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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Every one of 5,818 lines we hold for Micheál Martin, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 9 of 117.
“First of all, I thank the Deputy for again raising this issue. As I have said, the abuse committed by Leo Hickey was horrific and unconscionable. The suffering and trauma people went through because of him has been life lasting. The Deputy is correct that in 2019, I advocated very strongly that the original redress scheme of 2015 was far too limited. That led to the appointment of Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill to recommend an expansion of the ex gratia payment scheme. That is what I have already referenced; that opened it up to some degree back then to 128 people. Obviously, not all were in Dunderrow but I did not have the identities of all of them. I represented one or two people myself from outside of Dunderrow, who had come to me as a TD at the time because I was not in Government then.”
“I want to make that point. It was many years later when this particular case came to the Irish courts and then it went on to the European Court of Human Rights. That said, various ex gratia payment schemes were developed in respect of Dunderrow and others who were party to the case at the European court. As I said earlier, about 193 applications were made. About 128 were approved under the ex gratia payment scheme. We are going to enter into remediation at this stage in good faith. We have a wider issue which the interdepartmental group is examining in terms of both redress and the implications of all that for the State, for survivors and for religious orders in terms of their culpability and accountability in respect of contributing to redress.”
“The interdepartmental group recognised that consideration of a redress payment scheme, more generally, has far-reaching implications and it is doing further detailed work in respect of that. The survivors of the abuse by Leo Hickey from Dunderrow, through their legal representatives, have sought mediation. As I have said, legal advice is that we would enter into mediation. We will enter into a mediation in good faith and we will engage constructively. I said that earlier this morning. Admhaím gur fhulaing na mná agus na daltaí go han-mhór ar fad as ucht an méid a rinne an múinteoir Leo Hickey. Bhí sé uafásach agus go hainnis. Admhaím go bhfuil tráma faoi leith ann do na daoine atá fós ag fulaingt as ucht an méid a rinne sé.”
“Some 193 applications were made to the revised ex gratia scheme and a total of €10.75 million has issued to about 128 approved applicants. The scheme closed to applications in July 2023. Meanwhile, as Members know, the scoping inquiry into historical sexual abuse in day and boarding schools more generally run by religious orders published in 2024 recognised the significance of the issues for survivors and their expressed wish that those running those schools where sexual abuse occurred should be held accountable financially. An interdepartmental group was then established in the aftermath of the scoping report to work on each of the recommendations, particularly in the context of redress.”
“That was not advised to what was a diocesan school at the time. That was the key underlying reason for the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. Since then, a number of measures have been put in place to implement the judgment, including an ex gratia payment scheme. That said, in 2015 the then Government established an ex gratia scheme of payments for victims of abuse by teachers and other school employees that was designed to ensure the implementation of the judgment. However, that scheme was not adequate at all, and it was reviewed in 2019 by an independent assessor, Mr. Justice Iarfhlaith O'Neill. This involves some who were in Dunderrow but others who were not in Dunderrow. The scope of the scheme was expanded following Mr. Justice O'Neill's conclusions and there was a more straightforward process.”
“The abuse carried out by Leo Hickey was evil, horrific and deeply harmful to many people who were children at the time that he was in Dunderrow National School in the 1960s. I do appreciate and I am fully conscious of the enormous trauma experienced by the survivors of sexual abuse in that school and abuse carried out by Leo Hickey. It is important that their voices are heard and listened to. In 2014, the European Court of Human Rights found that in respect of day schools the State failed in its obligation in specific circumstances to protect Louise O'Keeffe from sexual abuse by Leo Hickey. This was not the Irish courts but the European Court of Human Rights. The key issue was the absence of any safeguarding advices or Children First guidelines. All of that was not in place at the time.”
“I was told the reason for the six-month closure was the Presidency. I do not think that is a fair argument either. I would not want any facility to have to close for six months because of the EU Presidency. It does not merit that from a security point of view. The main activities at Dublin Castle are to the latter part of the Presidency. There will be ongoing events but there has to be balance and perspective. I have checked this out and I do not think it is closing for six months because of the Presidency. I think the Chester Beatty Library in Dublin Castle is involved. I have asked my officials to check and they have-----”
“I did not realise people were coming into the Public Gallery. I am not in a position to meet today. I have checked this out and I have to be careful in what I say. I understand it is not down to the European Union Presidency and there may be other issues - I do not know. I do not know if it is up for tender. Sorry, when I say I do not know, there have been indications that there are wider issues but I would not want the Presidency to be a factor in closing down the café.”
“I am sure the Deputy acknowledges that. I am a great supporter of CCTV. I think it does help security and helps with the detection of crime in many instances. It can be a deterrent to committing crime. There probably should be a tripartite contribution or at least the council and the Department of justice should make a contribution to schemes. I do not have the specifics on the Limerick CCTV scheme. I will talk to the Minister for justice in respect of the shortfall.”
“Every allocation to local authorities also had contingency provision for events. That said, the Ministers concerned are still engaging on that issue. I will revert to the Deputy. I will alert the Ministers that she has specifically raised Carlow, but I think it is a more nationwide issue as well. Capital expenditure has increased fairly significantly year on year. I accept that the storms created specific challenges in the areas that were most affected by Storm Chandra in particular. There are implications for the need for urgent road repairs in Carlow, Wicklow and other areas.”
“The fact is that supports have been provided. On the specifics of the organisation the Deputy referenced, I do not have the details here. I will alert the Minister for justice that the Deputy has raised that specific case and ask him to revert to the Deputy on it.”
“I will talk to the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, and let her know the Deputy has raised the issue of home-based provision. More schools have participated this year than last year. That is probably creating challenges as well.”
“As I said earlier, and this is just a general view, I think we need to review this. The scheme has expanded beyond any original parameters, which is a good thing. Funding has increased from about €12 million in 2016 to about €62 million now, supporting 70,800 students across 2,000 schools. Funding has increased by €42 million in the last five years alone. The programme is open to all schools, with a particular focus on increasing participation in special schools. Eligibility remains largely unchanged from 2025. My understanding is that it was originally for special schools and special needs children. That was the original objective of the schools summer programme. There always has to be a razor-sharp focus on targeting those who most need it.”
“As we know, there are agreements about public service pay. There have been agreements with the section 39 workers. I understand from the Minister that about €35 per hour is the rate for tendering for services. I believe every effort should be made to try to resolve this. Regarding this company, it seems that how this is all being structured is an anomaly. I might be wrong but that is my sense of it. We need to get to the bottom of it and make sure there is a sustainable basis for workers and for the service.”
“I will speak to the Minister about Sharon's request for a meeting. I appreciate it is a traumatic situation. The Minister has met many victims over the last while. As the Deputy knows, Jennie's Law is coming in because of his engagement with TDs, families, Deputy Paul McAuliffe and others, so the Minister is responsive to situations. I will alert him that the Deputy raised this.”
“With the O'Malley report and so on, right across the board, there have been significant reforms in respect of support for victims through the criminal justice system. We will continue to have victims as a core focus of our policy. I will speak to the Minister in respect of-----”
“That might be a similar issue to the one that Deputy Collins raised. I will talk to the Minister in respect of it. The scheme for English language classes was quite expansive because of the arrival under the international protection order-----”
“The Minister, Deputy Calleary, has already met branch managers. The Department of Social Protection has offered all branch managers a 10% increase in their remuneration with effect from 1 June 2026. This has been sanctioned and my understanding is that a number of branch managers have accepted the increase, but the Branch Managers' Association has refused the increase. I am told the Department is not in a position to agree to this request for arbitration either collectively or individually. Across the board, the Government has public service norms, pay norms, and various frameworks to govern issues that arise in respect of remuneration.”
“I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Department is saying it has received more applications for the school-based scheme this year than the number that ran it in 2025, with increases across primary, post-primary and special schools. In addition, the number of home-based applications has significantly increased since last year. Officials in the Department are engaging with schools on an individual basis in relation to the running of the summer programme. The staffing allocation for special class groups in the primary school scheme is typically the same as the special class resource allocation that exists during the school year. After this year's scheme, there should be a review of this. We need to target our resources at those most in need. The scheme has been expanding significantly.”
“The additional funding was there for quite a number of years and it was a temporary intervention. The ETBs will work with SOLAS and others to try to maximise provision and deal with a newer phase.”
“I thank the Deputy for his question but I think he is conflating separate matters. This is not a cut in adult education. A total of 16 ETBs provide free English language classes for speakers of other languages. Demand rose sharply after the war in Ukraine broke out, going from approximately 9,000 learners in 2019 to more than 30,000 last year, 61% of whom were international protection applicants or displaced Ukrainians. In response to that increased demand and the need to ensure effective integration, temporary funding of up to €25 million annually was provided between 2023 and 2025. In line with budget 2026, that temporary funding has now been reduced but the core provision has not been reduced. ETBs retain flexibility within their overall budgets to prioritise English language classes locally. The change will have impacts.”
“First, I agree with the Deputy that if this is true, it would be scandalous and unacceptable. However, I do not have the details behind it and I do not know who gave him the tip-off. If he gives me the details, I certainly will pursue the matter because there can be no justification for that.”
“Any information she has in respect of those visits, if they involved criminal activity, should be referred to the Garda. I do not know whether that has occurred. I have no issue meeting with Lisa Phillips. I got a very late request to do so in Washington but it was not possible to schedule a meeting.”
“I disagree with the Deputy. I think we have a strong Minister for justice who is making sensible decisions. Some people will perhaps not like it because they liked the old system. We should not be having multiplicities of hearings. That is not tenable or sustainable. There is going to be no reduction in the cost to the State of providing criminal legal aid because of the reform. The Minister is proposing a flat fee. He has engaged with the Law Society and the Bar Council in respect of this. Expenditure on criminal legal aid in the District Court has nearly doubled from €19 million in 2015 to €37 million in 2024. Come on, Deputy. We cannot all go around the place saying-----”
“The bottom line is the licence creates significant revenue, notwithstanding that it has come down somewhat. The Deputy just cannot have it each and every way. Saying "scrap it" sounds good - it is populist; it is grand. However, the Government cannot be paying for everything all the time and that reality needs to sink in as well. The licence fee is there and it complements what the Government has invested in public service broadcasting and in public service media more generally through Coimisiún na Meán, various schemes and so forth. We all need a bit of a reality check here.”
“Indeed, I must pay tribute to Councillor Sean Carey as well for the leadership he gave to the council at the weekend. One of the challenges is that somebody could be on a list for four years, five years or even longer in cities and then an increase in income could suddenly take them out of the eligibility. We have to watch that as well. The Minister is examining it and will come back to us with his proposals on this. The Minister will come back to the House on that because there are many cases similar to what the Deputy articulated and illustrated. That is the general direction of travel that we want to go in as a Government.”
“There are issues in terms of the coupling of that with housing assistance payments and so on, but we need to bite the bullet on this because working people need an opportunity to access social housing, particularly workers who will not be at a level that they can borrow. I said to the Department that there are all these traditional reasons we cannot do something but we did it in 2023 with the €5,000 increase. Family composition should be weighted more as well. If a family have two children or three children, there should be a higher weight to family composition and eligibility for a social house also. It is interesting there have been misleading articles and so on. Because we are nearly at 10,000 social houses a year being built-----”
“They put on a show and performance which was heartwarming and fantastic, and their daughter, Hannah, led the way. Hannah has a wonderful personality and performed on a number of instruments and sang, etc. It was a wonderful experience. In terms of social housing income thresholds, I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy James Browne, and the Minister of State, Deputy John Cummins, and we have had discussions on this. Yesterday's announcement was very significant. The €1 billion announced by the Minister will unlock thousands of houses. I am in favour of increasing social housing income thresholds substantially and significantly.”
“On Westport, the Deputy was right to mention Rosaleen Heraty. The people of Mayo did themselves proud in terms of how they organised at community-based level and that was evident in the civic reception. I want to give a mention to Cuimsiú, which Chuck and Mairéad Dunford created, which facilitates special needs children participating in live traditional music. It was fantastic to witness. It was their own child coming back home in the car said to them, "When will I be playing in the Fleadh?" They went to Comhaltas and a Comhaltas branch in Mayo has started this. Now two or three Comhaltas branches are doing it, which is sending out a signal to the rest of the country and the world that we want Comhaltas branches ultimately trying to embrace this.”
“First of all, I could not agree more with the Deputy in terms of the wonderful day we had on Sunday with the visit of Mark Carney and his wife Diana back to their home town of Aughagower. I pay tribute to Colette O'Toole and the entire community in Aughagower, including Fr. Tod and all involved, for the celebration of the mass there and the wonderful sense of community spirit which illustrates the strength of community spirit in Ireland - it is still very alive and well. There was a certain degree of pride that the grandson of one of their own was returning as Prime Minister of Canada and, in addition, strengthening also the political and economic links between Canada and Ireland and Canada and the European Union, and we will have more of that during the Irish Presidency of the European Union.”
“The Government is monitoring the situation and will make clear to the Dáil before the summer recess our position on that and how we deal with that. The permanent reductions in cost of living the Government has introduced include free schoolbooks at primary and secondary level, expansion of free hot school meals, universal childcare subsidy, €280 new baby grant, hospital inpatient charges abolished, expanded free GP care, free contraception for 17- to 35-year-olds, free HRT. I could go on in terms of the interventions the Government has done to create a permanent reduction in the cost of living, notwithstanding the huge increases. We have had the Covid pandemic. The supply-chain crisis led to inflation. The war in Ukraine led to inflation and an energy crisis-----”
“They key issue of course is we have to replace fossil fuels with renewables. The Deputy mentioned the carbon tax. Substantial money goes to farmers - 60% of ACRES is from the Exchequer. Substantial money goes on retrofitting. Since 2019, over €1.8 billion has been spent on retrofitting. We have been able to provide energy upgrades to 268,000 homes. We could not have done that if we did not have the carbon tax in place.”
“We increased core social protection rates by €10 and introduced a significant targeted increase in child support payments. The fuel allowance was increased and expanded to take in those on the working family payment. A one-adult household on the lone parent payment with one child will see an increase of 9%, that is €1,800, from the Department. A two-adult household will see an increase of just over 8% or €2,300, in their payments. On the broader issue of those in arrears, there are about 184,000 in arrears on electricity over 90 days. The Department of energy and the Department of Social Protection will further analyse that and see how our resources can be targeted on that issue as they have been in other areas through MABS. We have helped families and so on deal with situations that they are in.”
“When the governor of the European Central Bank spoke to the EU Council at the commencement of the war, she said things were going in the right direction. Inflation was coming down to around 2% and growth was happening again in the European economy more widely. The war hit and we saw what happened in Qatar. The positive news is we have, hopefully, a sustainable peace. That will lead and already has led to a reduction in the global market price of oil and gas. That will continue for the rest of the year and into the new year. Even better outcomes could develop from that. We are very conscious of inflationary pressures. That is why in the budget and in the recent package of €750 million, we intervened to alleviate pressures as much as possible on people. Some reductions in the budget were of a permanent nature.”
“I will be working throughout July. I hope people get a bit of sunshine in July but the way things are going it is a fairly rare occurrence these days. The issue the Deputy raised is serious. The one issue he studiously avoided mentioning, bar indirectly when quoting the Governor of the Central Bank, was the war in the Middle East. He ignored the two wars - ignored them completely - and he said other things were the drivers of increases in energy prices. The driver has been clearly the war in Iran. Everybody knows that and he ignored it in his presentation. We acknowledge there is a cost-of-living issue. The Deputy quoted from the Governor of the Central Bank. What did the Governor say? The Deputy can quote it back to me if he wishes. It was that global pressures will create inflationary pressures here. That is true across Europe.”
“Legislatively it was imprecise and poor in terms of wanting Government to interfere in clinical decision-making. Maybe that was unintended but it was clearly in what was proposed. This is not simple. We will continue with a conscience vote in terms of the members of our party.”
“The timeline for the amendment is subject to the Oireachtas. It is going to go to the committee if it is passed; if it is not, it will not go to the committee. That is where we are. It will be subject to the vote this evening and, subsequent to that, it will be considered by the committee. The Minister has already engaged with Deputy Cullinane on this. The Minister will be co-operative and in constructive mode if the amendment is carried this evening. We have to be careful when generalising about the reasons every single person had to go to the UK. One of the issues here is every case can be different. Legislative attempts to deal with that could have unintended consequences. I voted against the Social Democrats Bill two weeks ago because I felt it went too far.”
“Very few participants considered the waiting period to have been beneficial to their own decision-making process, although some acknowledged that other women might value additional time for reflection. Those availing of the services now illustrate the degree to which the services have proved to be quite comprehensive in scope and access.”
“On the three days, it is interesting if you look at the unplanned pregnancy and abortion care, UnPAC, study commissioned as part of the review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. It explored the experiences of individuals accessing abortion services under section 12 of the Act. The findings indicate that the mandatory three-day waiting period was a recurring feature of discussions across the majority of interviews conducted. Participants expressed a range of views regarding its value and impact. While some regarded it as a procedural requirement that had to be navigated, others viewed it as a barrier or deterrent to accessing care.”
“That is what will happen in respect of the vote this evening on the three-day wait period, and we should respect everybody's perspectives and views on this question.”
“Significant steps have been taken in this regard, including the expansion of hospital services, a sustained increase in community providers - there are about 492 now - the introduction of safe access zones and the continuation of the revised model of care for termination in early pregnancy. These measures have substantially reduced barriers and increased access to services for those who need it. There is a broad spectrum of sincerely held views on this issue. We should respect that, and the Government respects that insofar as we have a conscience vote on these issues, and we have had. The constituent members - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents - allow for a conscience vote on this.”
“First of all, I recognise that this is a very sensitive issue and I appreciate the Deputy raising it in the manner she has. She campaigned consistently over a long period for the abolition of the eighth amendment. On reflection, in my view, this area should never have been in the Constitution in the first instance. It came out of a particular era in the 1980s. Be that as it may, the people spoke in the referendum. In the context of that referendum, there was a general debate on what would follow. If we look at what has happened, there is now safe and equitable access to termination of pregnancy services. The Deputy did not really acknowledge that in her presentation.”
“Please, I did not interrupt the Deputy. It depends on soil composition and other factors. I looked at the data on estuaries. There has been quite a significant improvement in terms of phosphorous in estuaries, although not so much in terms of rivers and lakes. It is not where it should be - there is no question around that - but we have a number of fronts. You could end the directive tomorrow morning but that would have huge impacts on the dairy industry and other industries.”
“On the maintenance of the nitrates derogation, we have been availing of the derogation since 2006 primarily because our grass-based farming system is much different to systems across the Continent. About 7,000 farmers have participated in that. By the way, those participating farmers probably have a higher and better record than those outside the derogation. It is more complex than the Deputy is articulating. In some tillage areas, you can have significant run-off. It is not all dairy. Depending on-----”
“There were about 5,500 applications from the farming community. Since 2015, close to €200 million has supported investment in manure storage and low-emission slurry-spreading equipment. There are about 54,000 farmers participating in the agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, while the agricultural sustainability support and advisory programme, ASSAP, will continue providing free, confidential water quality advice through to 2027.”
“The Deputy cannot say that the Government is not prioritising water quality, because that is one very effective way of improving it. By the way, I will say in passing that Uisce Éireann needs to dramatically reduce the pollution emanating from its own discharges, half of which are operational issues, which in my view is absolutely unacceptable from a governance and management perspective. In terms of agriculture, there is a significant issue there. We have never said there was not, but we have again, in a range of initiatives, provided supports for farmers to take additional measures to improve water quality. The farming for water European innovation partnership, EIP, with funding of over €60 million, was launched in 2024 and involved Teagasc, Dairy Industry Ireland and the local authorities water programme, LAWPRO.”
“There is a further €230 million for rural water infrastructure, including group water schemes and so forth. Regarding river, lake and coastal water quality restoration, about €306 million has been allocated to that. A substantial amount of the money for Uisce Éireann is for capital projects, which means upgrading water treatment plants, removing supplies from the EPA remedial action list, eliminating contamination risks, new wastewater treatment plants, upgrading sewerage infrastructure, eliminating untreated sewage discharges into rivers and coastal waters, water mains replacement, pipe upgrades and the national leakage reduction programme. That is the level of investment we are putting in, which is unprecedented.”
“First, it is a priority for the Government. The EPA report has serious findings. There were some positives in terms of some areas that had improved, and I think the report recommends that they be studied more, particularly in the Bannow area, to understand what is being done there that could be replicated elsewhere. The Deputy will be aware that we have set up a Cabinet subcommittee specifically on water quality to oversee the implementation of the programme for Government commitments. A number of key Ministers are on it. In terms of investment in water quality, there is an overall national development plan allocation for water. The Government has allocated about €12.2 billion over the next few years for water services and water quality, of which 95% or €11.7 billion is earmarked directly for Uisce Éireann.”
“It is that we want to see the criminal justice system bring this to its conclusion. I accept the point about doing so in a timely manner and I am assured that the Director of Public Prosecutions is assessing the file and will make her decision.”
“I will make two points. The Minister, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan, met a number of family members and their legal representatives in April of this year. It is unfair to say he spurned them. Generally, the position has always been, when a criminal investigation is under way, that Ministers for justice have to keep a distance from the case, given the separation of powers and so forth. I have no issue with meeting the families and will do so. That is to be worked out. However, there is a fundamental point, if the Deputy thinks about. Regarding the viability of having a criminal investigation and a public inquiry at the one time, as a layperson - this is not a legal observation - I think it would be problematic and challenging as regards witnesses and so forth. The Government's position is clear.”