I thank the Minister for his response. It is good to see there are at least a few options on the table. I will give him two more options that might be worth considering. He mentioned, and is on record as having said, that he would like to reduce the student registration fee, which I would certainly welcome. There is a great deal of speculation - obviously, he cannot make any commitments this morning - on maybe reducing it by €250 per student on budget day, which I would certainly welcome. The more the merrier. Woul…

I agree that a similar type of bursary scheme would make an excellent contribution. It could be made as large as possible. As someone who has been down this pathway, I can totally identify with the pressures these students are under. I like what the Minister said about the Bank of Ireland loan. I finished paying off my Bank of Ireland student loan only three months ago. Many people will be watching these proceedings from home. If the round zero offers come out in a couple of weeks' time, the people starting graduat…

I very much welcome the Government's announcement some months ago about the €1,000 Covid bonus payment. The Government is going to extend it to members of the Defence Forces. The Minister might not be aware that not a single soldier, sailor or flight crew member has received that €1,000 bonus payment yet. Worse still, not only have they not received it, but they have not even applied for it because no mechanism exists to apply. I would be grateful if the Minister could look into this and follow it up with the appro…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I welcome even more the opportunity to listen to the debate. I have listened to all sides, particularly those who may have different views from me. There are two, pretty much, motions before us. One is about Defence Forces overseas and the other is about the PESCO projects. I will deal with the first one first. I echo many comments, particularly those of Deputy Gannon, in praise of our troops overseas, particularly those in the Middle East. We have more than 5…

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this important debate on the Offences against the State Act and the Criminal Justice Act. I also welcome that we have to renew these special powers at least every 12 months; it is a prudent and sensible way to do business. We would all prefer if the Special Criminal Court did not exist and if there was no need for it. However, the court has served the State well since its establishment, particularly in the early years when everything hung in the balance. I note the…

As we are aware, approximately five months ago, the Commission on the Defence Forces report was published. There are a number of very specific pay improvement recommendations in that report. I would be grateful if the Minister could update the House on what those pay improvement recommendations are and, most importantly, what is the timeline for implementation of the recommendations.

I thank the Minister for his response. I welcome the permission for the PDFORRA and RACO to associate with ICTU. That is at least half a step forward. The measures to which I specifically referred are on page XXIV - it is in Roman numerals - in the report. The commission identified four things: it recommended an increase in military service allowance for people with fewer than three years' service; the introduction of long service increments; the simplification of offshore allowances for the Naval Service; and the …

I thank the Minister. The reason I raise the Labour Court issue is that many of the Minister's Cabinet colleagues would probably not be aware – I would not expect them to be aware – that military personnel are the only people without access to the Labour Court. To me, a panel of international experts recommending specific pay improvements should at least hold equivalence. It gives the Minister a small level of leverage from a negotiation point of view with his Cabinet colleagues. There is legislation which would gi…

We know that central banks across the world are starting to raise interest rates now. The European Central Bank, ECB, is likely to begin to move the rate next month. Traditionally, Irish retail banks have been very quick to raise interest rates for borrowers but very slow to raise them for depositors and savers. Does the Government have any plans to ensure that Irish retail banks will not make excessive profits in this new interest rate environment and that the benefits of interest rate increases will also be passe…

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate in advance of the EU summit later this week. On Friday, it will be four months since the outbreak of hostilities in Ukraine so it is fitting and appropriate that the agenda of the EU summit is dominated by the Ukrainian crisis. That is as it should be. First, I welcome that it now appears Ukraine and Moldova will officially be recognised as EU candidate countries once that is endorsed by the remaining member states. That is a good thing. Ireland, on bal…

I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to this important debate on the proposal for an EU directive on combating violence against women and domestic violence. I support it for number of reasons. It modernises our procedures and, as the Minister said, standardises them to a minimum standard, at least, across the European Union. I wish to focus on three areas. It is good that there is an emphasis on cyberspace. People need to realise that these types of crime do not just occur in the real world but can als…

We were told that the inflationary spike we experienced last year would be transitory. We appreciate now, however, that inflation is firmly entrenched in the global economy and it is having a massive impact on the cost of living for everyone in the country. The US Federal Reserve is also meeting tonight and that organisation will likely increase interest rates in America by up to 0.75%. The European Central Bank, ECB, will likely do something similar next month. I am aware that the ECB has operational independence,…

I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I welcome the publication of the annual transition statement for 2020. It is 18 months late, but it is still a very useful piece of evidence and information. Given it is the last one, I also welcome the opportunity to contribute in this regard. In my limited time, my comments will focus on the concept of energy security, or, more accurately, that of energy independence, which is a bit more of an ambitious goal and something we should aim for. We all recognise…

I thank the Minister of State for his opening statement. I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to the discussion of this Bill. I fully recognise its importance and the urgency associated with it. I take on board as well the points that have been raised by other Deputies. There are two ways of looking at it. First, we would all prefer to not to be here discussing very detailed legislation at short notice with a tight, time-sensitive horizon. The other way of looking at it is that this is probably a good …

Good afternoon to the Minister and colleagues. I raise a local issue with the Minister today. While it is primarily local, it has international significance. I had a pint in the South Pole Inn in Annascaul, County Kerry, a while back. It was Tom Crean's old pub. Last week, I got to visit the Shackleton Museum in Athy. I am not sure if the Minister has been there but I thoroughly recommend a visit. Many people do not appreciate the links that Kerry and Kildare have with the south Atlantic and with the Antarctic, in …

I thank the Minister for his response. The treaty is only seven pages long but I accept that there are some bureaucratic hurdles. I am slightly reassured that there has been some progress. This year is important because it is the centenary of Ernest Shackleton's passing. The climate crisis and the war in Ukraine are still raging. I appreciate and welcome the fact that public funds are being pumped into the Shackleton Museum in Athy at the moment. There can be no better, more fitting or appropriate way of honouring …

I am sharing time with Deputy Naughten. I am delighted to be here to contribute to this very important debate on housing adaptation grants for older people and those with disabilities. I am very familiar with the motion and I fully endorse it. I am very happy to support it. I am also very grateful for the Minister's very positive engagement and interaction this morning, which is a very positive sign. I support the motion for three primary reasons. The first is from a financial perspective. It is customary for peopl…

I thank the Minister of State for her detailed opening statement, which was very helpful. I thank the Minister, the Minister of State and their staff for the detailed briefing we received yesterday, which was very useful. I only wish that the opposition spokespeople would get more such briefings on other topics. Perhaps the Minister and Minister of State could raise this with their Government and Cabinet colleagues. We found yesterday very helpful. I welcome the Bill and I am happy to support it. I recognise the ve…

I welcome the Bill. We all appreciate that it is long overdue. I look forward to its very swift implementation. I am very grateful for the opportunity to play a very small part in ending a practice that no longer has a role in modern Ireland. It is a practice that should be confined to the history books where it certainly belongs.

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this really important debate on the importance of journalism in conflict zones. Even in peacetime, we all appreciate in the Chamber the important role that journalists play. First, they keep the public informed. Second, they act as a counterweight to much of the disinformation on social media. Third, and perhaps most important, they keep the government and, indeed, the opposition in check, hold them accountable and prevent the accumulation of absolute power. Theref…