I had planned to start with something else but I have to comment on the contribution by the Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, tonight. It was quite something else to spend her minutes talking about the Future Ireland fund and to say this is the most significant thing any Government has done ever in this country, that is, to allow for €4 billion to go into a fund that will, each year, accumulate 0.8% of GDP so we will have €100 billion by 2035. She said to imagine you were a young person now listening to t…

Some of our best and brightest brains gathered outside the Dáil within the past hour to demand a living wage. Earlier in the year, through engagement with the Minister, Deputy Harris, PhD students had their income increased to €25,000 a year for full-time work, but that impacts on only 30% of the total PhD student population. The rest of them are creased trying to live in this country, so they are out there to demand a living wage for all PhD students. Without them, we would not have developments in engineering, sc…

I think Deputy Wynne is next. We are Paddy last.

We are not allowed to be nice to each other.

We support the Bill and believe, to echo what others have said, that it needs amending. We would welcome an answer from the Minister as to whether he is open to amendments and if and when the framework as to when the Bill might be passed would be outlined to us. We have been through an epidemic of misogyny and gender-based violence, violence against women. Sometimes, when you stop and think about it, it is quite extraordinary and you wonder what the hell is going on in the world and why this has taken off in the wa…

When the Minister moved the amendment he painted a very rosy picture, and why would he not? Anybody who saw the demonstration last week outside the Dáil, which was not by a long shot only providers as there were hundreds of workers there, and listened to parents would have to recognise that there is a crisis in our childcare system. Many crèches have closed. The Minister said the closures are slowing down this year but crèches have closed. In the communities where they have closed they are gone forever. Childcare w…

I would like to ask the Tánaiste if he could outline for the Dáil the detail of the Defence Forces vision statement in Strategic Framework: Transformation of the Defence Forces, and if he would refer to No. 42 on page 12, the new Defence Forces vision statement that is to be developed and published. In his understanding of the vision, would it have any impact on Irish neutrality? Will he make a statement on the matter?

If I could expand on the question, I am sure the cultural changes the Tánaiste talks about are all that he touched on, but he will notice that a lot of us were alarmed when he was in Ukraine that he announced that Irish forces would be providing rifle training. Hitherto, casualty care training was provided with the German army, and demining and explosives clearance were provided with the Polish army. When asked if he considered rifle training as non-lethal aid, his answer was that: "Our support for Ukraine is multi…

I agree that the biggest obstacle facing the Palestinian people is defending their territory against attack by Israeli army forces. The biggest challenge facing the people of Yemen is to defend themselves against the attack by the Saudi army. We are seeing similar aggressive attacks happening around the world, into which the description of the UN charter the Tánaiste just quoted would fall. Does the Tánaiste not consider rifle training to be lethal rather than non-lethal? Bullets come out of rifles and they are int…

That is a new definition.

We do not get an answer to the whataboutery. You have not answered-----

You still regard rifle training as non-lethal.

So you said in the media.

Would you apply the definition to the Palestinian people?

The bottom line is clear. You are stretching the meaning of neutrality beyond its limits.

Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Last night's healthy vote on moving forward on the safe access zones is to be welcomed. International Safe Abortion Day has huge relevance for many countries, including Malawi which I visited during the summer as part of a delegation to look at reproductive rights of women and girls. In one of the poorest countries in the world, crippled by IMF debt, this is a huge issue that kills thousands of young women and girls every year. It is not part of my question. I am just talki…

To follow on from that, I want to warmly welcome Lucia and her family here today. I also think it is a tragedy that they have to be here this morning to listen to this all over again. To repeat, in 2018 this House passed a motion for a public inquiry into the events leading up to the death of Shane O'Farrell. In February 2019, the Seanad passed a similar motion. We do not have that inquiry. We do, however, have a scoping exercise. Judge Gerard Haughton admits in his report there were concerns in the Department of J…

I endorse everything Deputy Carthy said. I will not repeat it but I will repeat something I said earlier. In his report, the judge stated the Department of Justice raised concerns regarding the suggested changes the family wanted in the terms of reference and the terms of reference were comprehensively amended by the Department of Justice. Explain that, please. What was going on that the Department of Justice felt necessary to invite the family to look at and have input into the terms of reference and then comprehe…

Can we have a debate in this House? The House and the Seanad have been ignored-----

The Minister has not answered the questions. They could be answered at a full debate in front of all the Members of this House.