I thank the Minister. Again, that was a very useful response. My point is just to encourage the use of the Defence Forces, these State assets we have, when appropriate. Many of the tasks the Minister listed would be well within the Defence Forces' comfort zone, for instance, armoured protection, bodyguard services, medical support and, crucially, critical communications as well. The Defence Forces have the skill set, tools and talent. If they were resourced and tasked accordingly, they would bring much value to our…

It is amazing how time flies. Next week is the anniversary of a useful exchange the Tánaiste and I had in the Dáil Chamber in Leinster House during a debate on the lack of strategic airlift capability in this country. I remember being quite heartened by the Tánaiste's response at the time. He specifically said: Military air transport is a real weakness for us. We are unusual as a country, in that we cannot get to our own troops in Lebanon or in Mali. We rely on commercial aircraft or the defence forces of other cou…

I thank the Tánaiste for the response. I welcome the acquisition of two new CASA 295 maritime patrol aircraft in 2023. What I would say is that they are to be for maritime patrol and should be used exclusively for that purpose, especially given the fact we have two ghost ships in Cork because the Naval Service cannot put them to sea because of a crewing problem. We still very much need a utility transport aircraft for this purpose, particularly because the pandemic is still raging throughout the country and the wor…

The House will be aware that I am a big supporter of the Covid-19 vaccination programme, despite all its obvious imperfections. Every Deputy recognises that this is our ticket out of this crisis and that every available resource that the State has at its disposal should be brought to bear on this problem and used to assist this programme. I have two questions for the Ministers. They are not criticisms but rather observations and suggestions for improvement. The first relates to the appointment of the chair of the v…

I thank the Minister for coming to the Chamber to debate the final stages of this motion on the EU maritime surveillance programme. It is a project that I am very much in favour of. I am in favour of it for three reasons, primarily. First of all, it is very simple. From Ireland's perspective, it consists of just a single computer and a single telephone in the naval base in Cork, which will allow our navy to communicate securely with both voice and data to like-minded navies across the European Union. It really is t…

From the outset, I commend Senator McDowell for introducing the amendments to the children's Act. I am also quite heartened by the fact these amendments enjoy cross-party support. That is a very good thing. As a member of the Regional Group, I am also very happy to lend my support to this initiative. I am backing it for four reasons. First, this is precisely how we should be doing business here in the Oireachtas with both Houses working collaboratively for the benefit of the people. Most importantly, it is about le…

At the outset, I also wish to acknowledge the work of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, and former Deputy Billy Kelleher and thank them for their contributions in bringing forward legislation in this area in the past. It is good that the Regional Independent Group has picked up the baton, so to speak, and introduced the strengthened legislation that is before the House this evening. I am heartened by the position the Government has adopted in that it will not oppose the Bill. I…

I have a brief question on the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2020, Report Stage of which was scheduled to take place in the Dáil before Christmas. It is March now and we still have not had sight of it. I fully appreciate the delays caused by the third wave of the pandemic, but perhaps the Tánaiste might have an indicative date for when the Bill is likely to come back before the Dáil. It is badly and urgently needed by the Reserve Defence Force.

As the Taoiseach is aware, our peacekeeping troops are rotating overseas, to Syria, Mali and Lebanon in the next few weeks. A number of them have asked me to pass on their gratitude for the Taoiseach's personal intervention last week, which ensures that they will be vaccinated prior to deploying on a six-month tour of duty. I have no problem with doing that and it is very much appreciated. There is a long-running saga that I would like to get to the bottom of today if possible, regarding the defence budget. Our tro…

I thank the Taoiseach for that helpful response. It is especially revealing about appropriations-in-aid and the United Nations portion of that. The United Nations rebate is earned by our peacekeepers overseas. What are the Taoiseach's thoughts on establishing some kind of standing arrangement or mechanism where the UN portion of appropriations-in-aid is ring-fenced and returned to the Defence Forces via a Supplementary Estimate? That would certainly go some way to assuaging some of the anger. It is an approach that…

I welcome the Minister. I am conscious of the clock so I will be as brief as possible to allow my colleagues to contribute before the close of business. I wish to make five points. First, I welcome this legislation. Of course, it is belated. We would all prefer to have mandatory hotel quarantine up and running at present, but it is better late than never. Second, I believe the legislation strikes the appropriate balance. For example, I welcome the safeguards for unaccompanied minors and the fact that there is a pro…

I am sharing time with Deputies Canney and Tóibín. I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber to bring the Land Development Agency Bill before us. We can all argue on the finer points but in general terms the direction of travel with this Bill is reasonable because it will most likely involve an acceleration of the roll-out of housing across the country. Everybody in this Chamber agrees that we need houses for the next generation. There are massive housing pressures and this Bill is at least part of …

I will be sharing time with Deputy Shanahan with approximately 15 minutes for me before I hand over to him for the last five minutes. I thank the Minister of State for attending the Chamber to introduce the Air Navigation and Transport Bill. It is important legislation, in that it upgrades and modernises the regulatory framework for the aviation sector and brings us back in line with our European peers. It is long overdue and, therefore, very welcome. I look forward to supporting its passage through the Dáil. The B…

My question is specific to the Government's vaccination roll-out strategy, particularly the fourth vaccine candidate from Janssen and Johnson & Johnson. Most of the Deputies present may not be aware but it will only require one injection rather than the usual two. Were it to be approved, it would greatly accelerate and simplify the vaccine roll-out process. The US Food and Drug Administration is likely to approve this vaccine candidate in the next ten days or so. From his European contacts, does the Taoiseach have …

I am conscious that we are a bit behind time this afternoon so I will endeavour to make my comments as brief as possible. I very much welcome the appointment of two new commissioners to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission. I do so for three reasons. One, as others have mentioned, it is very good that the competition was run exclusively through the Public Appointments Service, PAS. The competition was free, fair and fully transparent. The more State appointments that are pushed through this pathway the better th…

I thank the Minister for bringing this motion before the House today. I will support it reluctantly and with a heavy heart because I recognise that this is part of the formal ratification process by this Parliament of the new EU-UK Trade and Co-operation Agreement. It is difficult in such a short time to convey adequately my feelings on an event that is so solemn and serious for this country. The UK and Ireland have been companions on the same European journey for many years, and it is very sad to see that we are p…

I wish to focus my questions on the vaccine roll-out. From the get-go I am one of the first to admit that there has been at least some progress from a vaccine point of view over the past three or four weeks. For example, we now have two fully approved vaccines in the country. I hope that from tomorrow fortnight there will be approval of a third vaccine candidate, and that is a good thing. For all its imperfections, at least the vaccine roll-out is under way now. Approximately 50,000 people have been vaccinated ever…

I thank the Tánaiste for those clarifications. My final question concerns the army of volunteers who have been working flat out in Covid testing hubs all over the country. Some of these people are members of the GAA or retired members of the Defence Forces. I even met Aer Lingus workers who are currently on leaves of absence. They are working unpaid and they epitomise the volunteer spirit in Ireland at the moment. I know that the Tánaiste and every other Member of the House fully appreciates and recognises the wond…

I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte. I am happy to be here on this very auspicious occasion. It is an historic event for the country. I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Covid-19 task force and the national Covid-19 vaccination programme. I would like to make six points. First, I welcome the publication of the high level strategy document and the more operationally focused implementation plan. In the short timeframe of four weeks, Professor Brian MacCraith and …

I am very happy to be part of a discussion marking the 50th anniversary of the signing of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. I thank Deputies Eoghan Murphy and Duncan Smith for their initiative in seeking this debate. The treaty was a watershed moment in human history. It limited the spread of nuclear weapons to nine nation states, which is an achievement in itself. There were five erstwhile nuclear states that relinquished their nuclear weapons as a result of this treaty and, most important, a large number of s…