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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“More fundamentally, we acknowledge that there are very significant pressures on people in terms of costs and pricing and making ends meet. The most effective way to deal with that is how you manage the economy more broadly and how you get inflation down to very low levels and have average wage growth and real income growth that significantly helps people to deal with those pressures. If you look at nominal wage growth in the economy, it is at approximately 5.5% or 5%. Inflation is at 2%. In 2024, 2025 and 2026, we are, for the first time in a while, looking at real income growth, which will help workers. It does not deal with it in its entirety but it will help workers deal with the pressures of increased costs.”
“Measures already introduced in the budget facilitate that. Broadening the income disregards for carer's allowance was one of the most significant measures this year in the budget compared to previous budgets. That will continue. We are going to do it in a sustained and consistent way that will be permanently embedded in the public expenditure system in this country.”
“We are not restoring once-off payments across the board. We are not going to do that but we are going to continue to support, right through every area of government, supports for people with disabilities. We are going to implement the new strategy, which was agreed with advocates and organisations that advocate for people with disabilities, in consultation with the various organisations, in particular, in the fields of employment. In the field of mobility and transport, the Minister for Transport will be coming to the Government shortly with a new scheme in respect of financial supports and adaptations that is much broader than earlier schemes have been. We are working in every Department to improve the situation for people with disabilities, particularly in the areas of education, employment and health.”
“Older people felt the largest impact and then for people with disabilities, it fell by 3.8%. The measures we took in the budget had impact and they are permanent measures. That relates to social protection. There was the €20 increase in domiciliary care allowance and, as the Deputy knows, the earnings disregard for the carer's allowance for a single person and for a couple expanded.”
“We have significantly prioritised education, particularly investment in special education and special classes right across the board, higher education and independent living, particularly in terms of participation in third level education and research for students with disabilities. On the cost of disability support payment, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, is leading this work in close partnership with disabled people, advocates and the organisations involved and will come to the Government with proposals in the first half of this year. Analysis by the ESRI and the Department of Finance confirms the impacts of the decisions we took in the budget in terms of the at risk of poverty rate across the population falling by 1.7% and the population affected by disability reducing by 3.8%.”
“I accept the one-off measures had an impact right across society but it simply was not fiscally sustainable to continue with one-off measures, bottom line. However, what is sustainable is, in terms of our various budgets through social protection, education and health, creating additional and permanent resources for people with disabilities. That is what we have been doing and will continue to do. As regards the cost of disability issue, first of all, in the budget we delivered a record 20% increase in disability services funding through the Department for children and disability, increasing that to about €3.8 billion. That is to invest in services, which is needed by any yardstick. We have to continue that and consistently increase it over time.”
“First of all, the Deputy has made an assertion and equated the ending of the one-off cost-of-living measures that were introduced during the height of the Ukraine energy crisis and so forth with cuts. That is wrong and he knows that. That is the first assertion, premised upon which his arguments are made, that is flawed. We must embed into the permanent social protection system, employment system, transport system, education system and health system supports that are permanent for people with a disability. That is what I intend to do and that is what this Government intends to do, through the Cabinet subcommittee on disability and through the new disability unit within my Department. We are prioritising the budgetary measures towards disability and will continue to do so. The ESRI's analysis in terms of the last budget bares that out.”
“We are progressing the development of four elective hospitals, which I think will be very important in the context of waiting times, and the surgical hubs that the Minister has committed to. As the Deputy will know, the first surgical hub at Mount Carmel has opened and that has already had a very significant impact on waiting times in that area.”
“Yes, we can. Indeed, over the last number of years, we have dramatically increased capacity. Deputy Bacik mentioned the beds but she forgot to mention that, by the end of 2024 alone, we had 1,300 additional beds in the system. As the Deputy will know, during the Covid period, we took the opportunity to dramatically increase bed capacity in our hospital system, particularly in the critical care area, where there was significant increase in the number of beds. We expanded our ICU capacity by about 28%, which is significant. Obviously, health is a comprehensive area, so primary care is critical. We now have 180 primary care centres - that is 51 extra since 2020 - and we will continue to work on that.”
“I do not say that to minimise any trauma any individual goes through but we need a balanced debate in perspective and to acknowledge the progress that has been made while resolving to do even better in respect of other issues.”
“The Deputy had a cut at the stroke services and every individual case is terrible and traumatic when it happens, but surely she must acknowledge the progress that has been made on stroke and interventions over the last number of years with the new stroke centres and so on. It has been quite dramatic and transformative in the treatment of stroke in the country. The mortality rate for all cancers dropped by 15% in that period, with cancers of the trachea, bronchus and lung and breast cancer dropping by 21% and 22%, respectively. The mortality rate for all respiratory system diseases has fallen by 15%, with chronic lower respiratory diseases and pneumonia falling by 9% and 41%, respectively.”
“It is wrong to say that because when you look at our overall outcomes as a country, there is huge funding that has gone into health and I am sure the Deputy will acknowledge that. She has said it is not an issue of resources and significant funding has gone in, but in terms of key health outcomes over the past decade, there have been significant achievements. Ireland is now among a small group of only seven European Union countries where life expectancy is above 82 years. Our mortality rate fell by 11% over the decade 2014 to 2023. The mortality rate for all circulatory system diseases fell by 20% in that period, with heart disease and stroke falling by 28% and 37%, respectively.”
“That is against the backdrop of a 9% increase in outpatients and a 5% increase in inpatient and day case attendances. There is a lot more to achieve and we have a lot more to do here. I acknowledge that. We want to get to the ten-to-12-week waiting time under Sláintecare objectives, and funding has been allocated, but I do think we need to see things in perspective. The Deputy describes it as "shambolic". It not shambolic.”
“Ar dtús báire ní aontaím leis an Teachta go hiomlán mar ar an taobh eile den scéal tá dul chun cinn le feiscint i gcuid mhaith nithe sa córas sláinte agus caithfear é sin a adhmháil mar aon le gach scéal eile. The key issue with waiting lists is waiting times and that always has to be the target. The shorter the time someone has to wait for an operation or other intervention, the better the outcome, and that is always the priority in respect of capacity and waiting times. Over the last while, we have had the biggest expansion of access to free GP care in the history of the State, so it is not a shambolic health service. We have had a 12% reduction in patients on waiting lists exceeding 12 months and a reduction in average times from 7.2 months to 6.5 months at the end of 2024. That is the average waiting time.”
“-----with the permission of the person, obviously. Confidentiality will apply, without question. There has been a lot of investment in cancer services, and quite rightly so. Symptomatic breast disease was one of the first areas that we identified a long time ago as requiring a specific allocation of resources and investment from cancer screening right through, and, from a national point of view, it has had very improved results in terms of outcomes, which is what we all want for cancer. It is important that, overall, survival rates have improved very significantly. That needs to be said as well-----”
“As I said earlier, I would appreciate if the Deputy could give us the specifics of the individual case she has identified because then we could track that with the hospital. It is important to do that because Galway hospital said late last year that it would meet the NCCP targets by the end of December.”
“We need to work out the specific issue here because University Hospital Galway, I have been informed, has indicated it would be on target by the end of last December-----”
“Certainly, if the Deputy sends me on the details of the case, I will pursue that with the hospital and the NCCP because the NCCP is working with various hospitals in terms of restoring the service within the agreed timeframes. When there is a particular performance issue, the HSE works with the hospital on site-specific measures. That could mean funding additional clinics or additional medical cover, where necessary. In terms of the variation across the country, the NCCP has introduced a range of guidelines aimed at ensuring standardised access to cancer services across the country leading to more appropriate referrals within cancer services. It is examining the national symptomatic breast disease pathway, including triage, review of key performance metrics and updating the national clinical guidelines.”
“The HSE national cancer control programme, NCCP, has set a target of 95% of urgent referrals being seen within ten working days and 95% of non-urgent referrals to be seen within 12 weeks. To date, 62% of urgent referrals have met the timeframe of ten working days. That needs to improve. Of that, there is no doubt. In October, three cancer centres - St. James's Hospital, University Hospital Waterford and University Hospital Limerick - exceeded the 95% target for urgent referrals. An additional three centres - St. Vincent's, University Hospital Galway and the Mater - reported that they expected to meet the target by the end of the year. Galway, which I think is the hospital involved in this case, has said to the NCCP that it expects to meet the target by the end of 2025.”
“Breast cancer survivors are now the largest cancer survivor group in Ireland, making up 22% of all cancer survivors. Almost 50,000 women have had a breast cancer diagnosis. That does not mitigate or take from the trauma that the individual person the Deputy referred to this morning has experienced. As the Deputy knows, there have been a variety of new treatments, new drugs and so on for cancer. We have invested significantly in all of that. In the last three to four years, close to €650 million has been invested in new drug therapies for cancer alone and the radiation-oncology centres have been established and so forth. On the waiting times, symptomatic breast disease clinics operate in approximately nine hospitals around the country - the eight cancer centres and a satellite clinic in Letterkenny.”
“First of all, I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which is an extremely important one. Obviously I am not familiar with the background of the specific case she has referenced just now. If she wishes to send me the details of the case, with the permission of the person concerned, I perhaps will be in a position to interrogate the issue more with the NCCP, which is the national cancer control programme, and indeed with the HSE and the hospital. We have invested very significantly in cancer care. Cancer is a very traumatic diagnosis for any individual or family and, obviously, given the levels of investment in our services, we want the best possible outcomes. Thankfully, over the last number of decades, we have improved outcomes of cancer diagnoses significantly, particularly in terms of breast cancer.”
“My understanding is the FOI was in respect of the then Department of Foreign Affairs. My understanding now from preparing this note is this. The finance officials sent this information to me when I requested it. The Minister for Finance agreed to €141.4 million, classified as "the low option". The proposal was then approved by Cabinet and the business case is to be released in full under FOI. IDA negotiations are conducted by officials, not ministers, across all donor countries. Ireland's negotiations were handled by Department of Finance officials. A senior official acts as Ireland's IDA deputy on behalf of the Minister for Finance. Ministers do not participate directly, as per World Bank procedures. The final contribution decision is made by the Minister for Finance on official advice and is approved by Cabinet.”
“The options examined - this is from the Department of Finance information - included going from no contribution to maintaining the IDA20 level, that is, €105 million. The low option was €141.4 million. The high option was €158.9 million.”
“Ireland could not pledge at the December 2024 meeting due to the general election on 29 November and the convention that outgoing Ministers do not make binding financial commitments for a subsequent government. The Irish delegation noted that a new Government decision and business case would be required. The World Bank kept the pledging window open until mid-February 2025 and the final IDA21 package was approved by the World Bank board thereafter. A formal business case was prepared in line with public expenditure guidelines. That was the Department of Finance business case. The assessment was on alignment with Ireland's multilateral development policy, bank governance approach, financial implications, comparison with prior Irish contributions and commitments by peer European Union and OECD countries.”
“There is an important point to make because comments have been made about the former Minister, Paschal Donohoe and the International Development Association. First, the IDA provides highly concessional finance, grants and zero or low-interest loans to the world's poorest countries and supports 75 of the poorest countries globally, including 39 in Africa. It is the largest single donor for basic social services in these countries. The IDA 21 negotiations concluded in Korea in December 2024 and covered IDA operations for July 2025 to June 2028. The World Bank developed multiple funding scenarios, low, medium, high and very high. Indicative contribution arrangements were provided to each donor, including Ireland. Scenarios are non-binding. Countries may choose higher, lower or no contribution.”
“You have to have an independent criminal justice system. That is all I am saying. However, again, the Deputy has given us a taste of what we could expect if he came to power: he would be arresting people left, right and centre for different things.”
“On Deputy Boyd Barrett’s point, he cannot become the police person. He cannot become the prosecutor. He is a public representative. It is great stuff - going in and arresting people in headquarters in Dublin who may not be responsible for it at all.”
“Deputy Conway-Walsh raised ambulances. There is a national framework on the organisation and administration of ambulances. There are various criteria and metrics around outcomes and so on. I will refer her question to the National Ambulance Service. On Deputy O’Sullivan’s question, I would not make a general rule at this stage about the utilisation of social media in general. Many of these issues will apply to a number of different social media platforms. What is more important is that we focus on any criminality that has occurred. Existing laws should be enforced by the gardaí, Coimisiún na Meán and the European Commission. I have asked the Attorney General to get back to us in respect of whether there is a need to strengthen the laws in respect of AI and AI apps then. That is the critical issue at this stage. Everything is under review.”
“There is not an obligation on the Government to fund excessive costs in relation to judicial reviews which hold back vital infrastructure that is to the benefit of the entire public.”
“Deputy O’Meara raised school secretaries and caretakers. The issue is now in the Labour Court. We do want it resolved. There are a lot of issues there. Ultimately, we want to sustain a resolution into the future for both secretaries and caretakers. I hope this can be resolved very quickly with a decision by the Labour Court, which we would support. Deputy O’Rourke raised access to judicial review. Again, you need to make up your mind which side you are on. Sometimes he is objecting to delay in infrastructure and so on but some of the costs have been far too excessive. We have to look at the collective interest and what is in the public interest more generally in relation to infrastructure. Judicial review is being over-used. Planning issues should be resolved through the planning process.”
“I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach. Deputy Dolan raised the issue of young couples being refused planning permission as a result of objections from TII. I do not think TII should be objecting to planning applications on housing. We have discussed this at Government level. There is over-reach by TII in respect of many of these issues. I understand some of the road safety issues if it is onto a motorway or if there is an issue with protecting a motorway but in terms of generically getting involved in planning applications where the exit is the same, that should be left to the local authority and we will be communicating that to TII. I do not think it is acceptable.”
“This legislation is an important step in ensuring that Ireland is fully prepared to lead on migration and asylum matters during the forthcoming EU Presidency, while maintaining a fair and efficient system for those seeking protection. Since we took office, 21 Bills have been enacted, and there are a further 18 Bills at various stages currently in the Oireachtas.”
“New tenancy protections and rent regulation will take effect from March, while legislation will provide statutory supports for the remediation of defects in apartments and duplexes. Public health remains central, with legislation to regulate nicotine-inhaling products. The programme will also see work continuing to address parentage and citizenship issues arising from assisted human reproduction. Measures in the transport legislative programme include road safety measures, updates to railway safety standards, tackling planning constraints at Dublin Airport and empowering the National Transport Authority to deliver public transport infrastructure in regional cities. The spring programme also includes the international protection Bill, which will implement the EU migration and asylum pact in Irish law.”
“The Government has approved the spring legislation programme, which includes 30 Bills scheduled for publication and 33 for priority drafting, alongside a further pipeline of 79 Bills in preparation across Government Departments. The programme reflects the Government's determination to deliver on commitments that matter most to people - strengthening critical infrastructure, accelerating housing delivery, improving healthcare and modernising transport. It is an ambitious agenda for a short ten-week session in the Oireachtas. The programme prioritises measures to fast-track essential projects and strengthen energy security, including legislation to underpin a State-led strategic gas reserve and establish the National Cyber Security Centre on a statutory basis.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 16 to 30, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on Government co-ordination generally meets in advance of Government meetings and is expected to meet on Monday, 19 January. I am a member of the committee, with the Tánaiste and the Minister of State at the Department of Transport with special responsibility for international and road transport, logistics, rail and ports. The Secretary General to the Government and the relevant chiefs of staff also sit in on the meetings. The committee reviews the activities of Cabinet committees and the agenda of Government meetings, and discusses political priorities and implementation of the programme for Government.”
“I am sorry. I made it very clear on this issue. I spoke about the safeguards that were negotiated. We did negotiate additional safeguards. There was additionality in terms of the Common Agricultural Policy and the bringing forward of funding. That is an improvement. That has to be acknowledged, no question. I said there would be a meeting that evening between the three leaders, and there was.”
“Whether we agree with that here or not, it is the reality on the ground across the European Continent. There is a real debate within Europe about increasing military and defence capabilities. From an Irish perspective, that means that, yes, we have to increase our spending on defence and our military capability. We are focused on undersea critical infrastructure in terms of cybersecurity and developing technologies that can protect that. In other words, the economic security dimension is very important to Ireland. We have to increase our spending in that area to protect our economic security, and do it in solidarity with others. I make no apologies for saying that. If we are honest, that is the real driver of the defence and security concerns within Europe. In response to Deputy Tóibín, I dealt with Mercosur in my earlier remarks.”
“The Deputy raised defence and security. The fundamental change to the defence and security posture across Europe relates to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia’s utilisation of modern technologies, the appalling loss of life on both sides in the war at the front line and the trenches, and the indiscriminate bombing of energy infrastructure. Europe feels very vulnerable to Russian attack and Russian rearmament. That is the more fundamental issue, not the US or anybody else. The fundamental issue facing European security right now is Russia. The Baltics feel it is an existential threat. The defence budgets of all of those countries have gone way up, and there are huge strains on their budgets as a result. Europe is very vulnerable to that, and it feels it.”
“It is having a devastating impact. On Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh’s remarks, I have referred to Sinn Féin's position on Venezuela, which was not great in recent years-----”
“That is the fundamental issue. We should consider the income we lose now because of our not being able to fish because of the conservation efforts that arise because of the research. What we have to do now – I have met the fishing industry in this regard – is devise supports for the industry that can sustain it over the coming years while fish stocks are replenished. We also have to work harder and robustly with the EU on what it is doing in respect of neighbouring countries that are raiding the fishing stocks in the North Atlantic and in Europe more generally. That is a big issue. There is no question but that the waters are being overfished, the result being a 70% reduction in the amount available to fish. That is catastrophic. It is not because of negotiations or anything like them. Whatever the research shows has always been accepted.”
“I have said that before. On Deputy McGuinness's remarks, the fundamental problem, which he failed to articulate, is what was found in the research in respect of overfishing, not by Irish fishers but by Norwegian and non-EU actors who have agreements with the EU. This overfishing is the fundamental reason Irish fishing is in deep crisis. There has been a 70% reduction in pelagic stock available for fishing because of conservation.”
“On Deputy Heneghan's comments, I will discuss again with the Minister for foreign affairs the legal opinion that was in before Christmas on the occupied territories Bill. My comments on services are well known. There are issues with services, to be quite frank. I have said that to the Deputy before and we need to realise it. The implementation will be challenging overall but I will talk to the Minister for foreign affairs about where the Bill is at now. On services, there are implications in terms of legislation in the US and so on. The Bill is completely non-implementable on the services side, to be honest. I do not see how it can be implemented. Parking that for the moment, there would also be an impact for Irish multinationals or multinationals based in Ireland. We need to be clear-eyed about that and people need to realise it.”
“We need more supply. That is the fundamental issue for us. Deputy Coppinger referred to George Orwell's 1984 . It is a great book by an outstanding author. Greenland has not been attacked and nobody has violated it. There have been threats, talk and this, that and the other. We believe in dialogue and sensible engagement. Above all, we believe in Denmark's sovereignty in respect of Greenland and in the people of Greenland having the ultimate decision on Greenland’s own self-determination and destiny. We have spoken with Denmark in that respect and I have also spoken with the leadership in Greenland. We will continue to support Greenland. We do not believe in any shape or form that there should be any violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
“It is late in the day that Europe has come to the housing question because housing is a core competency of member states and always has been. The last EU Council meeting, or the one before that, in October, was the first at which the Heads of State ever discussed housing. I welcome that discussion. On the area of state aid, the removal of barriers to member states supporting housing would be a simple and progressive move that could facilitate their doing more. The housing crisis is a Europe-wide phenomenon. I spoke to and met the head of the European Investment Bank, who has prioritised housing for the first time ever in the work of the bank, simply because, after touring all the European capitals, housing was the number one issue that came across from all EU governments. The more the EU can support member states on housing, the better.”
“Deputy Paul Murphy referred to various meetings. I am not aware of the US ambassador's attendance at the meeting in question. I have no truck with those who attended the meeting. Again, we have to have faith in our own democracy and assert our own principles here in this House. We should do this and do so collectively, but, again, it is a challenging area. The increasing fragmentation of Irish politics is a problem and it is opening the door for exploitation and manipulation. This is something everyone in the House should be mindful of. There will be those who will seek to exploit it and we have to resist that. All of us have to resist that type of influence, be it external or internal. On Deputy Hearne's remarks, we will be hosting a summit on housing during our Presidency.”
“Look at the damage that Iran has caused across the region, including, more fundamentally, to its own people’s quality of life and so on. There are legitimate issues but they are for another day because it is very difficult to discuss them when people are more interested in heated exchanges than what may be a more reflective discussion on all of this. The world is in great difficulty, principally because the authority of the UN has eroded over the years through the absence of reform and the dominance of major powers on the Security Council. The Security Council needs to have its representation broadened and its authority needs to be restored. That is the more fundamental problem with what is going on in the world today.”
“Hopefully, the agreement we hope to conclude and bring to the Government shortly will deal with a lot of this in terms of our domestic capacities. That covers most of the areas we will be covering during the Presidency. There will be others. Deputy Boyd Barrett referred to President Trump and Iran. Again, Iran has been a very malign actor. I take the Deputy's point that he has no truck with the Iranian regime because it has persecuted its civilians for a long time. Long before Mr. Trump became the US President, people from different political backgrounds always argued about interventions.”
“About 25% of the ministerial meetings will be outside Dublin, and clarity will be provided on the specific meetings that will be held across the country in respect of the Presidency. I note the Deputy's ongoing consistent interest in and advocacy in terms of rare diseases and orphan drugs. I hope the Minister will be able to bring to the Government shortly an agreement after the negotiations with the Irish Pharmaceutical Healthcare Association in respect of our domestic allocation of funding for medicines this year. I took an interest in that also given the Deputy's advocacy on the issue. It is a very important issue for many groupings and people with rare conditions who need more urgent responses. It is challenging and an area of increasing focus. The cost implications are enormous.”
“On competitiveness, the expansion of the Single Market, savings and investment union and enlargement, I would like to see progressive steps on enlargement whereby we would at least be in a position to close out the negotiations on Montenegro, for example. That is a real prospect and we have given a commitment to trying to advance this during our Presidency. The Council took a decision in December that it wanted to conclude the multi-annual financial framework by the end of this year. That means the Irish Presidency will have to conclude it. Impossible demands in terms of the availability of funding and so on will have to be resolved. Values, as have been discussed here, will be a key objective. There will be quite a number of informal Ministerial Council meetings in Ireland and other conferences.”
“Everyone is trying to gain ground. I am very focused and clear-eyed in terms of protecting Irish farmers across all the suite of issues we have to deal with over the next 12 months. The most important one will be income to farmers because income matters in terms of the multi-annual financial framework and how much we can ring-fence for the Common Agricultural Policy for the next seven years after 2027. That is vital for Irish farmers. It is something we will continue to work on. Obviously, the European Parliament will make its decision in respect of that. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan raised the issue of the Presidency on two fronts, including the area of key policy.”