I will ‘definitely not' run for presidency, says Taoiseach Micheal Martin as he discusses National Development Plan
Speaking to Morning Ireland
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Minister Peter Burke has been calling to cut VAT rate for the hospitality sector
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Mr Martin said he was elected to "lead
And an
Asked if he would consider putting his name forward,
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"I have that obligation to the public. No disrespect to the presidency, but I gave commitments to the people that I will serve for the next five years and that's what I'm going to."
There are a lot of names floating in association with Fianna Fiall in
He added: "Party will consider that over the next number of weeks."
Mr Martin also discussed the revised version of NDP which was announced yesterday with a total investment of €275.4 billion.
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It adds more than €40 billion for housing and water services, €22.3 billion for
It also cited €2 billion to be delivered to
Tetchy scenes in Dail as Micheal Martin accused of calling Mary Lou McDonald liar in Irish
Mr Martin has explained that the money allocated to the NDP investments in the public sector comes from the government's projections of surpluses over the next number of years.
He continued: "There is the additionality of €14 billion from the receipts from
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"Now allocations have come from, it would be specifically dedicated to the metro which is clearly a climate infrastructural piece, because obviously the more people we can get on public transport the better in terms of climate.
"I can't see
KEY PRIORITIES
The Government also promised to cut the VAT rate for the hospitality sector in the
Mr Martin added: "Nothing yet is finalised in terms of the budget.
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"We will be prioritising disability and we will be prioritising child poverty.
"We will be targeting our measures and social protection to those most."
Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke has been calling to cut VAT rate for the hospitality sector.
The Minister said the cut is a "jobs measure to sustain employment" in the sector.
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Speaking on RTE's
"At this point in time, over 200,000 people are employed in it. It's a €9 billion sector. And it's so important to try and keep that sector sustainable.
'VIABILITY MEASURE'
"This is a jobs measure to sustain the employment in that sector, which is critically important to me as Minister for
"It is a viability measure, they are under significant pressure."
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Mr Burke added: "We've had a lot of additionality from government, part of it over the last three years, in terms of regulatory requirements in the trajectory to a living wage and sick pay in so many areas that have put significant pressure on the sector and have reduced their margins.
"We've pushed 90,000 jobs into the economy over the last 12 months.
"And considering when we're at or about full employment, to put 90,000 extra households with additional income into them with more jobs is very significant."
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Michael Martin has said he will 'definitely not' run for Irish presidency this year
Credit: Collins Photos
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