I thank the Minister. He used the word "interfere". I would not ask him to interfere, but I would suggest that he make strong representations to his Egyptian counterpart. The dispute is with the vessel. In a lawsuit, the Suez Canal Authority is seeking $916 million in damages, including $300 million for loss of reputation. The obvious action is to decouple the authority's legal dispute with the vessel from the cargo. The cargo is destined for Rotterdam, Ireland and other places across Europe. It includes cargo of c…

Much of the cargo originated in Malaysia and elsewhere in south-east Asia. A considerable number of containers on board were destined for Ireland via transshipment through the Port of Rotterdam. I have spoken with many of the people who would have been receiving that cargo. They have cited problems with lost sales, raw materials that would have been used in component manufacturing in Ireland, and just-in-time products, whose value is lost if they are not on the sales shelf at the correct time. For example, there wa…

Will the Minister report on his recent meeting with the EU Foreign Affairs Council and make a statement on the matter? In particular, I am interested in knowing how the Belarusian situation is evolving.

We are all still shocked and appalled by what happened on 23 May, that being, the unlawful forced landing of a Ryanair flight at Minsk. It was a terror-like attack, risking the lives of more than 170 people, including EU citizens. It was an international crime and a continuation of the repression of the Belarusian people. It was an act of piracy against an Irish-registered plane with the tricolour on its fuselage. Since then, the EU has strengthened its pre-existing restrictive measures over the situation in Belaru…

The Lukashenko regime is undemocratic, despotic and incongruent with the rest of Europe. A fourth package of EU sanctions over enduring repression and the forced landing of the Ryanair flight was announced on Monday. The goal of these sanctions is to put pressure on the Belarusian political leadership to initiate a genuine and inclusive national dialogue with broader society and to avoid further repression. Is there any sign these measures will have any real impact so far as Belarus is concerned?

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, for engaging with us in this discussion and for her attendance this morning at the meeting of the select transport committee. It has been an unbelievably difficult year for all 140,000 or so employees in the aviation sector and the many spin-off sectors that lean heavily on it. In the past week, we had the devastating announcement for Stobart Air employees and, with it, the realisation that ten PSO routes are very much up in the air. I welcome the announcement by Aer …

Acting Chairman, I am in this speaking slot as well.

Yes but I have been indicating to come in.

I was actually here indicating.

I think there were 50 seconds still left on the clock.

I was here.

The Deputy will have two minutes later if he wishes to contribute again. Deputy Bruton is next.

Deputy Healy-Rae, please allow the speaker to conclude.

Let the speaker conclude. You know how this works. You have had your seven minutes. You can have another two but you must let the speaker conclude.

Deputy Healy-Rae, you will have your chance in a moment-----

The next speaker is Deputy Tóibín-----

Please resume your seat.

Please resume your seat.

We are also not in the Chamber to shout people down.

The next speaker is Deputy Tóibín-----