I have a great interest in history and I have always admired the work of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre, which has spent many decades tracking down Nazi war criminals. It has done so with the support of many police forces throughout the world. Indeed, the Home Office in Britain and the UK police forces have been very good to engage in that over the years and they have led the way in Europe in seeking justice for victims of the Holocaust. Victims of any war or of paramilitarism have every right until their dying day to…

I welcome the Ukrainian ambassador to the Chamber. We as politicians in this House stand in full solidarity with her country. This building and its roof know better than any other place that every country has a full and unequivocal right to independence and not to be interfered with by any outside nation. We stand in full solidarity with the people of Ukraine, both tonight and in the days and weeks that will follow. Before I came to the Chamber, I was flicking through television news channels and saw footage of Dru…

Last June, Cabinet signed off on a proposal to transfer Shannon Heritage sites to local authorities. Clare County Council is currently undertaking due diligence on the transfer of Bunratty Castle and Folk Park, Knappogue Castle, Craggaunowen and a retail outlet at the Cliffs of Moher. The due diligence is extensive but it has thrown up the matter of the incredible costs involved in taking over these sites. The thatch is falling off the roofs in Bunratty, as I have seen myself. The roof of the iconic castle, which h…

I too welcome the publishing of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces. It is timely that we have this report before us. However, it will not be worth anything unless it is properly acted on, resourced and funded. Fianna Fáil called for this commission to be established back in 2019. It was a key element of our manifesto coming into the February 2020 general election, which is now two years ago. The highlights that I picked out from the report are the high-level defences, the defence capabilities of our…

I will finish my point. I did not interrupt other Deputies. We have relied on each and every occasion on the Royal Air Force to come and scramble its jets and that is not something that should happen. On the issue of Russia, I am usually complimentary of the actions the Minister takes as the helmsman of the Department of Foreign Affairs but I think we were a little soft-footed with the ambassador, Yuriy Filatov, and with Vladimir Putin. We have to put a halt to the days of Ireland having imperial or cultural hang-u…

They did but I think we could have been more robust.

There is somebody else who is involved in protecting our nation and that is the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris. His term of appointment was lengthened yesterday. We need to have a bit more scrutiny as a State and there are two major outstanding issues we need to look at. One is the suspension of the trial of the hooded men. That has been brushed aside and we have not focused on it. The second matter continues to be a huge issue where I live. The suspension of more than 80 members of An Garda Síochána in the Limeri…

Absolutely. We cannot just have contract extensions. We need scrutiny of those two major factors as well.

Fianna Fáil welcomes the Bill. I am confident it will enhance and strengthen the protections for whistleblowers in this country. Ireland has had a legislative framework on whistleblowers dating back to 2014 and we have learned a lot more since that Act came into force. Ireland is one of a small number of EU countries that continues to have such a regime in place before the EU directive. In many instances, the 2014 Act has afforded vital protections to whistleblowers. Nonetheless, a number of high-profile cases have…

I see the Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 very much as positive legislation. It gives more powers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and to the Commission for Communications Regulation, ComReg. Those two bodies will have more power - I suppose more firepower - so they can challenge anticompetitive practices by businesses and, in doing so, protect customers. There were two aspects in particular over the past two years that were very eye-opening for me. One was during the early onset of the Covi…

I wish to raise the issue of overcrowding at University Hospital Limerick, UHL. Since the Government took up office significant inroads have been made, including the provision of new bed blocks. Many good things are happening, but there is still a very acute problem with trolley numbers. On 26 January, this number again broke national records with 111 people waiting for beds. The situation has been described by the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation's Phil Ní Sheaghdha as being "out of control." In recent days,…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. It is a positive piece of legislation. The Government is yet again honouring commitments it made in the programme for Government. In the programme, there was a commitment to continue to reform how HEIs operate through their relationship with the HEA by enhancing performance, financial management, governance and transparency, and utilising the system performance framework to drive accountability and improvements in our higher education system. This Bill modernises the…

I would go back in a heartbeat-----

-----if the Ministers want to send me back on some kind of investigation. I would be delighted to go back to my student days. They really are the best days. Those best days have been denied to many youngsters, however, and we, as Members of this House, need to stand up for them to give them back that bit of normality. They are the fun years but also those in which people acquire the skill sets that will lead them through their adult lives.

My comments were not exclusionary.

Yes.

I wish to mention something briefly along the lines of what the previous speaker has said.

It is. There is a similar school, Lissycasey National School, in my constituency. I was there on Monday morning with local Councillor P.J. Kelly. Accommodation has been green-lighted but the needs do not stop there. There is a need for a sensory garden and additional parking. I believe the matter is before the Department and I ask the Minister to try to expedite it.

It was linked to the question. It referred to the same issue in a different county.

That is fantastic. I thank the Minister.