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TÁNAISTE MICHEÁL MARTIN has defended the Government’s record and says his party has done its best for the country, amid crises such as Brexit and a significant rise in the cost of living in recent years.
The Fianna Fáil leader bristled when asked in a radio interview this morning about record homelessness, hospital waiting lists and emigration.
In response to a question about why his party hasn’t taken action on these key issues during its stint in Government and while propping up Fine Gael in a confidence-and-supply arrangement from 2016 to 2020, Martin had a strong back-and-forth with RTÉ presenter Audrey Carville.
“Fianna Fáil have been in government for four years,” said Martin.
“Ah now, come on,” said Carville.
“No, you come on,” Martin replied. “That’s the Mary Lou [McDonald], Sinn Féin narrative, now come on. That’s the old line from Sinn Féin: ‘You’ve been in confidence supply’.
“Well, the positive thing for the country, insofar as Fianna Fáil contributed to a government at a time when Brexit happened, and Brexit was an existential threat at the time to our trade and economy.
“We did the right thing by the country, maybe not by the party … then that gets thrown at us.”
Martin said there are two narratives in the country: a “Sinn Féin narrative” that says the country is a failure, and another narrative which says the economic model in use has served the country well in recent decades.
He added that he doesn’t accept that Ireland is a “failed State”.
Ireland is set to come into about €14 billion soon, after the European Court of Justice last week ruled that Apple must make up for unpaid taxes.
Martin said he expects the money may be added to the State’s purse before the end of this government’s term, but that “it will not feature in this budget”.
However, he added, there will still be a surplus to play with on 1 October.
“As the Minister of Finance Jack Chambers said, we are having many ‘Apples’ over the last number of years because of the very significant amounts of corporation tax revenue that is coming in,” said Martin.
The Apple money “presents opportunities for us to future proof key investments”, such as housing and water quality, he said.
“The Apple money gives us additional capacity to say to people, if we ring fence it for housing, or a certain proportion of it to housing, we can future proof house spending for the next five years on a capital site, or at least support the necessary investment over the next decade. We could capitalise the land development agency, for example.”
Housing targets are to be revised before the end of the year, he said. Currently, the official government target is 30,000 houses built per annum. Martin says this figure needs to rise to 60,000 in the coming years.
“Targets are not a ceiling.”
While the government exceeded the 30,000 goal last year, it has missed its affordable housing targets for three years in a row. He said they’re “close to” achieving this year’s target of 9,300 new build homes.
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Another brilliant idea that I didn’t think of
**shakes head**
How can it send an SMS text or relay your position if you are outside phone range at sea?
It doesnt relay position. it advises overdue. Position is available as last know position visible to the network which is pretty accurate if coastal
If you wish to minimise the “Search” in Search and Rescue, then dont play with apps, just use approved Marine Radio Safety equipment – the IMO say so and they are the International Authority on such matters:
http://www.imo.org/blast/mainframe.asp?topic_id=69&doc_id=581#mobiles
Mobile phones should not be promoted for use in maritime emergencies. VHF, EPIRBS, SART’s are the approved method of relaying your distress. This app may cause more harm than good with users relying solely on this disregarding the fact that mobile coverage is needed. The tit Bon homme tragedy shows just how deadly disregarding the correct methods on favor of a mobile phone can be. This goes against all training in good seamanship.
All proven points bit I think this app is geared towards more inland and coastal water users such as canoes, small day boays, leisure boat users, who may not have a vhf on board or higher, so the coverage may not be an issue and having used it you pre program your course and your due arrival time and if you go over the allotted time then the main system alerts a number you give to raise the alarm, they then ring the coast guard and with a little help from some tracking the coast guard would have a fair idea where you might be….anything which can help narrow a search area can cut down a response time….it’s a handy free app for those who want a bit of safety but can’t afford, in these times we live in to have a full marine communications centre on their boat
I agree it’s a handy aid but this sort of promotion is not relaying any of the dangers related with its use to inexperienced mariners. It would be more prudent to encourage people to carry a relatively cheap handheld VHF. There are always issues when it comes to the use of mobiles for such things. Batteries don’t last long on smartphones, contact numbers input don’t receive the text for whatever reason etc. No coverage, coverage but no Internet. At least with the use of VHF the mayday is immediate and all vessels in the area can respond immediately. Mobile phone usage is NOT encourage within the maritime community.
All I’m saying is yes it’s a useful aid but much more reliable resources should be focused on, and the dangers of mobile phone usage really need to be highlighted. I just feel it could actually increase the response time to an emergency.
Michelle – you Dad in his posts misses the point that the phone doesnt send the sms messages – its the server. So you could even leave you phone on the quay side and the texts would still be sent out at the right time to the right people and all you trip data incl whos onboard, where going, lifejackets carried, etc etc will be available to the rescue services including all your historic voyage patterns. Indeed this app will work best when combined with an EPIRB or PLB. Gary should have accepted an invite to attend the public briefing I would have thought?
Chris, firstly these are my own opinions. I’m not sure if you are aware, but I am a seafarer, qualified to chief mate with a BSc(hons) in Nautical Science, so when it comes to safety of life at sea I’m more than qualified to form my own opinions on such matters. You seem to be missing my point also, I am saying its a useful aid, but the approved and tested means are what the coastguard should be promoting for water related activities. You will find that most maritime organisations will not promote the use of mobile phones in maritime safety.
Agreed. But thats not what it does. look at what it does – dont assume its a comms device. its not
have your say