I am truly happy to have the opportunity to speak on a very important debate on the role of journalists in conflict. The saying that truth is the first casualty of war has always reflected reality. Winning the propaganda war is generally considered almost as important as progress on the battlefield in any conflict. That is particularly true of holding on to home support for the actions of government and agents of government. Let us look no further than the narrative of the illegal invasion of Ukraine, which is pedd…

There is general agreement that, as they are now structured, the existing compensation mechanisms available to members of An Garda Síochána who are injured and to their family members is cumbersome and in need of major overhaul. I heartily welcome the new arrangements set out in the Bill before the House. The objective is to make the process easier and speedier. We hope that will also be the outcome because we have often enacted legislation with certain objectives only for it not to turn out exactly as hoped. The o…

I am very proud to speak on this important legislation and to support it. I commend my colleague Deputy Nash, in particular, on his ongoing commitment to increasing the wages of those paid the least in our society and on his amazing work in government in the worst of times in establishing the Low Pay Commission and in bringing about increases of 20% in the minimum wage, something which has not been replicated since. Ireland has a well-developed social support system and a highly progressive income tax system which …

Forgive me for rushing in. Wednesdays seem to be one of those days. I was just at the launch of our committee report. I am switching my brain to something else. The issue of defamation is a very important subject. Defamation laws are always an extremely difficult policy issue to deal with in respect of balance when it comes to the right of free speech and fair comment, which must be available, especially to the press. It is an extremely important bedrock of any democracy to have an uninhibited free press. Balancing…

I will begin with a technical point. We have been asked today to approve Ireland's opt-in to two Council decisions and a Council regulation. We had much debate after the initial failure of the Lisbon treaty on how we would deal with secondary legislation coming from the European Union. We spend a lot of time on statements in the House but this is lawmaking and we do not give enough attention to it. I do not say this as a criticism of the Business Committee. There used to be a formal committee on secondary legislati…

Even on that basis, I asked when the debate was to start and I was told it was scheduled for 5.20 p.m. This is my third parliamentary intervention today. Most people are busy. The other debate on defamation ran quickly. I would say there are many speakers who would have been here had the debate appeared as scheduled. That is nobody's fault.

If I may, the way the trade and co-operation agreement, which is a brand-new legislative framework, will deal with our relationship with the UK after Brexit on critical matters of co-operation requires a move away from the normal way of rubber-stamping measures. This is my view.

Is that encompassed in the UK agreement now also?

It is not in the document.

Why is that arrangement there?

Why do they want it?

Why do they want it then?

It seems that almost on a weekly basis the Minister of State brings a resolution before us to amend the justice co-operation arrangements we have in the European Union, all with very good reason. Eurojust, which is 20 years old, is one of the most important institutions to facilitate co-operation on criminal matters for law enforcement across the Union and beyond. As we repeatedly say in debates of this kind, criminality knows no borders. As has been indicated by several speakers, Eurojust is important in the inves…

In introducing the lapsed Judicial Appointments Commission Bill 2017 into this House on the 27 June 2017, the then Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, said "it has been a long journey to this point". I do not think the then Minister envisaged how long the subsequent journey was about to be, although there are those who would say he was among the first Ministers ever to filibuster his own Bill. The passage of that Bill was long and never achieved fulfilment. It is a fact that, on occasions, the appoi…

I beg your pardon. It is four members selected by the Public Appointments Service. The ninth member is to be the Attorney General in a non-voting capacity, and I take it that is still the Minister's position. I listened with care to the debate and argument in regard to the inclusion of the Attorney General. There is understandable concern that, if we like, the Attorney General gets two bites of the cherry or is at two phases of the selection process. He is in attendance, although not in a voting position, at the co…

The Minister might advise the Dáil of her thinking regarding these amendments from the Seanad.

They are all drafting or technical amendments.

No.

This is indeed an important issue. It is presented as a technical one but one that has significant implications for law enforcement, the ongoing battle against crime, particularly serious crime and terrorism, and international criminal cartels. We have to give our State the capacity to co-operate with other member states and jurisdictions across the globe to ensure the law enforcement side of the battle is as capable of using technology as the criminals. This is my first opportunity to pay tribute to An Garda Síoch…

Speaking immediately after her election as Labour Party leader last Thursday, Deputy Bacik said the following: I am committed to Irish neutrality. But I believe our non-aligned status isn’t about opting out. It has to be about opting in: Opting into humanitarian missions, to peacekeeping, to diplomacy, and to the prosecution of war criminals. We are not, and we never have been, neutral against barbarism and aggression. As an internationalist party, we in Labour want Ireland to play a full role in the evolving Europ…