I thank the Minister. She outstrips anything in the New Testament in terms of what she has done there with the funding.

It has been very welcome. My parish community centre benefited from €25,000 under category 1. This was one of 27 projects funded in County Kerry. This was most welcome. In a small rural parish, collecting €25,000 is virtually impossible in the current times so that funding from the Government is crucial. I remember in the 1980s going around in the back of my father's Fiat 127. Along with the other members of the community council, he was collecting £5 a month from householders to build the centre. It now needs rein…

Will the scheme be expanded next year to cover family resource centres? For example, there is a family resource centre in Cahersiveen in County Kerry doing enormously important work in the wider south Kerry community. It recently purchased a building that it is hoping to do up and improve. Unfortunately, Kerry County Council did not put it forward for funding recently under the rural regeneration scheme. However, this may be a scheme that would cover it if it could be expanded. Will the Minister please consider tha…

I welcome the many measures introduced in the budget to help people with the soaring cost of energy, namely, the electricity credit and the continuation of the reduced excise rate on petrol and diesel. The price of petrol and diesel is still hovering around €2 per litre depending on where you go. Those of us who live in Kerry go through many litres of petrol or diesel trying to get from A to B. Will the Government further examine assistance to motorists through a motor tax reduction, waiver or holiday? This is a pa…

I thank the Minister and her officials for being here and the excellent work they are doing. It means an awful lot to the people working in the industry, particularly in my constituency in County Kerry where the tourism and hospitality sector is so important to the wider economy. I will raise a couple of issues in the relatively brief time I have. We could only have dreamt of this amount of money a short few years ago. I remember 11 or 12 years ago discussing legislation of this nature and the amount of funding inv…

Last night, the Mayor of Killarney, Councillor Niall Kelleher, and I met with a number of Ukrainian refugees and stakeholders from the community in Killarney on the outrageous proposal to relocate 135 Ukrainian refugees, mainly women and children, from Killarney to Westport, County Mayo, with 48 hours' notice. These people have been living in Killarney for the past seven months and have put down roots. The children have started school, while the women are working in local businesses and have been set up with their …

The Minister can reverse this. It is in his hands to reverse it.

I welcome the Bill. It is very progressive and is most welcome. I spoke to a woman in Killorglin at the weekend who told me that they really appreciated the credit received earlier in the year and that the three waves of further credits will be really important to her and her household as they get through the winter ahead. People have definitely noticed the increase in their bills despite huge efforts by householders to economise, turn off the lights, use fewer appliances and do all the things we should be doing an…

What assistance are we providing militarily to Ukraine? What can we do? Are we doing the optimum that we can at this time?

This is a watershed moment for European democracy. It is really important that countries like Ireland step up and make our assistance felt in Ukraine. I welcome the efforts that have been made to date. The value of the contribution that has been made is vitally important. I urge the Minister to continue those levels of assistance. I think we are into a crucial phase in this conflict. It is very important that the European Union gives its full support to the people of Ukraine who are trying to liberate their country…

I agree with the Minister's position. We need to ensure our peacekeeping forces internationally are given the best possible opportunity to do their jobs, remain safe and come back home to their families. That should be a priority for the Government. I welcome the recent increase in funding announced in the budget and that should be at the top of the agenda. We need to revisit the equipment that is sitting idle in this country. At a time western European democracy is being challenged so viciously and we have weaponr…

This question is on the position of the Russian ambassador. Many people ask me what the point is of having a Russian ambassador put there by a dictator who will effectively just do what he is told to do. There is an argument that he should have been expelled when Russia invaded Ukraine. What is the use, if any, of having the ambassador still in situ ?

My understanding is that Lithuania expelled its Russian ambassador in April. Perhaps I may-----

It kept the embassy open but expelled the ambassador. Would that be an option for us? People ask me what the point is. Why have this guy who is effectively a puppet put in there to spout desperate propaganda? That infamous interview with Sarah McInerney will go down in history as one of the most insulting interviews that ever happened in Irish broadcasting.

What is the point? Is there a point at which it becomes-----

Is there a point at which there is greater benefit in expulsion?

I welcome the increased allocation for the Department of Defence that was announced in the budget. Will the Minister outline how that increased funding, which is very welcome, will be spent in 2023?

I congratulate the Minister on achieving such an important increase in the budget, which it is not easy to do. I hope it is a precedent for further investment in years to come. There is a huge amount of catching up to be done and this level of investment needs to be repeated and accelerated next year and in the years after that. The investment in capital spending is important and long overdue and it must be sustained and further increased. I hope the pay agreement will be completed. I know from speaking to members …

It is vitally important that there is a goal, a target and a roadmap. Again, I congratulate the Minister on his achievement in the budget. That has to be met in future years, whichever parties are in government, because there is a lot of catching up to be done. I welcome the Minister's clarification in relation to the index-linking of expenditure. I have a question coming up shortly on the undersea issue. It is a pressing matter not just in terms of our own security, but the security of the entire Continent. That w…

This matter is further to the earlier conversation regarding the exposure of our submarine cables. What are we doing to protect those cables in light of what occurred in the Baltic Sea recently with the Nord Stream undersea gas pipeline? What level of international co-operation is Ireland involved in when it comes to protecting these submarine cables?