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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“As the Deputy knows, we have public service pay agreements, where we work with the social partners in agreeing on a regular basis. We have had effective agreements with the public service unions in respect of workers in the public service. We will continue to do that. Because of what have been very good outcomes in terms of the fiscal situation and surpluses that we have managed to sustain, that will enable us in future budgets in terms of personal taxation and so on. We decided in the last budget to invest in services. I would have thought that is something the Deputy's party would want us to do. There would have been a time when the Deputy would have argued for that but she keeps flip-flopping all over the place in terms of her policies.”
“That does not reveal the type of scenario the Deputy created. We acknowledge there are cost-of-living challenges to people - there clearly are - but we have worked hard, through a range of supports and free schemes that I could list, from free books to hot school meals, that we have introduced to cushion people against the undoubted pressures of cost-of-living increases. In relation to semi-State CEOs, the Deputy knows full well that an independent body got together. There had been few increases in recent times. It was becoming difficult to recruit people to key positions within the semi-State sector, which is important for the economy also. That underpins the figures the Deputy outlined.”
“Equally, in respect of disability, we have made substantial progress both in terms of a record number of additional special classes for 2026 and earlier notification so children can get appropriate offers at the appropriate time and so forth. There has been a 20% increase in disability services expenditure and that is where we have put the focus. There has been a huge allocation for capital infrastructure in the budget and over the past number of years to deliver the water, energy and critical infrastructure needed to sustain the employment I spoke about earlier and to sustain our economy. Real wage growth this year will be about 3%. Wages will increase by about 5.5% and with 2% plus of inflation that means real income growth. The growth in consumption expenditure will be more than 3%.”
“When Ireland is compared with other EU member states in respect of the creation of employment and a robust economy, I think you will not find an equal. Under the IMF, in terms of the world economic outlook, the Irish economy is the fastest growing among the world's most advanced economies. That is why, in the budget, we focused on services and a substantial increase in allocations to education, disability and health. Those increases will make a difference and are making a difference in respect of those key areas. Looking at the analysis by the ESRI and others in respect of the investment in children, you will see that those on the lowest decile of income gained the most from the budget. That was our priority in the budget, particularly in regard to children and child poverty and the analysis bears that out.”
“Our overarching priority has been to sustain a very strong and robust enterprise economy, and particularly employment, because the most effective thing we can do is to create opportunities for people to gain meaningful employment in this country. By any yardstick, we have achieved that as a Government over the past number of years. We have the largest ever number of people working in this country, with over 2.8 million people working. We equally have had substantial growth in the numbers working in our country over the past number of years. That is key in terms of living standards and enabling people to cope. There are 2.825 million workers and that is a record for the Irish labour market. There is an increase of over 550,000 people between 2020 and 2025. That is a staggering achievement.”
“Having no clock is a gift to all Members of the House. Could I say at the outset, ar dtús báire, ní aontaím in aon chor leis an méid atá ráite ag an Teachta. Níl aon amhras, sa bhuiséad a bhí againn le déanaí, go raibh muid ag súil go háirithe leis na daoine is boichte sa tír. Is iad príomhaidhmeanna an Rialtais ná níos mó tithe a chruthú, fostaíocht a choinneáil agus an méid fostaíochta sa tír seo a ardú. Tá sé sin á dhéanamh againn agus tá sé sin soiléir ó na figiúirí is déanaí atá tar éis teacht ar an bhfód. Is mian linn cabhair agus tacaíocht a thabhairt do dhaoine atá ag brath ar leas sóisialta, go háirithe leanaí, agus bhí sé sin le feiscint. I do not agree with the Deputy's assessment of the Government's priorities.”
“The change would be 99,000 tonnes of that 200,000 tonnes at a lower tariff entry rate. Meanwhile, Irish exports continue to increase across the board. In beef and dairy in particular, we are at record high levels. We are penetrating new markets as well and we will continue to work on that.”
“I agree with the Deputy about the quality of Irish beef and the quality of the Irish food production system. It is one of the highest in the world and certainly very high in the European league table. I understand fully and that is why we have concerns with certain issues in terms of the Mercosur countries and their food production systems, although there have been dramatic changes since Lula da Silva returned to power after Bolsonaro, with deforestation being halved. We have agreed to work with like-minded countries. Additional safeguards have been put in place compared to where it was a year ago, and no vote has been taken. It is very uncertain whether any will be taken this year. As we speak, about 200,000 tonnes are imported into Europe under existing arrangements.”
“Generally speaking, in terms of archaeological sites and national parks, we have put a lot of investment into Meath in recent years, and we will continue to do so. I note that the Deputy has been engaging with various Ministers and the OPW. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, will engage and will get things done. I am confident that we can deal with the issues the Deputy has outlined. With projects of this kind there are challenges but we hear what he is saying and we will come back to him. I have confidence in the Minister of State's capacity to get things done.”
“The Minister for Health has explained this. No formal decision was taken by Government or by the Minister in respect of blister packs. The Minister has made the point that there have been different practices in different pharmacies across the country. Some did not charge at all. It is my understanding that some charged very minor rates such as €5 or €10. However, others charged using another scheme, which, according to the HSE, was not allowable and should not have been used. The Minister is engaging with the various representative bodies to see what workable solution can be devised. It is not quite as it has been presented and the Minister has clarified that. We are conscious of the need and that some cohorts of patients are in greater need than others.”
“I will make two comments. We met with Tusla officials recently at a Cabinet subcommittee. Tusla is dealing with an enormous number of cases at the moment and that continues to grow for a variety of factors. It is not fair to say that nothing is being done. Services are increasing but not at the level to match the increasing need and demand. What is worrying is the complexity of need in children who Tusla engage with. I do not have specifics of the case, so I will talk to Tusla in respect of it. Regarding the meeting with Down Syndrome Kilkenny, I think it was last week that the Deputy asked for that. In fairness, it has been-----”
“I am familiar with the issue and have met with a number of the workers involved on the last occasion. The Labour Court made recommendations, and we extended it until Christmas. At some stage, some resolution of this has to happen on a sustainable basis. I will talk to the Minister for Health and other Ministers to see what is possible.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising a critical and acute issue. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, visited Portrane yesterday, so he is well aware of this. We will take any measures we can to help and I will talk to the Minister in respect of this. The Minister for Transport, Deputy OBrien, is also very concerned about this and is in consultations with the Minister of State. Coastal erosion is a growing issue and I accept that adaptation needs greater focus. We asked prior to the NDP being developed that more generally adaptation in the country require very prompt and necessary comprehensive treatment into the future, and that includes coastal erosion.”
“The spread of TB is a very serious issue. As the Deputy knows, the Minister recently announced a major initiative in respect of the bovine TB action plan addressing bovine TB in Ireland. There were five measures in that plan, underpinned by 30 actions on the specific issue of compensation and the rate increase. This has continued to increase every year. The cost of the TB programme in 2024 totalled €101 million, which was 34% up on 2023, and 2025 will be higher again. That is because of increased disease levels but it is an additional cost on the programme. I will talk to the Minister in respect of the specific issue of the ceiling cap for compensation but the bulk of resources have gone towards managing the disease and trying to resource the management of the disease.”
“I acknowledge that there are challenges and pressures on people but we have focused and targeted our resources on the low-income groups, as opposed to having universal energy credits this time, which would have spread money to those on higher incomes. We wanted to focus on the elderly and those on low incomes.”
“The surplus is because of corporation tax and other taxes, not because of any cutback here. We have actually increased the fuel allowance and the number of people entitled to receive the fuel allowance. It is now supporting about 417,000 households and will cost about €400 million, which is money well spent. In addition, the household benefits package for a lot of elderly people comprises, as the Deputy will know, the likes of the gas or electricity allowance, the free TV licence and so on. The retrofit programme has also been particularly impactful in terms of the number of households that have benefited from that. It is increasing significantly every year, which reduces energy costs.”
“Without question, we are numbed and shocked at the loss of life on our roads in recent weeks. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends of those who have tragically passed, as well as with our first responders who do extraordinary work in very difficult and sad circumstances. As I said earlier, the policing response is increasing, particularly with the throughput of gardaí in Templemore, which is at its highest for quite some time. As gardaí come through, there will be more added to that policing unit. However, the broader Garda force has also been tasked with road policing duties. It is a critical issue and the Garda Commissioner and gardaí have a specific programme from 1 December to 5 January, in respect of the Christmas period, on road safety and road policing.”
“Aontaím leis an Teachta. I agree with the Deputy. I am a former Minister for Education. There are always specific needs in rural Ireland for education, be it primary or second level schools. I am familiar with that college. I will talk to the Minister about it, particularly the additional classrooms. This gives choice. It helps in terms of commuting. Very often, even though there are sometimes limitations with a curriculum, if there is an ETB you can give resources through a variety of mechanisms, and the smaller schools can be a wonderful, successful and effective education and learning environment. I will pursue that with the Minister on the Deputy's behalf.”
“I agree that this permanent school building for Cork Educate Together Secondary School is urgently required. It will be a new 600-pupil post-primary school building and accommodation, including classrooms for children with special educational needs at a greenfield site in Douglas in Cork. The project has planning permission, as the Deputy has said. The Department officials and external project management consultants are currently reviewing the works and site-specific requirements to ensure the tender documents are up to date. Once that is complete, it will then go to tender stage. I will speak to the Minister to make sure we can accelerate that.”
“I assure the Deputy that I have had consultations with the Minister for Transport, Darragh O'Brien, and the Minister of State, Sean Canney, and Santa has complete clearance in Irish airspace on that critical timeline the Deputy has outlined. Liam and Hannah can rest assured that he will arrive on time and with an abundance of toys and so forth for the children of the nation.”
“There has been a national recruitment campaign in respect of CDNTs. The vacancies have reduced significantly but there are still vacancies, and I acknowledge that. Parallel with that, we are developing the school therapy service, which will help in time when special schools in particular will have multidisciplinary teams as a result of that initiative. We have provided an additional €20 million this year in terms of people accessing private services and we have also continued to allocate for additional recruitment of therapists to the CDNTs.”
“On the cost of disability, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Dara Calleary, is working with organisations to do the due diligence and the hard work of formulating an approach for a cost of disability, which will inform next year's budget. I made all of that clear yesterday.”
“Will the Deputy let me speak, please? It is not fiscally sustainable that we would have €3 billion to €4 billion every year in once-off payments across the board on needy situations. We are concentrating on embedded change in terms of domiciliary care going up by €20 per month, a 20% increase in disability services and the largest ever increase in the threshold governing the carer's allowance. That is real change that will last and sustain.”
“I did answer that question yesterday. There seems to be a standard line from the Deputy's party spokespeople that their first line is, "You never answered the question I asked you." The bottom line, which I have been very clear about, is that the once-off payments we did during the Ukraine-Russia war-----”
“I acknowledge what the Deputy said. There is a challenge here. There is a shortage of pathologists all over Europe. It is a significant challenge. I know the Minister is doing everything possible to try to deal with the situation and the challenges that have arisen from this. He will continue to use every lever that can be used to ensure we can cover and provide the service that is required.”
“-----first of all making sure there are substantial safeguards, which have happened. The situation has changed since last year. What the Commission has now brought forward is different. That has to be acknowledged. The European Parliament voted for the additional safeguards. We said we would continue to work with like-minded countries on this. We have concerns with this agreement.”
“First of all, there is huge uncertainty as to when that vote will be taken. It was meant to be taken last Friday and was not because, as the Deputy said, a number of countries were anxious that it be postponed. The Deputy referenced Italy and France. The Irish position has been that we have been working with like-minded countries in respect of Mercosur, in terms of-----”
“Of course, on another day, people will come to the House and say we spent too much on this or that. All of that means others want to develop the public spending code. There is always a balance here in getting projects through and getting them done, and turning up at the public accounts committee afterwards to explain the additional expenditure, but that is the world we are in.”
“On the ambulances, we want to continue to improve and revamp our ambulance service. It is a national service. It causes a lot of challenges for the public and people generally in trying to understand the methodology or framework governing it. We will continue to engage with the National Ambulance Service, particularly in respect of its manifestation and how it works in the Limerick region. The issue of critical infrastructure and the initiatives of the Minister, Deputy Chambers, will impact on this because the esprit de corps now is not why something can happen but, rather, why it should happen. There have been planning challenges on that site and, probably, there will remain planning challenges in people having different perspectives on it. The Deputy referenced what would be known as the public spending code, and that is being amended.”
“To progress option C, the Minister and the Department will develop a strategic plan for the incremental reconfiguration of and investment in healthcare services in the mid-west region. I heard it said this morning, and I do not want to name people, that this is a very welcome development. I take the Deputy's point about timescale and capital. Subject to the revenues the economy is generating at the moment, we will have an expansive healthcare capital programme over the next number of years. I am confident we can accommodate substantive elements of this in the coming years.”
“The standard governance structure and the project board will have to be established, as required by the HSE, to explore additional opportunities to decant services away from the main Dooradoyle site. My understanding is the project board has not yet been established, but it will be imminently, once we get the other site. What is happening in other hospital locations is that decanting unnecessary services in an acute hospital environment - including patient records, or it could be outpatients - is working. I have seen it at the Rotunda and other hospitals, where it has had a really transformative impact and created huge space for the essence of what acute care should be all about.”
“The average number of people waiting on trolleys at University Hospital Limerick has almost halved in the week since the new 96-bed block opened compared with the weeks prior. That 96-bed block that is now open has made a difference, so we want to do a second block at that scale. The sooner that can be done, the better. Enabling works are now under way for the second 96-bed block at UHL. Additional 16- and 66-bed blocks are also in planning for accelerated delivery at the hospital. That will increase capacity at UHL by a total of 306 beds since 2023. On option B, the Minister has mandated the HSE to secure an available appropriate adjacent site. I do not have the information to hand as to whether it has that site at the moment, but it has the mandate to secure the site.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I know he has been a long-time advocate for health services in the Limerick region, in particular in light of the huge challenges that have faced acute services in the mid-west. I join him in paying tribute to all the staff working in our hospitals in the mid-west under difficult circumstances. The Government's decision to support the Minister's memo that was brought to Government this week in respect of the HIQA report and HIQA review into urgent and emergency care capacity in the mid-west region, which the previous Government asked for, will need additional capital. Additional capital will be provided, in the first instance to progress option A. What is interesting is we know that the impacts can be quite dramatic when we get additional capacity.”
“I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue and confirming that the Minister is relatively positive and optimistic about the continuation of funding for the section from Cahir to Limerick Junction. The Deputy made an important point, which sometimes gets overlooked when it comes to road construction, about the road safety dimension. That is critical. My understanding is that Tipperary County Council is progressing the Cahir to Limerick Junction section in partnership with Limerick County Council. It is being managed by the mid-west national road design office. I understand the Minister has engaged with public representatives about the Cahir to Waterford section. I will talk to the Minister about that. I appreciate the reasons the Deputy raised this matter.”
“Nonetheless, hugely increased allocations are going to road transport and public transport more generally. I would like to think that we should be in a position to spare funding for this road, which is a very important artery, to enable in particular the continuation of the work on the Cahir to Limerick Junction section. I will ask the Minister to come back to me about the Cahir to Waterford section.”
“Obviously, those projects will be staggered and sequenced. The Deputy is asking for funding for the Cahir to Limerick Junction section to be continued in 2026. I would anticipate that that should not be a challenge. Has the Deputy heard to the contrary that it will not be continued? To be fair to the outgoing Minister, work on it was begun. I will go to the Minister and see whether we can see what the story is and whether we can accelerate it. The Deputy also wants design to start with regard to the Cahir to Waterford section. Again, I will have to go back to the Minister to see where we are in terms of the prioritisation of this project. There is a whole range of projects. Construction inflation has eaten into some of the budgets and that has been a significant factor.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know that a number of Deputies in his constituency, including Deputies Ryan O'Meara and Michael Murphy, have also been focused on this. This is a project we have been endeavouring to progress. I know the last Minister for Transport was probably not as enthusiastic about road construction as others, and the idea was possibly bypasses and so on. I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. The Deputy is correct in saying that better roads make for better road safety. That is certainly the case. There is a lot of congestion on that road. We will see what we can do. There is a huge investment programme. Only a number of weeks ago, the Minister announced a sectoral plan for transport under the national development plan. The list of projects is enormous, with huge investment.”
“That is our approach. It is something I initiated back in 2020. We have resurrected social house building in this country through the local authorities and approved housing bodies. We have also leased and acquired housing for the social housing portfolio.”
“He received in the budget a further €100 million additionally to focus exclusively on children and families with children to get them out of emergency accommodation as quickly as possible. In the last two to three years, the numbers that we are getting out in a more timely way out of emergency accommodation has increased. Obviously, the objective is to prevent people going into emergency accommodation, but once they are in there, we then must move to get people out as quickly as possible. We have said to the local authorities that they must prioritise families with children who are in emergency accommodation. You will begin to see the impacts from the initiatives that the Minister has taken, particularly because of the additional budget he has received. That is the way to try to address the issue.”
“Our challenge is to provide housing solutions. Let us not pretend it is all just because of wanton neglect or that someone does not care. Since this Government and the last Government came in, 50,000 social homes have been added to the social housing stock - over 50,500. That is way ahead of anything in three or four decades. You would have to go back to the 1970s to get as many social houses delivered by any Government. We are going to continue that in the new housing plan because social housing is key to dealing with the homeless issue. The level of investment is continuing to increase and will continue to increase to deal with that issue. The Minister, to be fair, is developing further approaches, particularly to child homelessness.”
“We had a good presentation at the housing Cabinet subcommittee meeting earlier this week, which illustrated the complex factors behind homelessness and different categories of people becoming homeless for different reasons, requiring a different response. It contained a whole range of issues outside of the control of some people which need attention. I have to be careful in how I say this, but there are pressures coming from the increase in the population and migratory pressures do factor into the homeless issue. In Dublin, if you look at it, the figures are very clear. I will be talking to the Dublin regional executive about this and what we can do to help. That is why the issue is increasing. People coming out of direct provision, for example, and family reunification are creating challenges. It is the right thing to do.”
“From the Deputy's perspective, that is the short-term popular answer, is it not? All that would do would depress supply. The fundamental answer to homelessness is supply. The Deputy's party has never got that. All its proposals, in my view, would actually depress supply and reduce it. That is the fundamental difference between us. I am not going for the short-term popular thing, to ban this and all of that. It sounds great, but it would be damaging to getting more supply into the market. That is the bottom line. Homelessness is a huge issue facing the country. It is a complex issue, far more complex than the manner in which she has presented it. It is not all at the door of the Government.”
“Every road fatality that occurs on our roads is a profound tragedy for a family somewhere in our country. Collectively, if we are all agreed, I am willing to work with the Opposition in terms of any measures that people think are meritorious in terms of reducing accidents on our roads.”
“An Garda Síochána will be very active over Christmas in particular. It is conducting a dedicated road traffic enforcement operation throughout the Christmas period, which began on Monday, 1 December and will continue until Monday, 5 January. The Deputy is correct. Investing in better and safer roads, continued enforcement of the law and increasing the allocation of gardaí to front-line duties are all part of the measures that we are going to be taking on an ongoing basis. We are going to implement the road safety strategy 2021 to 2030. We are going to do everything possible through our enforcement. The Garda Commissioner is taking this very seriously. The Minister for justice has been speaking to the Garda Commissioner in respect of this. I accept the Deputy's fundamental point.”
“There is a serious increase - not back to the levels of the 1970s or 1980s - that is causing untold trauma to families and young people. We have had some horrific accidents in recent times that horrify us in terms of the trauma that has been visited on so many parents and families. I favour the retention of the Road Safety Authority as the pre-eminent authority to deal with road safety. It will have the resources to do that.”
“Historically, the establishment of the Road Safety Authority was the most significant measure taken in respect of dealing substantially with road deaths. As I have previously done in the House, I pay a lot of tribute to the former Minister, Noel Dempsey, who really took on this issue with the late Gay Byrne. They transformed it. They were very unpopular in this House because they took measures that many parliamentarians opposed on drink driving and all sorts of penalties, but they did it and it is a lesson to everybody. Every now and again we need a bit of backbone in politics to do the right thing and get over the short-term opposition and knee-jerk reactions. Our roads did become much safer after that and we significantly reduced road deaths and injuries. We need to do the same now.”
“In regard to investment in roads, the Macroom bypass, for example, was huge for safety. It was better for safety, air pollution and the quality of life of the people living in all the towns – Macroom, Baile Bhuirne and others - along the way, yet people would say it is anti-climate or whatever to build a bypass like that. I have never accepted the ideological orthodoxy of some people on that side of the fence. At the same time, we need to invest hugely in public transport. That is what we are doing with BusConnects, MetroLink and DART+. We now have about 1 million public transport journeys a day. Last year alone we had over 343 million public transport journeys. That is increasing but we need more on that front.”
“The Deputy has identified a number of issues, ranging from public transport and the M50 to road safety. For me, the latter is the most significant issue. There is very significant traffic congestion on the M50. It is a vital piece of national infrastructure. Growth in our economy and in our population has added significantly to the traffic. Overall levels on the M50 have grown by 11% since 2019. There is huge investment going into public transport. I do not agree with the 2:1 ratio. It is too crude a mechanism. A lot depends on when a project comes to completion, as it draws down an awful lot more money than at the beginning. The 2:1 ratio is not a sensible framework on a year-to-year basis to judge investment in public transport versus investment in roads.”
“We are amending the assessment of need to make sure we prioritise the provision of therapists to children, as opposed to them being behind desks doing all sorts of assessments that are not the optimum use of their time. We need therapists to work with children on the ground. We have 400 new special classes this year, and we also have 300 new special school places sanctioned for the 2025-26 school year.”
“That is a bit silly. The bottom line is that we are prioritising children and we want to do that. It is accepted that there are issues facing children in this country, but we provided for a major 20% increase in investment in disability services. As the Deputy knows, we are now developing a new education therapy service, which will be transformative. It will start in special schools early in the new year. It will be expanded into all special schools in the school year beginning in September of next year. Then we will expand it into the mainstream classes. That will have multidisciplinary teams in schools for children with disabilities. In parallel with that, we are investing in disability services.”