That is very important. A related but not identical by any means sector is life sciences and orthopaedics. This is another sector in which Ireland has a very significant footprint and which, unlike pharmaceuticals, is already affected by the 10% in that area. I would ask whether that has had an impact as of yet. I will briefly flag two sectors which, because they involve items that are on the shelf, do not have the same lead-in and are probably particularly vulnerable in the short run, that is, agrifood and, in par…

I will raise two more issues, the first of which I have raised in briefings with the Tánaiste's officials and, in fairness, they are well aware of the importance of it. From an Irish point of view, the potential for distortions between North and South is a very particular risk that we face. It is not in anyone's interest. We could have a seesaw-type effect that might favour one side of the Border at another stage but, ultimately, it would create a distortion because that could flip. Many products travel across the …

Rachaidh mé tríd na hábhair faoi mar a bhí siad i ráiteas an Taoisigh. In the first instance, I will say again that we abhor the Russian Federation's criminal invasion of Ukraine. It is a war of aggression that has caused untold human suffering. It is very clear from the events of recent weeks that Vladimir Putin has no interest in peace and that he is using opportunities of discussion to stall and delay, all the while trying to strengthen his own position and that of Russia. In such a context, it is important that…

How long do I have?

Apologies, I was not anticipating this and am not sure this was a feature during the last statements on-----

Okay.

It is great, yes, outstanding.

I will take the opportunity. One of the primary issues I raised was the tariffs. The picture is somewhat uncertain but I ask the Minister of State to give us an update in relation to the feedback the Irish Government is getting on the discussions with the Commission. I am interested not so much in the areas that are most vulnerable because several areas are thus. I am more interested in some of the areas that are most immediately vulnerable, namely agrifood and drink. As they are on the shelf, the impact could be q…

I have two quick questions the Minister of State might take together. The clauses of the EU-Israel association agreement are clear. Israel is in breach of clause 2, as far as I am concerned. This has demonstrated the difficulty, where international agreements are breached, to bring that to a conclusion. Is the Minister of State concerned, with regard to future potential agreements like Mercosur, for example, where commitments are given, that enacting and enforcing provisions to ensure compliance with the rules migh…

For a couple of days I really could not get my head around what the Government was at in relation to this. Was it some sort of internal politics between Departments, trying to bounce somebody into making an announcement? Was it sheer incompetence? I could not understand it. Why would the Government just walk into a problem that had not been on the horizon? Why would it create this stress and worry for parents? Then I remembered an article from a couple of weeks that I saw in the Irish Independent in which a Ministe…

I support my colleague. I well understand why Waterford people might want to come to Cork. I do not think we should deprive them of that opportunity at all. Any time there is a debate on rail infrastructure, there is a fair bit of interest right across the country. That reflects a significant shift in people's mentality in the last 20 or 30 years. If we go back 50 or 60 years or even more recently, rail lines were still being closed. There has been a shift. It reflects that people want the opportunity to use rail a…

Like most political representatives, one of the first things I do when I get up in the morning is to check the news headlines. It is a grim reality that on any given day for the past year and a half it is almost a certainty that we will wake up to fresh horrors from Gaza and Palestine. One could nearly set one's watch by it, it is that deplorably consistent in terms of the horrors we are seeing. Even today, I read that 40 have been killed overnight in Gaza. The relentless nature of the conflict is almost without pr…

I will echo the points made by other Deputies because the Minister of State, like his ministerial colleagues, has come in here and talked about the need for the Opposition to bring forward solutions. I understand Ministers and Ministers of State need to put forward their narrative, but in truth they realise there is plenty of substance and detail. The Taoiseach loves that word; he loves to talk about "substance". Reams upon reams of potential solutions have come from this side ranging from broad, major schemes abou…

I thank the proposer of the motion. It is an important debate. Sinn Féin is ambitious for public transport, particularly in Cork. It is an area that has been the subject of a lot of attention recently. It has been a priority for us because we recognise that for Cork to be the fastest-growing city in the State, we cannot simply rely on more and more people getting into their cars. We need a 21st century transport system. There are number of elements to that. The first, in the context of the proposal, is the Luas. Th…

One of the things that people cannot get their heads around regarding the housing crisis is how an issue can be top of the political agenda for so long but everything is still going in the wrong direction. How can it be the case that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been in government for so long and the crisis has escalated and escalated? We are here discussing a set of emergency measures that are needed. "Emergency" is a word and words matter. They represent a situation. What is fundamental is that neither this Gov…

There is a great deal of concern at the moment regarding the situation at Baldonnel. The recent departure of some air traffic control personnel is resulting in a significant reduction in the capacity of Baldonnel, with consequent significant implications for Government aircraft and Air Corps aircraft and, more widely, for sea rescue and so on. I am seeking an update on the situation and how the Minister intends to resolve it.

A couple of issues were raised there. We discussed the issue of service commitment levels in our last session. It reflects the fact that this is an issue across a number of areas in the Defence Forces for specialist personnel. There is severe competition with the private sector. It appears to have hit a particular pinch point in Baldonnel. This is the home of the Air Corps. It is the most important military aerospace facility in the State and it is, in effect, operating nine to five. Former TD Cathal Berry, our ers…

Local bargaining seems to be the solution to a lot of things and I am not sure how far that 1% is going to stretch to fix all of those issues. It seems to me that this was allowed to get beyond the eleventh hour before it was addressed. This is in the context of people talking about the need to take issues around defence seriously, yet it was allowed to escalate to the position of the national airfield functioning nine to five, and struggling to do so, as far as I understand. At what stage does the Minister believe…

We will have a fair few engagements on this. I am not all that convinced there was a lack of clarity, but if there was a necessity for clarification on humanitarian evacuation, drug interception or rescue of civilians, the Government should just legislate for that. That is my suggestion. As far as the Irish people are concerned, we do peacekeeping with the UN. The UN is not perfect but we do peacekeeping with it. We do not do peacekeeping with NATO or other organisations. That is the standard that offers us the hig…

On the safeguards and so on, the difficulty is who the arbiter will be. The arbiter will be the Government of the day, which will be the self-same Government that intends to deploy the troops.