Is Ceist Uimh. 9 í seo. Níl an Teachta Pádraig O'Sullivan ann. Do we have someone else to take it? Question No. 8 was not grouped. The Leas-Cheann Comhairle told me to move straight on to Question No. 9 and that Question No. 8 was not grouped. Deputy Ó Snodaigh has asked Question No. 9 already so we will proceed with it.

Question No. 9 has been asked. Can we get a response from either Minister?

I join Deputy Canney in wishing the Minister of State, Deputy Colm Burke, the very best luck for the remaining term of the Dáil in his new role. I thank Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion. I very much welcome the opportunity to make some brief comments on it on behalf of the Regional Group. I commend and pay tribute to our healthcare workers working in this particular specialty - our surgeons, medical oncologists, radiation therapists, palliative care teams and everybody working on the support side. I…

I welcome the appointment of Jennifer Carroll MacNeill as Minister of State at the Department of Defence on Tuesday. I look forward to working with her. I am just mindful that her predecessor, Peter Burke, and indeed his predecessor, Jack Chambers, had no defence powers delegated to them at all during their tenure. Does the Tánaiste intend delegating any formal defence powers to Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and, if so, what role does he see her having in the defence apparatus of the country?

I wish the Minister of State a good afternoon. I join others in wishing him the very best in his role. It is appropriate the Minister of State with responsibility for public health is in the Chamber this afternoon because that is precisely what we are talking about. I welcome the opportunity to make some brief comments on behalf of the Regional Group on this historic occasion. I remember the day the smoking ban came in and I cannot believe that 20 years have already passed. It is important we reflect on our success…

I would be grateful if the Tánaiste could update the House on the situation pertaining to the proposed procurement of a multi-role vessel for the Naval Service and if he could make a statement on that matter.

I very much welcome this proposed project for sure. The LÉ Eithne needs to be replaced. That is an absolute certainty. Perhaps touching on what Deputy Ó Snodaigh said earlier on this morning, the LÉ Eithne was built in the Tánaiste's home county of Cork. It is a pity we cannot build more equipment here in this country because, as Deputy Ó Snodaigh said, ethical procurement is important. If we want to be assured of the traceability of equipment, the so-called bench to trench, we should probably be looking at setting…

I very much welcome this additional proposed hardware. We should always remember that it is not a ship that makes the crew, it is the crew that makes the ship and crewing the ship is so important. As the Tánaiste knows, I always acknowledge progress. The doubling of the patrol duty allowance at the start of the year is a help. The increase in the recruitment and retirement age is also a big help. According to a post on Twitter, I see that 33 new recruits started in Gormanston yesterday. I wish them well in their tr…

I am conscious of the clock. The defence budget is a matter very close to my heart. I am looking for details. I understand about €2.25 billion of the national development fund has not been allocated yet. The budget in the Defence Forces is so small, I wonder if the Minister could consider giving it a boost with the national development plan funds. There may be researchers looking at this transcript who will be putting manifestoes together for the next general election. If there was a commitment in the manifestoes t…

I agree with the agenda of the European Council meeting tomorrow and on Friday. It is appropriate that Ukraine is very prominent on the agenda, for obvious reasons. I welcome the Taoiseach's comments and his condemnation of the death of Alexei Navalny. It was completely unacceptable, particularly in advance of the Russian elections. It is very obvious what happened. I welcome the fact that there will be an international investigation but neither I nor any reasonable person would be very hopeful about the outcome. I…

Ba mhaith liom labhairt freisin faoi cad atá ar siúl i nGaza faoi láthair. I would also like to speak about the situation in Gaza. I want to focus on the international humanitarian operation that is air-dropping food supplies by parachute directly onto the strip. I am doubling down on the previous speaker's remarks and I would absolutely be in favour of, and it is far preferable that there be, a permanent ceasefire, a prisoner exchange and direct humanitarian access on the ground. While the negotiations are ongoing…

I very much agree with the Tánaiste and Deputy Cairns that the key is to get a ceasefire and to get the volume of aid through. I commend the King of Jordan. He is a former paratrooper and a former special forces officer. It is unusual that a Head of State would have that background. He knows what he is talking about. Doubling down on what Deputy Cairns said, perhaps we could do something practical, perhaps even flying food out to Jordan and then leaving it on the runway in order that another nation could drop that …

I wish the Minister a good afternoon. Yesterday, the RTÉ news website aired some very revealing footage of a parachute airdrop of food supplies into the Gaza Strip, which took place yesterday. The humanitarian operation was carried out by aircraft from France, Jordan, the UAE and Qatar. It seems to me that this is precisely the type of humanitarian operation that Ireland should be involved in. It seems to chime perfectly with our values-based foreign policy. What are the Minister's thoughts on at least the principl…

I wish to Minister of State a good evening and I welcome H.E. Larysa Gerasko, the Ukrainian ambassador. I very much welcome the opportunity before I head back to a committee meeting to make some brief comments to mark this grim and grisly second anniversary. I remember well - I think we all do - when Russian armour started to roll into Ukraine on 24 February 2022. It is amazing that two years have passed and that the situation continues, which is an absolute travesty and a crime in itself. I want to reflect on Irel…

In accordance with Standing Order 80(2), the division is postponed until the weekly division time next week.

I am delighted to be in the Chamber to speak on this very important topic. It is a topic that rarely gets a mention inside the Dáil Chamber, actually, so it is good to be speaking on it this morning. In general terms, we are supportive of the State's industrial policy. As Deputy Tóibín said, FDI and multinationals are very important and we should roll out the red carpet for them. They provide jobs, corporation tax and a million and one spin-offs downstream. However, we should also extend that red carpet to our own …

I am very grateful for the opportunity to make some comments on behalf of the Regional Independent Group on the proposals before us. The question is whether Ireland should opt in to facilitate the EU beginning negotiations with three non-EU countries on the exchange of PNR data. We are actively supporting the proposal for a number of reasons. First, we appreciate the transnational nature of organised crime and terrorism. This country has suffered immensely from those two things in recent decades. Anything we can do…

My question is about the national development plan. I understand additional resources may be made available for the plan some time this year. How much additional money will be put on the table? When will we know the individual allocations for each line Department?

Most people in the country are very much on board with the principle of the energy transition with the promise of cleaner, greener and cheaper electricity. To be fair there has been a lot of progress from a cleaner and greener point of view but there has been no progress at all from a cheaper perspective. Much research suggests that Ireland has the most expensive electricity in the European Union. I would be grateful for the Minister's thoughts and his assessment on that. Is it correct to say that Ireland has the m…

It relates to the perception of whether the large energy companies are dusting down the ordinary people. Those are the three things - the cost, the energy security and whether we can cut out this middle guy, whether we can provide more solar panels for people and literally give power to people. I want to focus on two programmes in particular. The first is the schools solar panel programme. It is an excellent programme in principle. Many schools applied for free solar panels a couple of months ago when it was announ…