I very much welcome the opportunity to contribute to this very important debate. I thank Deputy Clarke and her party for bringing it forward. It is a very important matter to be discussing here this evening. I thank the Women of Honour group and the other groups that came forward to tell their harrowing stories over recent weeks and months. I have three points to make in the time allowed to me. The first is that we have to accept that we once again have a problem with sexual harassment and sexual assault in the Def…

I have already spoken.

It is reported that the Commission on the Defence Forces is scheduled to submit its findings shortly. In light of recent and current events in our home waters, the report cannot be issued soon enough. Is there any indicative timing of when the report will be submitted to the Cabinet for consideration? When will it be published thereafter for public consumption?

I thank the Ministers of State for their detailed opening statements. I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important topic. Considering what we have all been through as a people over the past the past two years, I cannot think of a more appropriate topic to discuss tonight because it is a crosscutting issue that affects every party in the House and every home in this country. We all know where the problems are. Rather than listing all of the problems, I will focus on solutions which, if implement…

Good evening, Minister. I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I wish it was taking place under different circumstances. I convey my heartfelt sympathies to the Murphy family, the school community in Durrow and the members of the wider Offaly community, all of whom have been traumatised by the horrendous events of recent days. The 33rd Dáil will always be remembered for being the pandemic Parliament. Over time, however, we will be judged by how we address a different epidemic in this countr…

As the Minister will be aware, the EWSS has been instrumental in saving thousands upon thousands of jobs across the country over the past couple of years. There have been some recent changes to it, however. Perhaps he could outline these changes because I am receiving many queries from small and microbusinesses across my constituency.

I thank the Minister for that very useful response. I have a specific question. I am glad he brought up the hospitality industry. As we all know, there is quite a large fluctuation in turnover in hospitality businesses because of the seasonality associated with their sector. Is it a case that if a hotel, for instance, is not enrolled in the EWSS scheme for the month of December, it is also not eligible for entry to the scheme for January? If it is the case that it is also ineligible with regard to turnover for Janu…

I thank the Minister for that clarification. To address the final part of my question, I accept his bona fides that the EWSS is to support jobs and employees. Reports have emerged over the past 48 hours, however, that some of the money used to subsidise companies went on to basically provide dividends for shareholders, which is not the intended goal of the scheme. I know the Minister is not happy with that and has gone on record to say that he is seeking to tighten up the restrictions or conditionality associated w…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion and thank the Minister for bringing it before the House. I have just three points to make in the time allowed. First, I very much welcome the appointment of Judge Rory MacCabe to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. Having reviewed his CV, I think he is eminently suitable for the role. Not only is he suitable as an individual, but also, collectively, it makes sense to appoint him to GSOC. There is a fair amount of diversity of backgrounds and skill sets in GSOC …

I wish all present, and the entire parliamentary community, a happy Christmas. I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the situation in Ukraine because I know it will feature at the European Council meeting he will attend tomorrow. It is a very serious situation. There are more than 100,000 Russian troops on the border, backed up by armour, artillery and aircraft. As every day passes, it looks less like posturing and more like genuine preparation for an assault on Ukraine. I mention that because the HSE, to be fair, was…

I thank the Taoiseach for the very helpful response. On the implementation of the recommendations, we have a very poor track record in this country of implementing defence policy once it is decided. There was a White Paper from 2015, for example. Dozens of projects from six years ago have yet even to be commenced, let alone completed. Can the Taoiseach guarantee or assure us that the resources and the political will required to implement the findings of this report, if it is finalised, will be forthcoming when requ…

I am delighted to be here this morning to address this really important motion on offshore wind energy. At the outset I pay tribute to my good colleague, Deputy Denis Naughten, and our group administrator, Ms Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh, who did most of the heavy lifting to prepare the motion I have just three points to make in the time allowed. The first is about Ireland's geographical location. We have all been under the impression that, geographically, we were disadvantaged because we are a small island on the periphery …

Good afternoon, Minister of State. While I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important motion, I wish it was not necessary. I wish the UK had not left the European Union but, unfortunately, that train has left the station. Perhaps the UK will rejoin in due course. I had read the motion and am happy to support it for three primary reasons. First, it has already been agreed at European Council level. The Council has done due diligence and its strong assessment is that this is the best way to proceed in light o…

I wish the Minister of State, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton, a good afternoon and thank her for coming into the Chamber to debate the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Casualties) (Amendment) Bill 2021. By way of introduction, we are an island nation and our maritime domain is at least seven, and possibly even ten, times as large as our land mass. We are only getting to appreciate and recognise the importance of the ocean wealth that is out there, particularly from an offshore wind and offshore wave point of …

The most urgent, pressing and important matter in the Defence Forces at the moment is the need to bring clarity to the situation pertaining to employment contracts for enlisted personnel who joined after 1994. It is an issue of huge concern and is causing a lot of angst, frustration and anger across the Defence Forces. I ask the Minister to bring clarity to the situation if possible.

I thank the Minister for his helpful response. I appreciate his commitment to honour his previous commitment to provide clarity by 31 December, which is only a few weeks away. That commitment will be appreciated across the military community provided it is honoured, which I presume it will. The important point to remember is that this is not just about the hundreds of troops who may be mandatorily discharged next year against their will but also about the people who left yesterday and who will leave today and tomor…

That is quite a useful response and will provide some measure of reassurance to the hundreds of impacted troops and their families. On a more general note, I take the Minister's point that we want to have young soldiers. We also want to have young gardaí, firefighters and prison officers but entrants to those three professions are not subjected to the same types of contracts as military personnel. In that context, we need to overhaul the contractual employment situation for Irish troops. When people join the Irish …

Has Deputy Clarke a supplementary question?

I call the Minister.

Deputy Clarke has a supplementary question.