Micheál Martin

Sorry, it is not less than 10%, actually.

No. The bulk of the last measure is for the general reduction of excise on diesel and petrol, which will impact on everybody. That is far greater than the €100 million package for agriculture and €120 million for transport. By the way, transport is the lifeblood of everybody. We are not doing haulage for the sake of hauliers alone. We are doing it because we want to get goods and services across t…

We are working on the cost of disability issue in terms of the budget.

I will talk to the Minister concerned. We are looking at an additional €700 million increase in the current budget of the Department of education. It is largely around increased teacher allocation. That is over and above the budget that was passed only in October last. School transport costs will increase very substantially because the numbers are increasing all of the time but I will talk to the …

I do not believe the main street of the capital should be shut down for a week. I do not believe motorways should be blockaded for a week because it is an infringement on a basic human right - the right of free movement. It is a very basic right. I have problems with that form of protest. I have articulated that from the very beginning. It is regrettable that others in the House cannot accept tha…

There had been issues with the administration of ACRES, which is a €1.5 billion scheme. By the way, a lot of the funding from this Government for ACRES comes from the carbon tax. It is 60% funded by the Government and 40% by the European Union Common Agricultural Policy. I would take the Deputy's point. The Minister is doing everything he can to improve and enhance the administrative capacity of …

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together. I travelled to Beijing and Shanghai in early January, the first official visit by a Taoiseach since 2012. While there, I met with key political figures and Chinese leaders in a variety of fields, including business, tourism and education, with the aim of strengthening our political, economic and cultural links. Ireland’s economic and …

I thank all the Members for their comments. With respect to Deputy Boyd Barrett and others, in terms of the human rights issues, we do raise them. China has no issue with foreign leaders raising human rights issues. Deputy Martin Daly emphasised the importance of raising them. However, one gets a robust response. They defend their position on the Jimmy Lai case. It was quite a lengthy conversation…

It is not a military base. If you want to see a military base go to Spain, go to Italy, go to Germany. We need to be accurate with our commentary. This kind of denigration of Shannon Airport will damage Shannon Airport, will damage the economy of Shannon and will damage jobs in Shannon Airport. Charter planes are used to bring soldiers home or whatever.

There is no US military base in Shannon Airport. It is wrong to characterise it as such. Go and look at what a military base is - structure, logistics and everything. That is not what Shannon Airport is.

I think we need a small bit of cop on in respect of it. That is my view on it. Deputies may disagree and they are entitled to disagree. Again, we are committed to military neutrality. We are not joining any military alliance. Deputy Murphy is wrong in endeavouring to use the triple lock amendments. I do not believe Russia should have a veto on whether we involve ourselves in a peacekeeping operat…

I am sorry, but we are not.

Look, it is so dishonest to say-----

We are not involved in any war right now.

They are not using our airport for the war. They are not using it for the war.

I just want to make one important point. Deputy Martin Daly referred to us being a small trading nation. We need to export what we produce and make. I gave the figures earlier. What was interesting was that I spoke to Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday. In the context of there being polarisation between two major powers, China and the US, there is now a growing movement from the European Union, …

I covered a lot of people. I am sorry but I did not cover Deputy Hayes’s point about renewable energy. We did actually discuss that with President Xi. They are very conscious of our offshore wind exploration and that we are putting a lot of focus into the offshore and onshore aspects. China manufactures wind turbines at an extraordinary rate. It more or less commands the global market in solar pan…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 12 to 32, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on justice, migration and social affairs oversees the implementation of programme for Government commitments that relate to matters under those areas. It was established in February 2025 following the appointment of the new Government in January. Its first meeting was on 10 April 2025 and it met most recently on…

I thank the Deputies for raising a range of issues. Deputy Ó Murchú was first in terms of antisocial behaviour and a multi-agency approach in County Louth. I agree with the Deputy that the most effective response is a multi-agency response. I support the drug partnerships approach that we had in earlier periods. The local community safety partnership has been effective. It is working in certain lo…

The Deputy did so. He went on the platform-----

You went on the platform and you supported the blockade of the motorway. The Deputy supported the blockades of ports. All I would say to him is-----

I did watch the Deputy's social media posts. He described it as mediating, but who gives him authority to decide who gets oil in this country? Who gives him authority-----

I am asking a rhetorical question. I do not need a response right now. I am making an absolutely fundamental point with regard to parliamentary democracy. The Deputy does not have a right to decide who gets access to work. He does not have a right to decide who gets access to a hospital. He does not have a right to-----

It was wrong of the Deputy to do what he did last week. I say that respectfully to him. No self-appointed group gets that right and no TD gets that right. A number of TDs were at that. Deputy Tóibín, more than most, stated that he had negotiated this or negotiated that. That is not right. For God's sake-----

-----we need freedom of movement for people. The Minister for justice and the Minister for-----