At the very minimum, we should look at the stock we already have at our disposal. I believe we can reanimate some of it and get Defence Forces staff back into it. This may even be an emergency situation. There was a report in The Irish Times two weeks ago regarding a young woman, a member of the Defence Forces who had a child, who ended up homeless and sleeping in a car when the Defence Forces, which previously might have offered temporary accommodation until she got back on her feet, were not in a position to do s…

I commend Sinn Féin Deputies on bringing forward the Bill. We in the Social Democrats will absolutely support it. In January 2022, Deputies Connolly and Carthy asked parliamentary questions about the potential for Ireland recognising the State of Palestine. The then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney, replied: The Government has pledged to honour our commitment to recognise the State of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict, or when we believe doing so will progress efforts to reach a …

Some 25 Palestinians, including several children, were killed by Israeli airstrikes in Gaza yesterday. The Israeli apartheid state shows no regard for human life in Palestine, with its illegal settlements, forced evictions and ruthless, unscrupulous bombings. Under international law, it is clear that Israel is committing crimes against humanity in Palestine. We were rightfully very quick to condemn Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine as an atrocity and assert our immediate support for those who are suffering, but …

The concept of the European Year of Skills is an interesting one which is worthy of debate in the Chamber today. I do not disagree with any of the comments made by previous speakers, including the Minister's opening remarks. I have a degree of fear that the skills of today will be challenged by the advancements in technology of tomorrow. We talk about the development of new skills, retraining people who might have lost their previous jobs due to increases in automation and developing new skills but we also need to …

The point has been well made that people in the street will probably not know that today marks Europe Day. That is fine. As a proud European, and as a Member of a Parliament that has benefited greatly, it is right and appropriate that we stop to take stock of the day and how we have benefited from being part of the Union, but also to discuss the style of leadership, the challenges the Union faces and how our Republic can contribute to enhancing a Union that was built on peace and prosperity. Since it joined the the…

I thank the Minister of State for introducing this important Bill. We hope to support it, with a few amendments. I will go through some of the Bill's important components. Section 22 establishes the licensing authority as a designated competent authority for recognising foreign qualifications in respect of scheduled activities. This is important, and not only in the context of this Bill, as it sets an important precedent for Bills that affect a variety of other sectors. For example, since the beginning of the pande…

Come on.

I ask the Tánaiste about facial recognition technology. Although I disagree, I understand why the Garda Commissioner would want to fast track such a technology. However, one would also have to appreciate why civil liberties groups are urging us to tread very cautiously when it comes to introducing one of the most privacy-intrusive tools in the history of policing in this State without a comprehensive public consultation and proper pre-legislative scrutiny. This runs entirely contrary to good parliamentary practice.…

I fully appreciate the extraordinary achievement that is the Good Friday Agreement. It is captured perfectly in some of the statements made recently by George Mitchell, who was instrumental in achieving it. He captured it in numbers when he said that from the start of the Troubles until 1998, more than 3,500 people were killed and an estimated 50,000 were injured, and that in the 25 years since the agreement was reached, there have been about 164 security-related deaths. These deaths are extraordinarily lamentable …

A Leas-Cheann Comhairle-----

Data breaches and cyberattacks will be the preferred weapon of the future, as it is of the present, with the potential to bring the whole infrastructure of the State to a halt. The 2021 HSE cyberattack demonstrated Ireland's vulnerabilities and showed that we are not immune from such belligerent actions. The State is in large part responsible for the confidentiality, integrity and availability of information and data within its borders. However, there is no lead figure for government or national information securit…

The Government is expected to run a surplus of €10 billion this year and what is forecast for next year is a surplus of €16.2 billion. My question is simple. When are normal people, many of whom are struggling through this devastating cost of living crisis, going to see the surplus invested in their lives be that through housing, climate, education, childcare, arts or culture? We can stand here and talk about good financial management but at the same time, year on year, the Society of St Vincent de Paul and organis…

I move amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "UN mandate/authority for the mission": "and all maritime units deployed are subject to the obligation under international law to provide assistance to persons in distress at sea." Because I believe in certainty when it comes to these things, I have tabled an amendment to the motion. The amendment is very simple. It states, "all maritime units deployed are subject to the obligation under international law to provide assistance to persons in distress at sea." It …

Sorry, will my time be respected here? I am involved as well.

I did not really understand what to expect from the contributions today. When this was first presented to us, it came under the banner of statements on gangland crime. That was changed over the course of a week. I am grateful, because I do not recognise where gangland is. Given some of the comments coming from the other side of the Chamber-----

-----for some, this is not actually about the communities who are impacted, devastated and exploited by the issue of organised criminality. It seems to be an opportunity to just take shots and further relegate this Chamber to some form of Westminsterisation. I will not stand for it. This is an important topic that impacts the community I represent and we will have our time to talk about that. Organised crime, which we are debating as opposed to settling any scores or vendettas among different groups in the Chamber,…

For example, the Deputy referenced the example of New York and the mayor there who had a zero-tolerance approach. The people of New York must be dismayed to hear him then say that the problem has somehow been eradicated.

The Deputy then went on to say that we have a border and through some form of intervention there, we should be able to stop drugs coming in.

Through the Chair, can the Deputy cite one prison, for example-----

I will rephrase.