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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“First, the composition of homelessness is much more complex now than it would have been in previous times in terms of those in emergency accommodation. I did not seek to deflect at all; I just made a very simple point. The national planning framework has been published. A lot of work went into that. A direction has gone to local authorities to rezone more land for housing. Some of the local authorities are displaying inertia and a refusal to rezone.”
“In particular, we should focus on the companies ensuring that people under pressure and on low incomes are treated appropriately. There will be supports in the budget for those most in need. We will be targeting resources towards those who will be impacted the most by the increase in energy prices. We have taken a decision on VAT to bring it down to 9%. We have retained that. We will also look at that again in the budget.”
“I am surprised the Deputy used the term "cancel". We have cancelled nothing. Last year we had a particular cost-of-living package, and the previous year, given the impact of the post-Covid scenario and the inflationary spiral that went up as high as 10%. I also note that Sinn Féin is not challenging the energy companies.”
“I will revert to the Deputy in respect of the other issue he raised about the aircraft maintenance proposal. It is not in the gift of the State.”
“I appreciate the points the Deputy made. I also acknowledge that he is speaking on behalf of 22 Members of the Houses in respect of Shannon Airport. I dealt with the earlier part in terms of the review of aviation policy. Regarding the tourism side of the equation, Tourism Ireland will develop a new strategic air access fund. There is potential to maximise opportunity there in terms of new air routes. The Deputy's overall point is well made. The Ryder Cup is a big win for the mid-west. It is going to be very exciting for sports tourism generally. There will be a huge economic spin-off from that and the Irish Open in Doonbeg. All of that will highlight the infrastructural needs of the area. We have invested a lot in infrastructure in the area to have preparedness for big events of that kind.”
“Tourism Ireland is also keen to promote regional connectivity in terms of the utilisation of the assets we have in the regions.”
“However, the Department of Transport has commenced preparatory work on revising that policy and the Minister hopes to publish that in 2026. It will update existing policy in response to developments in the aviation sector and will include a focus on maximising the use of our regional airports in line with commitments made in the programme for Government. In our Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity, the Government committed to developing a long-term strategy for Irish airports as part of the review of the national aviation policy, recognising the dependency risk of having a large share of Irish air traffic going through a single airport, as the Deputy articulated. There will be a lot of engagement on that.”
“The potential for the development of an Exchequer funded programme or a commitment to broadening the scope of that programme to airports that handle more than 1 million passengers, which would apply to Shannon Airport, is under consideration by the Minister and the Government. That is an outcome of the review and it is being progressed as a matter of priority. The development of an Exchequer funded start-up aid scheme for airlines to support strategic route development to and from the regions is also being considered. What can we do to incentivise airlines to fly into and out of the regions? We have the 2015 national aviation policy, which established the policy framework for the development of the aviation sector in Ireland. Its principal goals remain valid.”
“Very often airlines dictate the pace in respect of where they want to fly into and out of. Capital cities all over the world tend to draw the highest volume of traffic and interest and that has implications for regional locations. As the Deputy will be aware, there was a mid-term review of the current programme for regional airports with high-level outcomes announced in July last year and a public consultation was then undertaken. Shannon Airport benefited to some degree from inclusion in that, along with Cork Airport, Ireland West Airport in Knock, Kerry Airport and Donegal Airport. They continue to be eligible for funding.”
“-----which he referenced in passing. Regional balanced economic growth is a key objective of the Government and connectivity is key to economic development. I take the Deputy's point in respect of the importance of regionally-based airports. There is no question that the cap has to be lifted.”
“I thank the Deputy and appreciate the points he made about aviation policy nationally. He has been a strong, consistent and persistent advocate for Shannon Airport and I also appreciate his comments on other airports, particularly Cork Airport-----”
“Second, we have very comprehensive and significant protections in place for tenants. Yes, the RTB has a function, obligation and role to enforce and ensure the protection of tenants in these scenarios and that fairness applies on all sides in respect of tenancies. Deputy Stanley referenced that we have brought in those kind of protections around evictions and so on. With the measures we have so far taken, and hopefully with some further measures, we will be in a position to get greater traction in building apartments, which we need to get done.”
“We need more private sector investment in the rental market, in particular to build new apartments. We have taken measures, not just in the RPZs but also with apartment standards and other issues to attract further investment in on the private side to balance the State investment.”
“All of the House wanted us to follow through on the Housing Commission's recommendations. It is in that context that the Housing Agency review followed through on them. There is a national cap now of 2% on existing rents. I do not know how one can go up by 50% but Deputy Stanley can forward me the details of that case. The rent tax credit has been continued. We will deal with that in the forthcoming budget also. We have provided a range of measures to ensure security for renters. I will not go through the full list of those. This year alone, on top of the Estimate for 2025, we have allocated a further €1 billion to the housing budget. Approximately €7.5 billion will have been spent on housing by the end of 2025. That is a very significant State intervention.”
“That is important in terms of choice and greater access for people to apartments. We have done it in a way that continues to protect tenants. Very substantial protections have been introduced for tenants in the past five years, compared to what was there before. That must be acknowledged. I fully accept that costs are high. That is why we brought in the rent tax credit to be of assistance to renters in meeting the increased cost of renting. The reforms we announced on 10 June will strengthen the rights of new and existing tenants in Irish society. It is not a return to a free for all. The reforms were informed by a review by the Housing Agency, which did an analysis of the rental market for us, in particular of the rent pressure zones. The agency made recommendations on which we followed through on.”
“We are not creating a free-for-all in terms of the rental market more generally. We are creating a national rent pressure zone, ultimately including the entire country. The bottom line is that we need more supply of houses. We need a significant and substantial increase in the supply of housing. That is the key. Without additional supply we will have a very challenging rental market. The Deputy indicated a case of 50%, which sounds illegal to me. I do not know whether or not the landlord is registered with the RTB. I do not have the specifics of the case but Deputy Stanley can forward them to us afterwards. As the Deputy is aware, the bottom line is that we have reformed the RPZs. The objective there is to create the opportunity for greater private sector investment in the private rental market to get more apartments built.”
“It is right across the board. In terms of cost of living, it is not that simple and the Deputy knows that. However, there will be measures in the budget to help families with disabilities in terms of income supports. There will be measures in the budget in that respect.”
“First of all, Deputy Cairns's critique of the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled Persons is wrong. There was significant participation of people with disabilities in the formulation, delivery and announcement of that strategy. They enthusiastically participated in that. Structures have been created to follow through on it. That is a kind of a cynical, poor response by the Deputy to what was a genuine-----”
“To be fair to the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, they are already working to change the system for children with additional needs and their families applying for places in schools in terms of a centralised application system being piloted and the time to apply being brought forward by four months so that we have a better lead in time to the subsequent September. I will come back in on the other points later.”
“The number of special classes has doubled to 3,700-plus. We have had 16 new special schools established in the last number of years and 407 new special classes sanctioned for 2025-26. That represents and reflects investment. It still is not enough. As I said earlier, our population is growing very significantly. If we look at the last two censuses, the most recent one showed a marked increase in the number identifying with a disability, both children and adults. That means we have to not just increase resources but systemically change as well.”
“When we said that disability is the top priority of this Government, it is. I accept fully that there are shortcomings, to say the least, in some areas, particularly spinal surgery, assessment of need and the availability of therapies. On the other hand, it is important to create the other side of the narrative as well, that of unrelenting investment in additional needs, particularly, for example, in education in recent years, and exponential growth in services. If we take education alone, the State investment is about €2.9 billion in 2025. That is a 48% increase since 2020 and is a quarter of the entire Department of education budget. We now have 23,000 special needs assistants working in our schools, up 43% in the last five years. We added 1,600 SNAs this year alone. There are 21,000 special education teachers.”
“First, I take the opportunity to welcome you back, Deputy, and I am looking forward to our continued engagements. I think we both share a love of west Cork and the people of west Cork, as well as their representatives in terms of quality, calibre and so forth. I am going to miss Deputy Cian O’Callaghan. I thank him for his forensic engagement over the last while. I also thank Deputy Cairns for her tributes to Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy, a colleague of ours. We are in deep sadness because Patrick Gerard was a wonderful individual and the definition of what public representation at local level means. He was a man of great and deep insight, commitment, care and compassion, and great courage and bravery as well in terms of his own personal life and as a public representative.”
“There has been a very significant increase in the population in this country over the past two to three decades and that is creating pressure, undoubtedly, on services and on infrastructure. We are investing in the future - in water, energy, grid, housing - and that will be a key part of the budget.”
“Through our social protection frameworks, we have mechanisms that will enable us to do that in terms of the various payments and so on that we can increase, but we will prioritise in respect of the child poverty question. We will prioritise in terms of disability and in terms of the additional costs that families with people who are disabled have to incur, and we will seek to alleviate that. We are conscious of the programme for Government commitments we have made in respect of the carer's allowance also. The budget, fundamentally, is an investment in the future of the country. We are prioritising capital investment. We need to catch up on infrastructure. Last year alone, there was an increase of close to 100,000 in our population.”
“Vincent de Paul said that in the 2023-24 school year, it had a 20%-odd reduction in calls because of that measure alone. Hot school meals is another targeted mainstream provision that we have brought about. In other areas, we have done the same. That is the approach that I want to take. I welcome the Deputy's agreement that we need a targeted approach to these issues.”
“This is something that cannot be ignored as we drive forward in terms of wage increases and so on, and also in terms of targeting child support payments. There are mechanisms we can do, which we did in the past, to try to protect those who need protection most, on energy costs and on food pricing costs. The key is that we want to do this in a mainstream way. It is not economically sustainable as we come out of this high inflation period over the last two to three years after Covid that we would continue doing large stand-alone cost-of-living packages. We have to mainstream provision in terms of the various mechanisms we have. For example, last year we eliminated the cost of school books in primary and second level schools. That is a permanent reduction in costs for families, parents and children. The Society of St.”
“It peaked at close to 10% but since then the rates have considerably eased and living standards have improved significantly, with real wages and income increasing by between 3% and 3.5% this year alone. The nominal wage increase is about 5.5% and inflation is at 2%. I acknowledge, however, that prices are elevated. Food inflation is higher, at about 5%. I appreciate the Deputy's focus on targeting because we do intend to target in the budget. We do intend to prioritise the issue of child poverty and those most in need and under considerable pressure but equally we have to sustainably work our way through this. We now have the third lowest rate of inflation among the 27 European Union countries.”
“I appreciate the sincerity of the issues the Deputy has raised in respect of the challenges facing the country. Fundamentally, I make the point to the Deputy that since 2019 employment has grown in this country by 506,000 people. That is 506,000 people over five years. We have a strong and resilient economy and the most effective intervention in terms of poverty or living standards is work and jobs. I argue that the policies we have advocated here are advantageous to the enterprise economy and its continuation as compared to the policies the Deputy and those on the far left now allied with her have advocated. I make the point that there has been significant inflation since Covid-19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.”
“We need some degree of consensus on that point. How it transpires and the advocacy for parents in that situation is something we should examine, in terms of stronger advocacy for parents in respect of clinical decision-making. In terms of what we are doing regarding the treatment abroad scheme, we have provided resources and there is an instruction to CHI and clinicians to refer, and I believe they should be referring patients on a continuous basis.”
“I am not applying my reply to the two cases the Deputy mentioned, for example. There is a fundamental question we have all faced if we are honest, whereby people come to us and say that as a parent they believe their child should get a particular intervention or surgery. If a doctor or clinician does not believe that is appropriate at that time or believes that the outcomes may not be optimal at that time for the child concerned, what is Deputy McDonald suggesting? This is a reality on an ongoing basis. It seems to me that we have to examine that relationship further, as well as the level of advocacy for the parents in these situations. That is why I think there is a weakness. Politicians cannot and should not arbitrarily intervene and say something should happen irrespective of what a clinical expert has said.”
“The issue is that the translation of those resources to outcomes and outputs is a key issue for us. There have been a number of reports into CHI. All Deputies are aware of that. We are not happy with everything that has happened in CHI. We have an issue in that one consultant has been referred in respect of the utilisation of devices that did not meet the quality mark. We are awaiting a report on governance in CHI. The Health Service Executive has strengthened its service level agreement with CHI and is giving stronger supports to it. That process will continue in terms of underpinning, supporting and creating additional capacity in CHI in the immediate future and the time ahead. That is the direction of travel in respect of services, in particular spinal services, at CHI.”
“Obviously, any parent wants to do the very best for their child. It seems to me that the interaction or engagement between the clinical decision-making and the position of parents is one that has to be improved. Certainly, however, the question was put to me about the use of the word "emblematic", and I made that point in the context that if we look at, and I have read, the case in relation to Katie and Antoinette, there is a very clear disagreement in respect of the clinical judgment that consultants have made in that case. That said, I am going to pursue this. We have spoken to the CEO of the HSE in relation to this case also. On the broader issue of scoliosis, very significant resources have been allocated by Government to CHI. There is no point is saying there have not been; there have.”
“The HSE CEO received this draft report in August and has shared that report with Harvey's parents as well as with the Minister for Health. My understanding is that the Minister for Health and the Tánaiste are due to meet Harvey's parents in the near future. I understand fully the anger and the absolute frustration felt by the parents and by other families who do not receive surgical intervention at the right time for their child. I have spoken to Antoinette Burke since I met her earlier this week. We have arranged to meet. I do not want to get into discussing individual cases here in public, but clearly the issue there is one of clinical decision-making and the judgment made by clinicians. Clinicians, it seems, have taken a decision not to do surgery over many years in that case on a clinical basis.”
“At the outset, I want to take the opportunity to offer my deepest condolences to Harvey Morrison Sherratt's family and his parents, Gillian and Stephen. No words of condolence or consolation to Harvey's parents are enough. It is an extraordinarily traumatic thing to happen to any family, but in these circumstances even more traumatic in terms of the experiences the family and Harvey had with the hospitals and the clinical world itself, and it is unacceptable. The Minister met with the HSE and CHI board and has been working on this issue non-stop since she was appointed Minister for Health. The Minister has asked for a multidisciplinary report on the chronology from CHI regarding its involvement in Harvey's care and the key milestones as recorded on the CHI's hospital records.”
“There is Local Link as well whereby we give incentives and supports in terms of facilitation for wheelchair users. There is certainly more we can do now with the sports grants because to the credit of sports clubs, of all codes, they are now developing really good streams of participation in sport-----”
“Well, the Deputy mentioned Knocklong and I was reared on the stories about it in my family. Deputy O'Donoghue raised a more serious point about wheelchair users. I was at an event recently with the Department of Social Protection in terms of supporting the employment front. The Deputy makes a fair point. In schools and some other areas of life, we do support adaptation.”
“I thank the Deputy very much for raising the issue. I welcome the community from Knocklong. I have a small connection. My grandfather was in the rescue party for Seán Hogan at Knocklong when he was rescued during the ambush there. They took him away and he was a sentry in the Galtee Mountains for a while.”
“In fact, one of the biggest issues facing the Government for the future is energy security and how we provide for a growing population in terms of household energy, companies, business and industry and how we deal with the AI revolution that is coming. We need a debate on energy, because if we are going to reject all three types, then we have a very bleak future from an energy perspective.”
“I will say something at the outset in a broader sense. The Government does not develop wind farms. The Government does not develop solar farms. The prospect of doing that would involve a multibillion euro speculative kind of investment by the State, so they are privately led. The fundamental difference between us in terms of economic philosophy is that I believe there has to be a private sector and there has to be private sector investment in these matters. There have to be guidelines. The Deputy's point is interesting because he instanced wind energy, solar and gas, and there are problems with all three. We have a significant energy security problem.”
“There is a broad range of factors. Ireland is late to the phenomenon described by the Deputy in many respects because we would have had the highest birth rate across Europe, and still do, is my understanding, or we have one of the highest. Nonetheless, the Deputy's point merits broader reflection in terms of the society we organise, how society is organised and supported, and challenges in terms of housing. They are all interrelated, so there is no one particular solution or idea that could change that trend. These are long-standing trends. The Deputy is right to raise the issue for reflection and for people to think about and I have no doubt that it could be a matter of discussion for some Oireachtas committee.”
“In the past four to five years, goods worth about €600,000 have come in from the occupied territories, which is a tiny amount. Nonetheless, the symbolism of the Bill is important. When we get the legal advice back, we will have greater clarity regarding the inclusion of services.”
“It is horrific what is happening at the aid centres, where people have been mowed down, slaughtered and murdered. It is beyond any moral compass. I have condemned unreservedly the Israeli conduct in Gaza and the war in Gaza, particularly the last phase, which without question represents collective punishment of the people of Gaza and an attempt to drive them out of Gaza or make life so unbearable that people feel they have no alternative but to leave. That is something the international community has to respond to. The legislation is currently going through the House. The Minister has asked for further legal advices in respect of services. In terms of the latter two points regarding the export of goods to the occupied territories, that is not an issue for us.”
“There is something about this that has me surprised. In any event, we are open. The appeal has gone in and is being considered by the Department, and the Department will respond as soon as possible.”
“An appeal was lodged yesterday at about 2.40 p.m. even though people have suggested that an appeal could have been lodged a week ago, but for some reason, that did not happen. I am genuinely perplexed about how all of this has been handled - not by the Department, but just generally. Normally in situations like this, the lead association would approach the Government or a Department with a plan and say it was intending to do this, and then one would get things lined up and people would understand what was required in respect of applications for visas. That is a fairly basic thing. There are basic rules there that apply to everybody in every situation. That has not quite happened on this occasion for some reason, and it has come late in the day in some respects - certainly from my perspective, if I am honest.”
“The Minister moved early in terms of the national planning framework and the follow-through on that is a circular to all local authorities on zoning and to get more land zoned for residential use. That is absolutely vital and we expect every executive and every county council to follow through on that and to zone more land because that will be essential for the level of housing we require in the coming decade. The Minister had to go through certain procedures before the direction could issue. I will get the exact date for the Deputy.”
“The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, have announced work is under way on a redeployment scheme for special needs assistants, which will be in place in the 2025-26 school year.”
“I thank Deputy Crowe for raising this issue. The National Council for Special Education, I understand, has advised that Sixmilebridge national school has resubmitted a previous special needs assistant review request, which now includes additional new junior infants due to start in September 2025. The NCSE has confirmed that the SNA review will be completed and the outcome notified to the school in advance of the new school year. It is important that that would happen. I gave the figures in an earlier reply but, by September, we will have 23,179 special needs assistants. When the school receives its SNA allocation from the NCSE, it may recruit two SNA posts as it would have done in previous years, so there is no change to the recruitment process. I understand the particular issues facing the school in terms of its expansion and growth.”
“If the Deputy sends the details, we can forward them to the NCSE and see what it can do in respect of this particular case.”
“I thank the Deputy. I do not have the details of the individual case. The model of general allocation is one that was favoured by school bodies and principals when it was originally introduced, giving more flexibility to schools to deal with the numbers of children they may have in respect of additional needs. I introduced the SNA system back in the late nineties when I was Minister for education and we had no SNAs in mainstream schools. By September, we will have 23,179 SNAs in the country. That is double the number of SNAs that were in our schools ten years ago. This year’s budget provides for about 1,600 additional special needs assistants. There is no cutting back on this. It is also the case that the number of children identifying with additional needs is growing.”
“We need to be very clear about the regulatory environment but also see if there are areas in which we can develop particular strengths, given the strengths we already have in human capital on AI and in terms of some of the industries we have here, too.”