undocumented in America via legislation in Congress on the Hill. Long before President Trump entered the White House, this has been a challenge. Deputy Bacik and everybody else in the House knows that.”
“-----to meet those who are in difficulty, and that is the key. Once-off cost-of-living measures are not fiscally sustainable for the next number of years. The €3 billion and €4 billion we allocated for two years, we just cannot keep doing that. We have a strong economy. We have probably one of the best employment positions of any European Union state. We want to preserve that and we also want to support those who need support, and we will, in terms of energy affordability and security.”
“Actually, the energy credit would help the vast, vast majority of those who are not in arrears. The Deputy should think about it for a moment. She identified how many people are in arrears. The vast majority of people are not in arrears. People are under pressure; do not get me wrong. The energy credit applies to everybody; it is universal.”
“Microgeneration income tax exemption is well provided for. These are embedded measures which will have a medium to longer term impact. It is better to put money into measures that are there for the long haul, as opposed to the Deputy’s never-ending short-term knee-jerk reactions to every issue that arises.”
“Children aged 12 years and over get an extra €16, bringing it to about €78 per week for families in that situation while those with children aged under 12 get an extra €8, bringing it to €58 per week. These were substantial targeted measures for those on the lowest incomes. I would have thought the Deputy would have favoured that approach yet she wants millionaires and the very well-off to get the benefits from the budget allocation. The fuel allowance now covers 26% of households - up from 23%. This is a targeted and intelligent way of allocating resources to those who need them most. We have extended the reduced 9% VAT rate on gas and electricity until the end of 2030. That is a five-to-six-year measure. Home energy upgrades have been hugely invested in, with approximately €558 million allocated.”
“If we took the Deputy's budget proposals, they would add 2.5% to the cost of living at a time when she is complaining about the cost of living. She has form on this. Her last episode in terms of energy policy was a Liz Truss moment and I can recall that. Now she is saying we should keep energy credits. Employment is very strong. The best protection people have in terms of meeting inflation and cost-of-living pressures are high-quality and good-quality jobs, and making the fuel allowance available to those on lower incomes or those on the working family payment which is what we did in the budget. We increased social protection payments by about €10 per week and made a very big increase in child support payments.”
“That came down to 5% in 2023, 2.7% in December 2025 and 2.6% in January. That is the overall inflation rate. In terms of energy, I still disagree with the Deputy that we should retain universal energy credits. I find it difficult to comprehend that a party that comes from where it claims it comes from would argue that millionaires and people on very sizeable incomes should get energy credits and particularly when, in terms of the totality of the cost-of-living payments we had been making in the worst of times during and post-Covid and in the aftermath of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Deputy is saying we keep that €2 billion or €3 billion going on top of the expenditure we have already increased by about 8%.”
“Ní aontaím leis an Teachta in aon chor. Tá an-chuid déanta ag an Rialtas ó thaobh na gcostas maireachtála de. Bhí an-chuid laistigh den bhuiséad a bhí againn i mí Dheireadh Fómhair, go háirithe dóibh siúd ar ioncam íseal agus an-chuid cabhair tugtha againn tríd leas sóisialach chun daoine a chosaint agus cóir agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine. I do not accept the Deputy's overall presentation of the Government's response to what are significant pressures on the people in respect of the cost of living. Of course, that began a number of years ago, particularly coming out of Covid and the war in Ukraine in terms of energy prices. We have now moved from a situation where inflation was 10% to a point where it is significantly below that at 2.6%. After the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we were looking at 10%.”
“I am anxious to deal with these issues for the school communities involved. I do not have an issue with meeting with the school community if the Deputy wants to arrange that. Deputy McGuinness raised the issue of pobail Ghaeltachta agus an méid tithíochta atá á thógáil againn sna ceantair sin. Chuireamar articles éagsúla san Acht pleanála ionas go mbeimid in ann déileáil go speisialta leis na Gaeltachtaí ó thaobh cúrsaí tithíochta de. Tá an infheistíocht ann anois. Tá muidne sa Rialtas sásta gach aon rud is féidir linn a dhéanamh chun níos mó tithe a thógáil sna Gaeltachtaí. Má tá scéimeanna faoi leith i gceist ag an Teachta, ba chóir dó iad a chur in iúl dúinn. Bheinn sásta iad siúd a chur os comhair an Aire agus cinneadh dearfach a dhéanamh faoin gceist sin. Is ceist thábhachtach í.”
“I think I dealt with Deputy Quaide's point on flooding schemes. It is a cause of worry and anxiety. We need more interim measures. I will talk to the Minister of State, Kevin Moran, in respect of Mogeely, Killeagh, Whitegate, Rathcormac and the other villages Deputy Quaide mentioned. The interim measures are key. The wider scheme is complex given the nature of what is happening in that area and all of the issues the scheme needs to address. I will talk to the Minister of State in respect of that. Deputy Cleere asked about Gaelscoil Osraí and the vocational college in Kilkenny. I will meet with the community there. Deputy Cleere, Deputy John McGuinness and others have raised this matter before. I will be meeting with the Minister for education on this. I am familiar with the colleges. I have visited the community college and the Gaelscoil.”
“Perhaps that is not what the Deputy is suggesting but he is saying we should establish a State construction company. That would take a while. It could slow down the construction of social housing. It is not a panacea. I am not clear whether we are in the realm of direct labour any more. Would that work? It did not work in the past. We are now delivering about 12,000. Last year, about 8,500 were directly built by approved housing bodies and local authorities. We need to get up to 10,000. If we can get higher than that on a progressive basis, we will. I am not sure we need a State construction company, on top of what we already have, to deliver social housing. I will look at the Deputy's document but it seems to me that we now need to get on with the agencies we have and get the thing done.”
“Deputy Malcolm Byrne has also been raising the matter of transport between Dublin and Wicklow with me. There are issues here for CIÉ and the NTA. A lot of people travel that route. Commuter travel is one of the biggest issues facing the Deputy's constituents. We need to review our plans to make sure we can accommodate additional numbers on public transport. Deputy Rory Hearne raised the issue of the housing crisis. We have the LDA. We are committed to providing 72,000 social houses. We are building more social houses now than at any time since the 1970s. We are doing this through local authorities and approved housing bodies. Last year may end up having been a record year for social housing. I am not sure we should stop doing what we are doing.”
“The Minister has received about €100 million in additional money specifically to deal with the issues affecting families in emergency accommodation who require housing that the Deputy has referenced. The Minister is working on that. To respond to Deputy Cian O'Callaghan, yes, there is a delay. I am pursuing that with the Minister of State responsible for post offices, the Minister for Transport and the Minister for public expenditure. There is an issue that needs to be sorted fairly quickly. Both Ministers tell me there is not an issue but there clearly is. My understanding is that the increase is not an issue but there might be something else relating to the Labour Court. That should be progressed. Deputy Whitmore asked about public transport. I will raise what is happening there with the NTA.”
“I fully accept that families and people in specific situations may be very angry and annoyed at the absence of a prosecution. I fully understand the concerns of the Nkencho family in respect of what happened but, whatever way you look at this, I see having an independent Director of Public Prosecutions as a strength in our system. I see other systems. The Deputy talked about the United States. Prosecutorial services in the US are very embroiled in politics. In certain states, becoming an attorney general can depend on your politics. I am not too sure that is ideal either. Deputy Boyd Barrett spoke about emergency accommodation numbers. There are big issues involved. There is a wider issue there. Emergency accommodation is a complex issue.”
“The Deputy again raised the issue of the DPP. I am not clear what she is saying should be the case but an independent Director of Public Prosecutions is essential in a democracy. It is good practice. If the Dáil was to become involved in deciding who gets prosecuted and who does not, we would be on a very dangerous slippery slope.”
“I appreciate that the Deputy, being a cancer survivor, is in a good place to articulate and advocate on behalf of this issue. Covid did intervene in some of the screening programmes, and, yes, the catch-up is not there fully in respect of some of them. There is consideration on the way, even to expanding the age cohort that would benefit from various screening programmes. Overall, it is important to say that survival rates have improved significantly over the last two decades for various cancers in this country and that is a positive we have to acknowledge. Deputy Conway-Walsh asked about the pilot basic income for artists scheme. The Minister has proposals in that regard. I will ask him to come back to the Deputy. To respond to Deputy Coppinger, gardaí are accountable. We saw an example of that in the courts yesterday.”
“The Minister of State with special responsibility for special education, Deputy Michael Moynihan, and the Minister for education, Deputy Naughton, have alerted the Government to the significant increase in numbers who have applied, particularly those who would have been in mainstream classes but, because of the early date, principals and others are saying should be in special classes. This is increasing the demand and the need. We will come back to the Deputy on the date. I know the Minister and the Minister of State are working on it, and I will come back to him on it. Deputy Tóibín spoke about World Cancer Day. I accept that there are geographical variations. That is not a situation that is acceptable. Overall, cancer survival rates have improved enormously.”
“I think the number is well over 11, and perhaps up to 15. I will check the latter figure for the Deputy. There has been a huge number of increases in special classes. In fact, the big phenomenon in education at the moment is the phenomenal growth in the number of children needing special education provision. The October deadline brought on a huge increase in numbers compared to last year. This is notwithstanding those who missed the deadline. This is a very significant issue that we need to analyse and evaluate in terms of the nature of supports and whether we are providing the optimal supports. A significant number of people have come forward since the early deadline was put in place.”
“I have seen some of the works in Midleton, either embankments or gates. We can be doing more and we should work with the local authorities. The OPW wants to work with the local authorities on interim measures while the schemes themselves are being developed. I think that is the direction of travel we intend to work on. Deputy Mark Ward raised the regulation of e-scooters. The Minister got sanction from the Cabinet today for preliminary regulations covering the wearing of helmets and hi-vis vests for the users of e-scooters, e-bikes and so forth. That is important. We also understand that there will be a need for more regulation in respect of how e-scooters are being applied on our streets. Deputy O'Rourke raised special schools and classes. There has been a lot of increases in special schools since 2020.”
“Again, I will talk to the Department of education in respect of that matter. I will talk to the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, about the CFRAM issue in Dundalk. Others have raised flood relief as well, including Deputy Quaide. Flood relief programmes are complex. They take time. That is just the reality. In the interim, we should be providing interim works that can be of assistance.”
“We have put in a massive wastewater treatment plant there. It is a very modern one. If we need to lift any limits that are on Arklow in terms of house construction and so forth, we will continue to follow up on that in the context of the housing activation fund. Deputy Ó Murchú raised a number of classroom issues in County Louth. I think he said that a school hall is being used.”
“I spoke yesterday to the Minister responsible - the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien - on the impact of the floods on the roads, the need to review how we allocate funding to non-national roads and the need to get a serious allocation there. The inclement, wetter weather of recent years is playing havoc with non-national roads across the country. Deputy Malcolm Byrne raised the housing activation fund. Some €1 billion has been allocated. I hope some of that could be allocated to the northern inner relief road in Gorey - I will follow that up - and to the second bridge for Arklow. As the Deputy knows, when we were in Aughrim yesterday we discussed with a number of people, including the county manager and some of the engineers, how Arklow is now primed for housing development.”
“Deputy Séamus McGrath raised the issue of a one-stop shop for bringing people back into the country and trying to clear up a lot of issues from driving licences to a whole range of other issues. I will progress that with the relevant Ministers. I commend him on his precise scrutiny of the programme for Government and every single aspect of it to keep us on our toes. I will follow up on that one. On Deputy Brendan Smith's contribution, there is a big issue with regional and non-national roads. The flooding of recent times has done a lot of damage in specific locations, but the rainfall generally has had an effect.”