Micheál Martin
Cork South-Central · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“At the beginning of April, the Government approved the establishment of the Cork city futures group to guide development of Cork city for the future.”
“We have to have a budget that reflects the need to sustain that level of work in our economy so that people will have access to jobs. The AI issue is causing a lot of concern. I take heart from the investment announced by Intel this week, which will be AI-propelled, actually.”
“Dublin City Council is progressing the establishment of this new legal entity, in line with the timelines laid out in the roadmap; a ten-year integrated area strategy for Dublin city centre to optimise funding and investment and tackle vacancy and dereliction; and accelerated delivery of landmark capital projects in the city centre throug…”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 15 to 30, inclusive, together. This will be a long answer because there is one task group and one futures group.”
“I think Deputy Hayes was being a bit petty, if that is the word I am looking for, in what he said about Spain. Well, using the word "petty" might be a bit uncharitable today. It is more a Spain is more vociferous than us kind of thing. We have worked very well together on the Middle East. It is a very serious issue.”
“A dedicated body, to be known as The Cork City Futures Group, will work to unlock the city’s full economic, cultural and academic potential, alongside further investment, innovation and infrastructure. I think people are familiar with the terms of reference.”
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“We established the housing activation office in the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. It will address barriers to the delivery of infrastructure projects needed to enable housing development. Additionally, the new infrastructure division in the Department of public expenditure will improve efficiency in delivering strategic infrastructure projects, critical to supporting us in scaling up housing delivery over the medium term. We are moving at pace to reform our planning system, through the implementation of the landmark Planning and Development Act 2024. An Coimisiún Pleanála has been established and will focus on accelerating crucial planning decisions and reducing delays.”
“Since entering office, we have allocated over €700 million to housing That is in addition to the €6 billion already allocated in budget 2025. This includes €450 million to build a further 3,000 social, affordable and cost rental homes and an additional €265 million to second-hand social housing acquisitions, bringing the total available for acquisitions in 2025 to €325 million. This increased funding, which will support tenant in situ acquisitions, will greatly help in preventing people falling into homelessness due to the sale of their rental homes. We have also have brought forward a suite of measures to boost the delivery of homes. Among these, the revision of the national planning framework will enable local authorities to zone the significantly higher quantum of land needed to meet our ambition for housing delivery.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 18 to 34, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Thursday 5 June and is due to meet again on Monday 21 July. The committee works to ensure a cross-Government approach to the implementation of our commitments in respect of housing policy. Housing supply has increased significantly over the past number of years, with almost 140,000 new homes delivered since the start of 2020. However, we know we need to do more. Housing is the single most urgent and important social and economic issue facing our country and one we are determined to get to grips with. The programme for Government sets out our ambition to build on the success of Housing for All to accelerate the delivery of homes.”
“-----to people from Lithuania and Latvia, they have very legitimate existential concerns given their countries' long histories with Russia and the manner in which Russia treated them. Time and time again, it invaded those countries and violated their integrity. If the Deputy was living in Lithuania, he might have a different perspective to the one he has now.”
“Other issues were raised. To Deputy Ó Cearúil, we will embrace the strategic partnership. We have our position of military neutrality. I do not know whether it was Deputy Murphy or Deputy Coppinger who suggested our relationship with Canada was about militarisation, armaments and so on-----”
“Not one of the Deputies from Labour, Aontú or any other party could say that they will support the CETA legislation. I find that extraordinary.”
“With tariffs coming from the US, of course we should embrace a Canadian-European Union trade agreement and economic partnership. Ireland has a strong economic partnership with Canada, and we should not apologise for that. Canada is not going to be perfect. We are not perfect. Canada will have aspects to its policy it has developed over the years that we may not agree with. Overall, however, it has been a benign, friendly country. There are huge Irish roots and heritage there. There is a disconnect in this house between what puts bread and butter on the tables of Irish people and the Opposition's hang-ups about investor courts and this, that and the other. It is a completely disproportionate, illogical approach that the Opposition takes.”
“-----and that is your position. This is a fundamental point that has been raised time and time again. Those opposite say they are against this and against that. They do not believe in an enterprise economy, they do not believe in free trade and they do not really believe in workers' opportunity to develop and grow within their employments under the model we have here. That is a very serious issue in terms of this consistency over eight or nine years. It is provisionally in operation, Deputy Ó Murchú, but it is not legislated for. We have to ratify it. We do so, given the fact we are a small, open economy whose workers depend on trade. We manufacture so many goods that are meant for export because we could not consume them in a small island like Ireland. What is the Opposition at in the context of its economic and trade policies?”
“Some of the Opposition purport to be in favour of workers. You could not care less about workers, Deputy Murphy. You could not care less about Irish workers. It is Irish workers who benefit from that level of exports. Indigenous companies and people working for multinationals also benefit. You just could not care less.”
“I am amazed and somewhat shocked at the orientation and nature of the Opposition's presentations, particularly in terms of CETA. Someone said these are legitimate questions about the investor courts. The investor courts were dealt with through the European court judgment and will be dealt with in terms of the legislation. All trade agreements have to have a mediating facility and mechanism. Deputy O'Rourke stated that these are legitimate concerns in the context of fossil fuels and so on, but not one of the Deputies opposite mentioned - Deputies Ó Cearúil and Byrne did - that there are 15,000 people employed by Canadian companies. Does that matter to them? It does not matter to any of them. This is almost economic illiteracy. That exports do not matter-----”
“Goods exports to Canada increased from €936 million in 2016 to more than €4.1 billion in 2024. Services exports grew from €1.44 billion in 2016 to more than €3.6 billion in 2023. Ratifying CETA is firmly in the interests of workers, taxpayers and businesses in rural and urban Ireland and I find it extraordinary that so many in this House have opposed its ratification to date. The global economy is changing in ways that are making trade with like-minded, stable and reliable partners like Canada more important than ever before. I look forward to further deepening relations with Canada in the period ahead.”
“The Canada-EU relationship, like the bilateral relationship between Canada and Ireland, is based on shared values, a long history of close co-operation and strong people-to-people ties. The summit’s theme of Enduring Partnership, Ambitious Agenda reflects the importance of the Canada-EU relationship at this juncture and Ireland welcomes the ambition of the joint statement for a new and comprehensive partnership across a range of thematic areas. Furthermore, the Government is committed to ratifying the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, between the EU and Canada. This is clearly set out in our programme for Government. Since the agreement was provisionally applied in 2017, we have seen a significant increase in trade between our countries.”
“I wrote to Prime Minister Carney to offer my congratulations on his election victory and said that I looked forward to co-operating with him and with his new Government in the period ahead. Like many Canadians, Prime Minister Carney has strong Irish heritage with family connections to Mayo and he has spoken of how important that heritage is to him. I am confident that our bilateral relations will continue to go from strength to strength throughout his tenure. I have not yet had the opportunity to meet the prime minister in person since he took up his new role but I look forward to doing so at the earliest possible opportunity. I welcome the recent EU-Canada summit attended by Prime Minister Carney. It was a useful opportunity to reaffirm and strengthen the EU-Canada strategic partnership following political changes in Canada and the EU.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 17, inclusive, together. Ireland enjoys a deep and strong relationship with Canada, a country with which we share many values. Increasingly, that relationship has an economic focus. In recent times, we have expanded our presence in Canada with consulates opened in Vancouver and Toronto in addition to our embassy in Ottawa. We also have a strong agency presence in Canada, including the IDA, Enterprise Ireland and Tourism Ireland. Ireland and Canada also have a collaborative relationship on many global issues, including working towards a peaceful resolution and a massive humanitarian response to the war in Gaza, and in supporting Ukraine.”
“Apologies. Tibet will be on the EU-China forum. We always raise issues with China. China always responds, by the way, robustly and never has any issue with the matter being raised. We do not get a satisfactory response from our perspective. On the Dalai Lama and so forth, I could not agree with the Deputy more.”
“I am asking legitimate questions. There was no notification that anyone was coming. You do not just rock up to the Department of justice, ad hoc , and say "Minister, come down here". He might not even have been in the building.”
“I do not know whether GAA Palestine is affiliated to the GAA. Normally what would happen is a sporting organisation would come to the Government of the day and say "We want to organise X, Y and Z" well in advance.”
“It does not sound right to me that an appeal would come in in that manner given that a week or more has passed since the original decision. The whole thing is somewhat perplexing. That is all I am saying.”
“Just hear me out, please. For the children, additional documents must be verified, including birth certificates and letters of consent to establish the relationship between the child and the adult they are travelling with. Most of the children would not have been travelling with a parent. Then there are all sorts of issues about employment, other ties and indicating that a person has obligations to return to home. Those are all there as regulations. For some reason, over the last four or five days, no appeal was entered at all.”
“I am dealing with it now but it is an important point. This is a serious matter. You cannot have a group forming in any locality and simply say, "Ignore all your normal regulatory procedures for visa applications". That is not possible. You have to get the documentation right. We have to know who is coming in with the children. We have to know the passports are proper. A lot of that was open to question, apparently, according to the documentation that was submitted.”
“The doctor should maybe contact the Minister. We work with the World Health Organization. Some doctors wanted to do it by another route through Jordan. We can look at that but let us do it properly, through the proper channels, because these are serious matters. These are children with serious injuries. We have to make sure their parents are on board. Family unification is there and we have done that already with 12 children. There are, I think, 45 adults with those 12 children already. I am very clear there will be family reunification. Let us not have Members just saying the Government is anti this or that – it is not. GAA Palestine has come out of left-field, to be frank. Why was there not proper negotiations or engagement with the Government well in advance before any visas were applied for?”
“There is no delay in medical evacuations whatsoever. A false narrative has developed around medical evacuation of children from Palestine. I do not know where that is coming from or why people would even want to create that false narrative to undermine the Government..”
“On letting them play, I am perplexed about this. Deputy Paul Murphy raised this as well. I am slightly worried that there is a campaign under way to try to blame the Government or create this narrative, as Deputy Murphy did, that the Government is anti-Palestinian or is not facilitating Palestinians coming to Ireland. The bottom line is 700 visas have been granted to Palestinian nationals since the outbreak of the war.”
“If, for example, we looked at the Horizon Europe programme in terms of seeking to put pressure on Israel and not facilitate its use of the Horizon programme, would that get the requisite support? That is something we are working on and we are engaging with other like-minded countries, as we have done, with the EU-Israel association agreement. We did it with Spain alone and then with eight other countries some weeks ago. We have also asked the European Union to ask itself whether it is in conformity with the International Court of Justice judgment and opinion.”
“In response to Deputy Ó Murchú, Ireland has been, without question, among the foremost countries highlighting the appalling impact of the war in Gaza on Palestinians and also the terrible, shocking terrorist behaviour of settlers in the West Bank. We were one of the first, along with Slovenia, Spain and Norway, to recognise the Palestinian State and we have also pushed for suspension of the EU-Israel trade agreement. A menu has come on the table today from the High Representative of certain aspects we can progress but the problem is that will require support from other European Union countries and it is not yet clear whether that could achieve a qualified voting majority.”
“I hope, and this is the view in Europe, that the setting of the 1 August deadline presents an opportunity for dialogue, although Europe is conscious of the impacts of all this because Europe thought it had a deal days before last weekend. There was, more or less, an outline agreement in principle which Europe thought had been arrived at and then suddenly this 30% came onto the table. That does not augur well. We have to prepare for all eventualities. We will keep people informed. Deputy Coppinger raised issues of human rights. Ireland raises human rights abuses and breaches at all multilateral forums and bilaterally with nations and we will continue to do that. On issues within the US, we will look at those and take assessments from various bodies and so on that can comment on those.”
“I am glad he did and it is welcome because very few people are speaking about the atrocities in Sudan and the level of killing and destruction of the civilian population in Sudan and the enormous displacement of people. It is absolutely horrendous and shocking and goes to the heart of the very destructive inhumanity of warfare. Ireland has raised this at all multilateral forums, at the European Union and at the UN, and we have advocated for stronger sanctions, also on some neighbouring countries which are fuelling this because of their own vested and geopolitical interests. The result is millions of civilians losing out in terms of their fundamental human rights and the basic necessities of life in terms of a home and so forth. Deputy Ó Cearúil also raised the EU tariffs. I outlined where we are there.”
“All those are predicated on the Department of Finance finance projections in terms of revenue and so on. Tariffs could potentially impact tax revenue, employment and sectors in our economy that are very strong, such as pharmaceutical and medtech. Therefore, we have to keep this under review. There is no certainty here; it is a situation of uncertainty. There was a surge of exports prior to the arrival of tariffs at the beginning of the year. That might impact beneficially on the surplus at the end of this year. We do not know; we have to wait and see. That does not mean that will be replicated next year or the year after. Under the European Union medium-term fiscal framework, we have to present a five-year plan to Brussels. The context could not be more uncertain given what is happening. Deputy Shane Moynihan raised Sudan.”
“The Economic and Social Research Institute did a number of analyses of different tariff levels, particularly a 10% tariff, for example, and what the impact would be. It predicted a decline in economic growth and an ease in employment creation. At 10%, we would not create as many jobs as we have been creating in recent years. If it were 30%, we would be talking about huge economic decline, job cuts or job reductions in the private sector and so on - if that were to come to pass. The situation is very serious; no one is trying to hide that. The European Union does not want tariffs and has not sought tariffs. We have a number of events coming up. We have the summer economic statement to be published. That outlines the broad expenditure proposals. We have the budget itself. We have the completion of the national development plan.”
“I thank all the Deputies for raising a range of questions. Deputy Bacik first raised the issue of tariffs and Deputy Lawless concluded on that. Fundamentally, a 30% tariff is untenable and unsustainable. It would have to be met with a very strong European Union response if it were to be maintained. That would have the effect of creating a reaction in the markets, in my view, and would in itself create an utter economic crisis because Europe and the US have the biggest trading relationship in the world. We therefore hope we can get to a negotiated settlement and a solution here. That has been the mindset of the European Union from day one. There is no question about the impact of this; there will be impacts.”
“Notwithstanding the letter, the facts remain that the deadline for talks is 1 August. The European Commission has been clear that it is working towards the conclusion of a deal as soon as possible and in advance of the deadline. The Government strongly supports these efforts. Our objective remains agreement on a mutually beneficial deal that works for both sides. A negotiated outcome is the best way forward. I was in touch with President von der Leyen by phone on 7 July and again at the weekend when she updated me on the latest situation in negotiations with the United States. While the European Union will continue to work for an agreement, it will also continue to prepare for other outcomes.”
“As I told the House in my statement last week, the June European Council discussed developments in Ukraine and the Middle East, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza. European defence and security, global economic developments, competitiveness, migration, preparedness and the European Union's internal security were also on the agenda. While European Union-US trade negotiations were not a formal agenda item, given the approaching deadline for the end of the US pause on higher rate tariffs, it was discussed among leaders. As the House will be aware, I have expressed my disappointment at the letter sent by the US to the European Union and the indication that a tariff of 30% may be imposed on imports from the European Union. The European Union continues to negotiate with the United States in good faith.”
“I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together. The Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government. The Cabinet committee on the European Union and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 February 2025. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in respect of the European Union, including preparation for Ireland's Presidency in the second half of 2026 and international issues. A date for the next meeting of the Cabinet committee has not yet been scheduled. It most recently met on Monday, 16 June in advance of the June European Council meeting. The committee considered the substantial items on the agenda for the June European Council.”
“The city council and new city administration are working might and main to try to improve the Dublin situation in terms of cleanliness. It has improved significantly. However, the IBAL organisation has done fantastic work in highlighting all of this. Certainly, I would be open to proactive measures to dissuade people from littering. Where they litter away, without any regard for other people, they should be prosecuted and the fine should be significant.”
“As I said earlier, there are regulations in place under the EU legislative framework to regulate safe drone operations. The Irish Aviation Authority, the civil aviation regulator, oversees the implementation of those regulations. I did indicate earlier that work on the drafting of the policy framework was recently finalised. It is expected to be approved and published in the coming weeks.”
“There were many times in Kerry apparently when there were many lock-ins. I would say the Deputy has outdone Leo Varadkar in terms of night life. He is extolling the virtues of going the whole night long.”
“I have not seen the economic monitor yet. I would like to see it because there has been there has been significant investment, both public and private, in Waterford - thankfully, because it is a good thing - and in the south east more generally. I will have a look at that. The economy is growing. Unemployment is at 4%, which is more or less equivalent to full employment, so it is difficult to identify how a report could say the economic performance was stagnant.”
“The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, expects to bring the policy framework to the Government before the end of this month. This new policy framework for unmanned aircraft systems will seek to identify and address any policy, regulatory or legislative gaps.”
“First of all, there is a comprehensive European Union legislative framework in place to regulate safe drone operations that is directly applicable in Ireland. I made this point last week in the Dáil. These regulations cover both recreational and commercial use, including commercial drone delivery services. The Irish Aviation Authority, the civil aviation regulator, oversees the implementation of the European Union's drone regulations and standards. While there is a comprehensive regulatory framework in place from an aviation safety perspective, there are areas where the rapid pace of expansion of drone operations has resulted in gaps and uncertainty, and a new policy framework is being developed. Work on the drafting of the policy framework was recently finalised and it is expected to be approved and published in the coming weeks.”
“I will ask the Minister in respect of this and indicate that the Deputy raised it, although I am not clear from the Deputy's presentation as to why it is still in preplanning or whether there were particular difficulties with the planning.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this. It is an issue, and as newer technologies emerge, we are getting more crowded road space again. Just as we have begun to segregate cycling and walking from motor transport, we now find that some of those routes are crowded out by e-scooters and e-bikes, which are fantastic for people who may not be as fit as others for getting up a hill and so on. There is always a balance needed between overregulation and no regulation at all, or guidelines in terms of trying to influence behaviour and increase awareness about the dangers of all of this. I will ask the Minister for justice to reflect on the Deputy's presentation. It could be a matter for an Oireachtas subcommittee to take hearings on and see how best we can plan this.”
“First, I thank the Deputy for his comment. I think it is a very fair point in terms of the need for a forward planning unit in the Department of children. There is one now to identify the gaps and the needs of a growing population for childcare services. It will be resourced. It has been a success and impactful in the Department of education relative to the situation prior to that, when perhaps there was not as focused an approach to planning ahead in terms of changing demographics and so forth. The short answer is "Yes", and this is something we are equally anxious to do.”
“If we are honest, and rightly so, successive governments in the past had to introduce drink driving laws and all of that, all of which reduced capacity for people to get to the pub at night. There are lots of factors and behaviour has changed as well.”
“I was going to say you could do with a pint after all that. There are approximately 7,200 pubs in the country. That still is a substantial amount. The rural pub does play a very important social role in rural communities and, indeed, for the urban community to visit rural communities and enjoy the ambiance, relaxation and engagement with people. We fully acknowledge that. I think there have been a lot of changes in society over the years and the majority of rural pubs closing may have to do with family obligations. Many were kept going by an individual member of the family, with younger members maybe not in a position to take it up because of full-time jobs and so on.”
“As the Deputy knows, the pay issue was resolved. There was a full and final settlement with Fórsa in terms of school secretaries. They play an essential and very important role in terms of the organisation and smooth administration of schools. Dialogue is the best way to deal with these issues. The Department officials are fully open to engaging with Fórsa to try to reach a solution on this matter. I hope we can get a mechanism to get discussion going on this issue.”
“The Deputy, unfortunately, and his party engage continually in the politics of slogans, not action. We are taking action. The Deputy mentioned two; we have taken about 15 actions since the beginning of this Government in relation to housing alone and will continue to take action on housing. There will be housing types of different size. By definition, that is okay. They will not be dark shoeboxes.”
“There may be a relative upside risk if none of this materialises but there will be tariffs and the Economic Social Research Institute has done tables of 10% tariff impact and so on.”
“First, the situation is very volatile and is very uncertain. It is because of that we are facing a very difficult background to the development of the NDP, completion of the national development plan, which is capital expenditure on water, energy and so on, the Estimates process with the Government and line Ministers and then the budget itself in October. It is very difficult to forecast and we have to be prudent. We have to be cautious and careful in terms of the resources we have. I know everybody wants us to spend billions but that is not open to us. We will be spending a lot. There will not be any austerity as has been asserted but there has to be some degree of caution here because the situation could change. There is considerable downside risk.”
“I pay tribute to Jacqueline Connolly who has demonstrated remarkable courage and resilience in the aftermath of the tragic murder of her sister Clodagh, and also Mary Coll, her mother, who met with the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, as the Deputy said, back in February and previously with the then Minister, Deputy McEntee. The Attorney General also received correspondence for solicitors representing the family but he would have written back. I think he wrote back in December, where he indicated that he required further information in respect of a decision to do a second inquest. He has not refused a second inquest and is requesting further information. He needs apparently substantive documentation. I have spoken to him in relation to that. Liam Keane is the solicitor who wrote to the Attorney General. Also-----”
“We acknowledge fully the exposure of this country to damage from any tariff imposition because we are a small, open economy. I am glad the Deputy has embraced that. There were times when he did not. We have no issue with being a bridge with the US.”