Latest news with #Micheál Martin
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Spend of €1 million on eight advisers to Taoiseach
Over €1 million will be spent this year on paying the wages of the Taoiseach's eight political and media advisers. The Department of Public Expenditure has made public the details of the salaries. Advertisement Taoiseach Micheál Martin currently has eight special advisers including his deputy secretary and assistant secretary. All eight are being paid over €100,000 annually. The yearly bill for the Taoiseach's eight advisers comes to just over €1 million. The highest paid is his deputy secretary, who is on over €210,000 per year. For comparison, the highest paid special adviser in the UK is Cork native Morgan McSweeney. The chief of staff for UK prime minister Keir Starmer is paid €185,000 per year. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said those at the top of Government are out of touch. "This is outrageous. Why does the Taoiseach need eight special advisers? These salaries are higher than their British counterparts. "One year of special advisers' salaries for the Taoiseach is three times the amount of the cost of the bicycle shed and it's ongoing, it's happening every single year. "I think that cavalier attitude towards taxpayers' money is evident right at the top of the Government, and I think there needs to be change."
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Taoiseach criticises US diplomat who told Irish Government to ‘sober up'
The Taioseach has rejected comments from an American diplomat who said the Irish Government needs to 'sober up'. US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee criticised the Irish Government over its plans to implement legislation that would ban the imports of goods originating in Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories. Advertisement Mr Huckabee wrote in a post on X: 'Did the Irish fall into a vat of Guinness and propose something so stupid that it would be attributed to act of diplomatic intoxication? 'It will harm Arabs as much as Israelis. 'Sober up Ireland! Call (the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Aiffairs) and say you're sorry!' Asked about the comments on Wednesday, Micheál Martin said: 'I reject the comments made by the ambassador. Advertisement 'The situation is very serious in Gaza including an appalling loss of human life. Terrible war crimes are being committed. 'Ireland has consistently condemned Hamas and we equally condemn Israeli breaches of international humanitarian law in Gaza. 'The slaughter of children must stop. The slaughter of innocent civilians queuing for food must stop. What is going on is beyond any moral compass. 'Ireland stands for peace and a political pathway forward.' Advertisement Criticism of the Occupied Territories Bill also came from figures in the Israeli government, which Mr Martin has levelled criticism at for the ongoing war in Gaza. Mr Martin said: 'I think Israel needs to focus on ending the war that is slaughtering innocent children and civilians. 'This kind of row is ridiculous, given the enormity of killing and the enormity of the death and destruction that's happening in Gaza – and the continuing shocking behaviour in the West Bank and the freedom that's given to extreme settlers to destroy settlements and housing belonging to Palestinians who've been there on that land for generations. 'The time for this war to end this has long passed.' Advertisement He added: 'There's a moral issue here, there's an ethical issue at this stage. 'People queuing for food have been slaughtered. Bombs are landing on houses and children have been slaughtered.'
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
GAA Palestine suffers €38,000 loss on travel as tour to Ireland left in limbo
GAA Palestine has suffered a loss of €38,000 on non-refundable travel arrangements after the Department of Justice refused their visa application last week to bring 33 children from the West Bank on a two-week tour of Ireland, the organisation said on Tuesday. The group said the Irish Embassy in Tel Aviv had insisted on the purchase of flights before visas were approved, which the organisation condemned as 'reckless'. It receives no central funding and relied on donations to fund its trip. GAA Palestine was established in early 2024 and is not officially recognised by the GAA authority in Ireland, though organisers have said this process is nearing completion. The group was due to arrive in Dublin this Friday, with plans to play a series of friendly and competitive hurling matches with clubs across the island, visit various localities and partake in intercultural exchange activities. READ MORE They were to return to the West Bank two weeks later on August 1st. They were informed last Wednesday, 10 days before their planned departure, of their visa applications being refused. Describing the situation as 'deeply disappointing', the group said it was hopeful that a last-minute resolution could be found. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said in the Dáil he is 'perplexed' at the way GAA Palestine approached seeking visas for the 33 Gazan children and 14 adults to travel to Ireland. He said 'the whole thing seems haphazardly organised', as he questioned why no appeal had been made, a week after visas were initially refused. Mr Martin said he was worried a 'certain narrative' is being created that the Government is anti-Palestinian or not facilitating Palestinians coming to Ireland through medical evacuations or with the GAA Palestine organisation for a hurling summer tour. [ Heartbreak as Palestinian GAA players are refused visas to visit Ireland Opens in new window ] Sinn Féin's Ruairí Ó Murchú said an appeal was lodged with the Department of Justice at 1.15pm on Tuesday and he hoped the visas could be delivered by 2pm tomorrow. Otherwise 'there will be an issue in relation to moving through with the issue of violence from settlers because that's the reality that these children are dealing with'. Mr Martin told TDs, 'I am dealing with this' but said that 'given a week has passed since the original decision I find the whole thing somewhat perplexing'. He told TDs 'normally, what would happen is a sporting organisation would come to the Government and say 'we want to organise' well in advance' and that 'there's something wrong here'. It was a serious matter and they could not ignore normal visa procedures, he said. They had to have proper documentation, proper passports and there had to be consent for children travelling with adults who are not their parents.
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Cabinet to be briefed on Trump's tariff threat and Irish focus on avoiding ‘full blown' trade war
Ministers will be briefed on Tuesday on US president Donald Trump 's threat to impose 30 per cent tariffs on goods from the European Union and how Ireland's focus is to avoid a 'full-blown trade war'. The Cabinet will also be updated on plans for large-scale annual trade missions to key countries as Ireland seeks to diversify markets amid the uncertainty over trade with the US. The first such trip will be to Canada in the autumn when Taoiseach Micheál Martin is set to meet prime minister Mark Carney on a mission that is expected to have several other ministers travelling. The EU's trade commissioner Maros Sefcovic has said Mr Trump's threatened tariffs would practically 'prohibit' the future flow of trade from Europe to the US. READ MORE While the EU will seek to use the time before Mr Trump's August 1st deadline for the new tariffs to find a negotiated solution, the European Commission is preparing its own set of tariffs if talks fail. Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Simon Harris will tell Cabinet that US tariffs of 30 per cent could have a significant impact on the economy, including potential job losses at a faster pace. The Department of Finance is currently modelling the precise impact. The Irish Times understands Mr Harris will tell colleagues that Ireland's focus in advance of August 1st is on negotiations to reach a deal to avoid the imposition of higher tariffs that could precipitate 'a full-blown trade war between the EU and the US' . He will also warn that the possibility of the EU imposing a revised list of counter tariffs in the event talks fail would cause pain on both sides. Trade missions Meanwhile, Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke will seek Cabinet approval to introduce annual Team Ireland Trade Missions every October in key markets, with potential for Irish exporters, closer political engagement, and potential foreign direct investment. Canada has been selected this year; locations considered for future missions include India, China and the United Arab Emirates. Camhs Separately, Cabinet will be told there has been a very high level of uptake of a compensation scheme established in the wake of failings in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (Camhs) in south Kerry. The scheme was put in place following the Health Service Executive's publication of the Maskey Report in 2022. There were deficits in care identified in the cases of 240 children and young people attending Camhs in south Kerry between July 2016 and April 2021. Minister of State for Mental Health Mary Butler is expected to tell Cabinet that as of June 18th there have been 230 applications to the compensation scheme; 83 applications have gone to mediation so far and 74 (89 per cent) have concluded in a settlement. [ Simon Harris tells US ambassador 'landing zone' can be found to avert trade war Opens in new window ] Elsewhere, Minister for Justice Jim O'Callaghan is to seek approval for the heads of a Bill to implement recommendations from a report by Mr Justice Peter Kelly on civil justice reforms which was published in 2020. If approved, the Bill will reform: discovery; judicial review; civil procedure in the courts; and jurisdiction in the Circuit and District Courts. [ EU/US trade deal is still possible says Paschal Donohoe Opens in new window ] Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers will provide a briefing on State spending for the first half of 2025. By the end of June, current expenditure was up 6.5 per cent compared with the first six months of 2024 and capital expenditure was up 22.5 per cent. He will tell Cabinet ministers the increase in capital spending underscores Government investment in infrastructure, including housing and education.
Irish Times
11-07-2025
- Irish Times
Calls for victims of sexual exploitation to be given better accommodation
Victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation should have specialist shelters provided for them, a charity has said. Ruhama , the Dublin-based non-governmental organisation that deals with women affected by prostitution especially those who have been trafficked, has said the State must provide better facilities. It said there were 'serious shortcomings' in support and that Ireland was in breach of its obligations under European Union directives in the area. In its annual report it listed 307 individuals, mostly women, who accessed its services. Of those, 108 sought trauma and counselling services last year. READ MORE The charity also recommended a study be done on Rosa's Place, a pilot scheme in Cork city run by DePaul Ireland which provides accommodation for eight female victims of sexual exploitation. Taoiseach Micheál Martin will attend the launch of new research highlighting significant deficiencies in accommodation on Friday and also officially open Ruhama's Cork-Kerry services. Its report recommends women be given step-down accommodation to support their transition from specialist shelter to own-door living. It also recommends that approved housing body (AHB) accommodation in the community be provided for victims and their children for up to three years. 'All accommodation should be victim-centred using a trauma-informed approach,' it said. It also notes that a 'high level of regular and specialised training must be mandatory for all staff and personnel involved in managing or delivering accommodation services'. 'The model should include clear mechanisms for monitoring, inspection and oversight that cover all aspects of individual risk, general operation and infrastructure, whether the accommodation is operated by the State, AHBs or local authorities.' The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission found there were 53 victims of human trafficking, including five children, identified in Ireland in 2023, the last year for which there are official figures. The commission's Trafficking in Human Beings in Ireland 2023 report also found more than 500 people had been identified as victims of human trafficking in Ireland over the last decade.
