Words matter, but actions matter more. I welcome the progress on the EU association agreement, which is something we called for. There is a lot more that is needed. On the occupied territories Bill, I think at one stage the Taoiseach understood why that was a logical conclusion of the International Court of Justice decision. It is about the fact that settlements are illegal and require consequences. There is no distinction between goods and services in the judgment. The Tánaiste should not make a distinction either…

Let us be frank. The future survival of Gaza - its actual existence, as well as that of its people - is at stake. That is not hyperbole. I wish it was. I urge the Tánaiste to issue strong words, yes. Strong statements matter but, by God, actions matter a lot more. Are there more actions we can take that we are not taking? There certainly are.

If I may, with the Chair's indulgence, I was not aware of it at the time I spoke and I wish to add my condemnation of that appalling attack. It is a disgraceful attack on any diplomat particularly Irish diplomats.

The failure that is happening here is profound for parents and most importantly for their children, but also for the professionals working in the field. It feels as if the system is shuddering to a halt and is completely choking up, and the situation continues to get worse and worse. More than 15,000 children are waiting for an assessment of need. There are more than 2,000 in my county, Cork. Many of them have been waiting for over a year, of which many have been waiting for over 30 months. It is a scandalous situa…

I agree with Deputy John Connolly. We always need to keep education in its broadest sense in mind. Fundamentally, it is about ensuring people can reach their full potential regardless of the area. Notwithstanding that, it remains a strategic consideration for any Government, particularly in the current context. Regarding Ireland's competitiveness, it is crucial that we ensure that Ireland continues to be seen as a place with a high-quality, skilled workforce in terms of graduates, apprenticeships and across the boa…

I was mystified by the approach of the Government to housing. I was mystified during the election campaign but I am twice as mystified now. From committing to things that would make things worse, it has moved on to implementing things that would make things worse, such as the rent pressure zones and effectively getting rid of crucial tenant protections such as the tenant in situ scheme. That complements the fact that the Government's policy is not really addressing the key obstacles to housing and will not deliver …

We all share a great deal of concern about the challenges faced by the Defence Forces in recruitment and retention. It is severe right across the organisation but it is felt most keenly in the area of specialist staff such as air traffic controllers, engineers and explosive ordnance disposals officers. This is a major challenge. There is a lot of competition from the private sector. We need to consider this and how we retain some of this crucial staff.

Much of the Tánaiste's response related more to the recruitment side of things. We have a significant challenge in that regard and we are not out of the woods by any manner of means.

My specific question primarily relates to the retention of highly skilled people. I have put to the Tánaiste previously that much of the debate on this topic has been for an external audience. In truth, for all the big speeches, much of the substance of what is needed to ensure the sustainability of the Defence Forces is absent. The Tánaiste has been talking about fighter jets while we have sent boats to sea in recent months without a functioning main gun because we do not have artificers to operate it. I understan…

As I understand it, the scheme to which the Tánaiste referred relates specifically to pilots.

The Defence Forces face challenges. If anybody is going to be decoupling the issues of pay and recruitment, it certainly will not be me. It is very much the case that they are linked. The point I am raising relates to the retention of existing staff and not recruiting new staff, which is also a challenge. Aside from the category that is covered by the service commitment, there are whole areas with significant problems. I will later ask the Tánaiste a question about cybersecurity. How are we going to be able to reta…

Yes.

My question is somewhat different from Deputy Gibney's, although hers makes an important distinction that needs to be made. People have been talking about the Security Council. There is no dispute that the world is changing. That is recognised. It is a question of what Ireland's place in this changing world is. If we remove the triple lock neutrality protection, we will potentially expose ourselves to significant external pressure to participate in missions that the Irish public does not wish to participate in and …

There was not a person in Ireland who wanted us to withdraw troops from the Golan Heights or was in favour of that, and that was done for budgetary reasons. That was for budgetary reasons because of the Government. That was the primary obstacle. The last time Irish troops were pulled out of a peacekeeping mission, it was entirely the decision of the Irish Government and it was not informed by anything to do with the triple lock. I do not think that particular example bears it out. I would again make the point that …

What is the timeline for that?

Over the course of many years, it seems many Air Corps personnel, primarily young working-class people who took jobs in the maintenance department of the Air Corps, were exposed to very hazardous and dangerous conditions with very few, or effectively no, safety precautions, certainly nothing by way of masks, adequate ventilation and so on. There are huge concerns about the health implications this has for those former personnel, and I will detail that later. I want to specifically ask the Minister if he has engaged…

I do not accept that for one second. Over many years, this House has dealt with many issues that have been proceeding through the courts and the State rightly did not intervene as between the two different parties or try to disturb the process of the courts. However, that is totally separate from whether the State itself identifies that there is a policy issue and a need for a policy response in relation to a category of people without interfering in the court process. That has happened numerous times, for example,…

I put the Tánaiste on notice that I will be bringing this up again in six weeks and six weeks after that too. I am going to continue to pursue this. I would like it if we could bracket the State Claims Agency part and put that to one side because that is not what I am talking about. That needs to proceed and I hope it works out well, or as well as possible, for those affected. One of the key points is that not everybody can afford to take the State to court. One of the organisations representing people is the Air C…

This is clearly an ever evolving and growing area that will be of crucial importance to the Defence Forces and our security in the coming time. The Tánaiste instanced the new committee and it is very important that it is given adequate briefings on these issues as they arise and develop. The Tánaiste mentioned the cybersecurity command had been established. The most recent report I saw in The Irish Times was that it was to be established. Perhaps there is more up-to-date information than that. I understood the Depa…

This comes back to my earlier question a little bit. We will continue to have a significant challenge in recruiting and retaining key staff for an area such as this unless something significant changes. If we get things right, the Defence Forces can offer a very rewarding and interesting career for people who have the skills and capabilities in this area but I do not think we are in the right position at present. I did not take a note of the number of staff the Tánaiste mentioned but we are speaking about a number …