Very often, people want to serve. The Minister spoke about the quality of the people he inspected recently. The men and women of the Defence Forces are our greatest asset. Even at times when payments and allowances were less favourable, people wanted to join. The difficulty is that many of these people are very capable, skilled and experienced and are the kind of people private industry wants. In many instances, the challenge we have faced is that highly qualified and very capable members of the Defence Forces, due…

In August 2024, Fr. Paul Murphy was the subject of a heinous attack at Dún Uí Mhaoilíosa in Galway. It was an appalling attack. It underscored the vulnerability of those serving in the unique and vital role of military chaplains to our Defence Forces. I am seeking an update - I know it was discussed recently - on the issue of representation for chaplains working for and paid by the Department of Defence.

Perhaps there is not a great deal more that can be added to that. Fr. Murphy, in particular, is regarded with great affection and trust by members of the Defence Forces. He responded to that attack with great courage and a great deal of grace as well. It is an important role. This was discussed at the RACO conference. As outlined, the legal advice is that chaplains are not members of the Defence Forces but it is difficult to reconcile that with the reality that they wear the uniform, they are employed overseas and …

As I said, there is not a great deal to add. If it is being worked on, that is welcome. Please keep us updated. It was suggested that a defence amendment Bill may be in the pipeline. I cannot say I will vote for it but I might vote for that section. Please keep the House and the committee updated. I appreciate it is not possible in the current legislative framework but it is logical and welcome that that be addressed.

This is going to be a challenging area for this and every jurisdiction. I know work is being advanced. Returning to the area of specialist personnel, it is an area that is going to be crucial. Will the Minister provide an update on developments? I know some specialist staff have been taken on. I think we determined previously that the cybersecurity command has been established. Will the Minister give an update on the next number of actions in that area?

We welcome the progress that has been made. A lot more personnel will be needed over time, particularly when you look at the scale of personnel envisioned in the Commission on the Defence Forces. We could do with some clarity on the relationship between the cybersecurity command and the National Cyber Security Centre. It was previously answerable to the Department of communications. It is now in the Department of justice and home affairs. I am open-minded but is there any danger of having too many cooks? Is there a…

That is welcome. There are still multiples of that envisioned under the commission on the future of the Defence Forces. Off the top of my head, it was about 300 but that is from memory so I might be wrong on that. We are in a fortunate position that the intelligence elements of the Defence Forces and the Garda have a good working relationship but that is not necessarily the experience in every jurisdiction and should not be taken for granted. Similarly, in this regard, it should not necessarily be taken for granted…

The Naval Service is of particular importance to us as an island nation. It is essential. We talked about the full radar picture earlier. It is crucial that we have the capacity. It is unacceptable that we have had a situation over the past year and a half that ships have been put to sea without a functioning main gun because of inadequate personnel. I raised the issue of artificers earlier, and marine engineering officer teams are operating at roughly half strength. This is resulting in increased workload, added r…

I agree with all that has been said by Deputy Smith. I will also flag the issue of cadets. We spoke about cadets and subsequently officers in the Defence Forces as a whole a short time ago, where serious challenges exist. In the 63rd naval cadet class, six cadets commenced training but only two were commissioned. The remaining four withdrew before commissioning, citing the extended service commitment associated with naval officer training as the primary reason for their departure. The length of these undertakings n…

The approach of this Government and the previous one to migration, and international protection in particular, has been a failure. It has failed to ensure a fair system that works. It has failed communities, which have felt ignored and not properly engaged with. While there are some good people in the system, there are nowhere near enough and the system as a whole is set up badly in terms of engagement. It has failed applicants who often end up in totally inadequate accommodation. It has profoundly failed in terms …

The Minister of State will be aware that, in October 2023, the MV Matthew was intercepted and seized. There was €157 million worth of cocaine on board. It was an extraordinary Garda operation and great credit is due to all the gardaí and others involved. However, the people of Passage West have had to put up with the very large vessel ever since. It is about 200 m in length and has been docked in Cork Harbour since its seizure. Local councillor Eoghan Fahy and I have raised this with the Government and also the Rev…

People will be frustrated by that response. People have been patient enough already about this. As I read it, we have a preferred bidder who remains interested and who is continuing to engage with the Revenue Commissioners. The issue with flagging has been resolved. Significant progress has been made in that regard. The Minister of State said certain regulatory and port state control matters had to be addressed. That could mean anything. We are no clearer about the actual obstacles and precisely how they will be ov…

Tá an ghéarchéim daoine gan dídean imithe thar fóir go hiomlán. The Taoiseach might have seen the launch of Cork Simon's annual report. He insists to us that the Government's housing strategy is working, whether it is Homes for All or Rebuilding Ireland, yet everything keeps going up in terms of homelessness. Cork Simon has been operating since the early 1970s. In its 55 years, it has never had a higher average of people requiring its supports. There are more people in emergency accommodation than ever, with 679 in…

That is not the case at all.

That is not what happened.

Fáiltím go bhfuil na ráitis seo ar siúl inniu. Is gné d'ár gcóras sláinte é nach bhfuair an méid airde thar na blianta is ar cóir go bhfaigheadh sé. Is léir go bhfuil difríocht mhór ann ó thaobh na ngalar a tholgann fir agus cé chomh tinn a éiríonn siad, go mór mór ó thaobh na meabhairshláinte ach freisin ó thaobh go leor ábhar eile. Tá an dá ghné thábhachtach ó thaobh na mban agus na hábhair sláinte atá tábhachtach dóibh siúd - tá ábhar sláinte faoi leith atá an-bhainteach leo, agus is gá go mbeadh plean faoi leit…

Go raibh maith agat. Tá súil agam go bhfaighidh mé an t-am ar ais. It is over 100 years since partition. Partition was profoundly wrong and had huge negative impacts for Ireland, North and South. It divided communities. It separated institutions and cultural movements and organisations. It had a negative effect on politics, North and South, with the sectarian orange state that existed for a long time in the North and in some respects having a significant impact on southern politics that did not reflect the full pic…

Baineann an chéad cheist leis an tSúdáin, that is, the humanitarian situation in Sudan which has been going on for two years now. There are many millions of people displaced and many millions facing severe malnutrition, even famine, particularly in the city of El Fasher in Darfur. This has been laid siege to by the RSF armed group and the Janjaweed. We discussed this in the past, but I am asking today specifically about the situation in El Fasher and the concerns that exist about the humanitarian situation there.

The Minister of State is likely aware that in the English-speaking world, one of the most prominent journalists drawing attention to this situation is Declan Walsh, a journalist from The New York Times . Mr. Walsh, an Irishman who has written extensively on this conflict, wrote a piece at the start of the month describing the situation in El Fasher. He interviewed a gentleman, Dr. Omar Selik, who cried during the interview as he described "how a pregnant woman had bled to death in his care for want of simple medici…

I appreciate the Minister of State's comments and agree with him. It is an extraordinarily severe humanitarian situation. People are facing starvation and dying for lack of food and medicine, while the conflict carries on unabated. This is being exacerbated by the flow of weapons. It has been alleged that certain countries are continuing to supply a significant amount of weapons both to the Sudanese Government and to the RSF. The Irish Government is likely aware of some of these reports. Some of the countries in qu…