I note that Ireland is bound by the EU passenger name record directive so it makes full sense for us to opt in. What is at stake here is data exchange. In time, it will lead to increased police co-operation, prevention, detection, powers of investigation and, ultimately, one would hope, prosecution where terrorist offences and serious crimes are concerned. Overall, this is a very good measure and I hope there will be no opposition to it. I see it as a very positive measure. I am convenor and chairman in the Houses …

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak here today. At the outset, I say well done to the Minister of State. I am following his work in Europe and he has acquitted himself very well and is representing Ireland, Inc. very well while in Brussels and other locations. There is a whole national debate about the occupied territories Bill, and it is very important legislation that we must pass. Indeed, it was the focus of some of the debates in the presidential election and it was said flippantly in one of those debate…

It requires a qualified majority. I beg your pardon. That is important to establish. The more assurances given to the farming community, the better. Prices at the mart last weekend were around €5.50 to €6 per kilo, which has not been seen in years. It was €3.70 or so this time last year. Without European Union grants, farming in Ireland for most people would not be viable. This is the first time they can go to the mart and get something good out of this. People will say this is good for the dairy sector, Irish butt…

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this issue. I apologise; I was gathering notes when I came into the Chamber. I want to join others by referring to poor little Harvey Morrison Sherratt and all that he endured, as well as the arduous campaign his family have waged for justice ever since his death. It is very important to recognise that there is going to be the statutory public inquiry that they have long sought. I look forward to that getting under way. I know these are statements, but at the end of the…

Will the Minister outline some of his plans to address the significant delays in delivering capital projects in the country?

They say every day is a learning day. Recently, I was back in University Hospital Limerick with other politicians looking at a new ward system, a new 96-bed block, a five-storey building. Angela Coll of the Ennis hospital committee was recently in the Minister's office, where the three of us had a good discussion. When I spoke to clinicians that day, they were delighted with this five-storey building and the 96-bed block. However, they made the point that another one is needed and probably even three. I made the po…

The whole system is very impractical. When you want to build a new 96-bed block, it is not just foundations you are building; you are digging down, tanking out a whole basement floor and then going up five or six storeys. The upper floor must be load-bearing, so it can take more units and wards if required. All the services, including sewerage, water and electricity services, are then introduced but then you have to stop because the ceiling is reached. That is totally impractical. It does not meet patient needs and…

I join others in expressing outright condemnation of the horrible scene we saw in Drogheda the other night. I did not realise until yesterday morning that there was actually footage of it online. How disgusting to see someone bring a flammable liquid into the hallway of that premises, pour it up along the stairway and set it on fire, putting the lives of children upstairs at risk. It is disgusting and I hope when that person is identified and brought before the court system, he will not be tried for manslaughter or…

A few weeks ago I stood here and highlighted the fact that whilst An Coimisiún Pleanála has much expertise in the realm of planning, it has no in-house expertise when it comes to aviation. I flagged that here in the Dáil and an upshot of that in the days that followed was we were notified that Sagentia, a British company, has been taken on as an independent consultant. Why is it that the Irish Aviation Authority, the taxpayer-funded State body for aviation safety on D'Olier Street, is being overlooked and undermine…

Nonsense.

That is nonsense. Go away out of that.

Total nonsense.

The Deputy is more interested in electioneering. He has one eye on the election.

The Deputy is not interested in Irish unity. Nonsense.

It is insulting to this debate.

It is awful to hear lies in this Chamber.

I am glad we are having this debate in the Dáil. The uniting of all people of this island in a shared state is, beyond all else, the founding value of the Fianna Fáil Party. In politics, we more often than not work in here-and-now situations and the long-term vision we as parliamentarians have for our country and its people is not always expressed. In this debate, I wish to state on the record of Dáil Éireann that my bedrock belief has always been and will always be that there should be a united Ireland. On the wal…

Is the Deputy doing that work?

That is absolute nonsense.

Shame on Deputy Donnelly using his time like that point-scoring.