Will the Minister report on the level of day-to-day spending in the Defence Forces annualised as a percentage of GDP in each of the years from 2016 to 2020, including an estimate for the current year?

I thank the Minister for those figures and I welcome the various increases the Minister referred to from 2016 to the present. Given the pandemic, there will undoubtedly be further increases. I wish to focus on the cyberattack. Obviously, great work is done by the Defence Forces across the board, but given the recent impact of the attack on our health service and the Minister's comments earlier about the European element and co-operation, which is interesting and we will focus on that in the next week or so in our q…

Absolutely, and I welcome the Minister's comments in that regard. I know it is not just the Minister's portfolio. I raised this issue last week with the Tánaiste and the need to ensure there is funding and, indeed, a review of all the various strategies from the Government and industry. It is important that we have a robust system and that we invest in it, given the unfortunate and decimating experience in the last few weeks. That said, it would be important to have a structural and technological change as well as …

I will start by acknowledging the successful roll-out out of the vaccination programme. This morning, I had the pleasure of attending the vaccination centre at the Aviva Stadium. I acknowledge the hard work, dedication and friendliness of the front-line healthcare workers there and right across the country. Worryingly, however, we have seen the increased transmissibility of the Delta and Delta plus variants, both in the UK and in other jurisdictions. I acknowledge that it is the objective of Government to want to r…

I thank the Minister for introducing this important Bill, which is long overdue. I thank the Minister for the €5 million allocated to Dublin City Council today to tackle void homes. We look forward to such funding for other local authorities. This is the first ever legislation that focuses purely on affordable housing. It is a significant intervention in the housing market that will put affordability at the heart of the housing system. The Bill has four key elements that will help increase the supply and availabili…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply to that question. Are there any plans to develop a national security strategy? The previous Government went to develop a national security strategy in 2019, with the process led by the national security analysis centre. I understand there was also a short consultation process undertaken at that time, over three weeks which included Christmas holidays. Were the results of that consultation ever published? I note what the Taoiseach said on the confidentiality around this committee …

On behalf of Deputy Lawless, I thank the Taoiseach for his response regarding the national risk assessment. The assessment began in 2014, there was another in 2019 and the most recent one was deferred. From my assessment, I understand that the level of spending in Ireland on defence in 2019 was 0.2% of GDP. By my calculations, that is far too low, even by the standards of any comparable neutral country. In a recent budget there was a bigger annual increase for the military pensions than there was for day-to-day def…

As the House will not be sitting tomorrow, I would like the Dáil to recall the late Detective Garda Colm Horkan, who died while on duty in Roscommon on 18 June 2020. Irish citizens living abroad who received the Sinopharm vaccine, among others, and who are now considered fully vaccinated by the World Health Organization, are facing discrimination by EU and Irish authorities by being compelled to enter mandatory hotel quarantining if returning to Ireland from various countries. What does the Government intend to do …

I am sharing time with Deputy Hourigan. I welcome this discussion on the impact the Covid pandemic has had on people with disabilities and their families. I thank the Ministers of State, Deputies Madigan and Rabbitte, for giving their time to the debate this evening. In particular, I acknowledge the efforts made by the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, and her staff to prioritise people with disabilities during the pandemic. She has been available to Deputies on all sides of the House at all times and this is gre…

I welcome the opportunity to examine the Maritime Jurisdiction Bill 2021, which updates and consolidates the State’s maritime jurisdiction legislation. As a representative of the maritime constituency of Dún Laoghaire, I welcome this legislation. I thank the Minister of State and his officials for preparing this important Bill and for introducing it to the House. The State’s existing maritime jurisdiction legislation has been developed in a piecemeal fashion, reflecting ongoing development of the international law …

I just want to bring to the Taoiseach's attention the new national trauma system, especially for children, which came into force in March of this year. Last weekend, a child from Listowel, unfortunately, suffered a major head injury after being hit by a car. The National Ambulance Service advanced paramedics assisted the boy at the scene, assessed him and decided he required to be airlifted to Temple Street Children's Hospital to be assessed by neurosurgeons there. This was the first and successful test of this new…

-----and Temple Street hospital. I wish the boy a speedy recovery.

I am unsure whether Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan is above me. If he comes in I am happy to share my time with him. I welcome the opportunity to discuss and comment on the national recovery and resilience plan, NRRP, presented to the European Commission. With the EU-wide investment of €915 billion the NRRP will be an important component in reigniting the European economy as we recover from Covid-19 and Brexit, as the Minister has said. The recovery and resilience plan will enable us to move beyond the pandemic and …

We have various national and EU plans which have been worked on. It has been a long 15 months. Certainly, this will go a long way. It gives the Government and all of us certainty on the funding required for the mammoth task of supporting businesses and the young people who have been so badly impacted by the pandemic as well as the industries referred to by the Minister. It is most welcome. It is a good opportunity for the House to discuss the various needs. I look forward to it being implemented.

I thank the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, for bringing this robust motion before us. As many speakers said, the interference with Ryanair flight FR4978 by the Belarusian regime on Sunday, 23 May, was extremely worrying and frightening, especially for those on board. This Ryanair flight was operating between two EU capital cities, Athens and Vilnius, and was carrying more than 170 passengers, including many EU citizens, and six crew, when it was forced to land in Minsk by the mil…

I thank the Minister and Ministers of State for taking questions this morning. Recent indications suggest that the roll-out is continuing at pace, with more than 2.5 million vaccinations now having been administered and with more than 45% of all adults having received their first jab. Hopefully, that figure will have reached 50% by next week. It is most encouraging. As the Minister stated, it is a testament to doctors, nurses, GPs and all those involved in this great national effort to bring us out of the Covid pan…

I welcome the opportunity to discuss and debate the Health and Criminal Justice (Covid-19) (Amendment) Bill 2021. It is important that this legislation be discussed and debated in this House and that we examine it in detail. The background to this debate is also important. Since the pandemic struck last March, more than 4,941 deaths have been reported and I express my condolences to all those families and individuals impacted. In addition, more than a quarter of a million cases of Covid-19 have been recorded here i…

I welcome the Minister's statement earlier on the ongoing attacks and crisis in the Middle East. In particular, I welcome the announcement of additional humanitarian funding from the Irish Government. The latest escalation in Israel and Palestine has been deplorable. Reports that more than 200 Palestinians, including 62 children, and nine Israelis, including two children, have been killed are shocking. I support calls for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire. A reported 1,600 rockets have been fired as part of …

I begin by clarifying for Deputy Calleary that just because I am from Dublin does not mean there is no benefit for me from this legislation. There are farms in Dublin too.

Perhaps he was. I welcome the Nursing Home Support Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2021, which updates the fair deal scheme to give greater protections for farm families and small business owners. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, on her work in bringing the legislation forward in such a short period. Since her election to the House in 2016, the fair deal scheme has been in her focus. Now, after only ten months of being in office, she has brought it to fruition. I thank her for that. It has always been a prio…