This is a rarity, but I thank the Minister. It is not very often that, in effect, a Minister accepts an amendment from the Opposition, particularly on a Bill that is quite technical. I acknowledge that. Even though this is technically not my amendment, it reflects the spirit of the amendment I tabled. I acknowledge the fact that it is the Labour Party's amendment and my amendment. I do accept what the Minister is saying in relation to how he has constructed a revision of what I put forward and broadened it out to g…

I wish to share time with Deputy Sheehan and Deputy Ahern.

First, I compliment Deputy Gogarty and his colleagues for bringing this forward. This is an extremely important topic. To a degree, we probably need to get to a political consensus on it. I believe that the Minister can travel this journey with us. He is probably committed to a certain amount of reform in this area. I read what he said last year and prior to that in relation to this. I hope his goodwill towards it is very real. I accept that it is a tricky area and it will take some time but I believe and hope that…

Deputy Robert O'Donoghue and I had a meeting with vets over the past period of time with a view to progressing the Veterinary Practice (Amendment) Bill, which was actually brought in by former Fianna Fáil Deputy, Jackie Cahill, and my former constituency colleague. We will have a crisis in veterinary services across Ireland if we do not do something because veterinary practices are being bought up by corporate entities. This is happening continuously. As a result, we are having loss of service, restricted times for…

Your own party supports it.

I welcome this. As regards An Garda Síochána doing its policing duty, obviously, it will be very welcome. As regards the whole initiative of ANPR and number-plate recognition and the sharing of data, hopefully this will help, obviously, given the fact that we have a Border on this island. There is also the amount of traffic coming from Britain into Ireland and vice versa . It will particularly help in relation to serious crime. As we know, it is trans-border. On both islands, this will create a co-operation that is…

I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. It is a really good motion. I want to say something to Sinn Féin. Its Deputies have left the Chamber. Last night, those in Sinn Féin, including Deputy Thomas Gould, engaged in an attack on our party. Deputy O'Reilly has done so again this morning in the context of the motion. Those in Sinn Féin did not support the measures that were brought forward to help people who are struggling across the industry last night, which is ironic. They are criticising us for doin…

The Minister has had a bad oul week and a half. This is bad as well. He will not have to bring in the Army for this one but you never know.

He will have an army of lawyers coming in. I jokingly suggested to the Minister before that he may prove to be the Manchurian candidate for the legal profession because, I will be honest with him, I do not think there is a hope in hell of this Bill working in the manner in which it has been presented. It is deeply confusing at times. Even with the some of current amendments, you could read through them and get a different view of what they mean the more you read them. That is just bad legislation. I have been knock…

No. You have to play the percentages.

Hear, hear.

I was very disappointed, as were the people of north Tipperary, that in the recent capital announcement under the national development plan of 105 schools, only one in the area got funding. St. Anne's School in Roscrea got funding for an extension, which is very welcome as it is a brilliant school. However, a range of schools, and four in particular that I will mention, received considerable correspondence from the Department that to my eyes said they would be included. All are ETB schools. The correspondence is ve…

I thank the Minister of State and do not doubt his sincerity. I will ask one question very quickly. Will he meet me, and dare I say it, Deputies Lowry and O'Meara along with the ETB about these four schools? Will he please ask the Department to do that? This is not about politics and I want the other two Deputies included. These four schools are in serious trouble. The ETB is very worried, annoyed and angry about what has happened here. In his reply, will the Minister of State also confirm whether any supplemental …

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — there are still fewer serving members of An Garda Síochána in 2026, compared to six years ago, with 14,187 available members at the end of January 2026, in contrast to 14,235 members in 2020; — accounting for population growth, this fall in numbers means that there are now 10 per cent fewer Gardaí per capita than there were five years ago; — the Programme for Government committed to recruiting at least 5,000 new Garda recruits and additional Garda staff by 2030; — trainee in…

Hear, hear.

In conclusion, it would have been respectful if the Minister from the Department of justice, Deputy O'Callaghan, was actually here.

He was not.

Can I have that time back please? In the remaining time, I want to deal with the legacy issues. You cannot move forward unless you deal with legacy issues, and there is a huge number of them, particularly in the period of the previous Commissioner. I urge this Government to read the article in the Irish Independent yesterday by Denis Whelan, former superintendent, in which he talked about a culture of fear in An Garda Síochána. It was one of the best and most honest articles I have ever read from a garda who has ju…

Following the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Putin and Russia, I was proud of our country and the way we reacted. There has been a change of narrative since then and it is something we should all reflect on. Obviously, there is still a brutal war going on but on top of that, we need to be reflective, as a country and as a people, of both the huge contribution we have made to help Ukrainian people and the need for us to continue to support them in a way that is accommodating and compassionate. I have to wonder about …

I very much welcome this Bill, which is highly necessary. It provides a legal mechanism for testimony before a High Court judge with regard to the inquiry. At the initiation of the inquiry, the families were given time to speak about what happened and the aftermath in relation to their loss and those who were injured. It was harrowing. I remember the day that happened. I remember exactly where I was. I remember watching the television. I think the news was extended for another hour, and it kept going on. I remember…