I commend the members of the Commission on the Defence Forces for producing such a thorough report. It is a credible and realistic report. It is credible because it highlights the significant lack of funding that has been put into our Defence Forces and how this needs to be rectified. The report is also realistic because it recognises Ireland never wants to be, and never will be, a heavily militarised state. I believe this represents the views of the majority of the people. The report sets out a timeline of 2025 as…

I ask the Minister to take on board what is contained in page 146 of the report that refers to the fact that, "During the course of its work, the Commission encountered significant scepticism from military personnel, representative associations and concerned members of the public about the likelihood of the recommendations of this report being fully implemented." The Minister is the only person who can answer that scepticism and convince the members of the commission and the public this is going to be different. Th…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on hate speech and hate crime. One of the reasons I welcome it is there is a certain amount of confusion and uncertainty among the public as to what is meant by hate speech legislation or hate crime legislation. There would be benefit in the Oireachtas enunciating to the public what is meant by that. On one level, are people fearful of hate crime legislation because they think it will criminalise their thoughts or what they say privately? It will not. On anothe…

One of the most important political characteristics is self-awareness, which is knowing one’s limitations and one’s capabilities. It is important that in this House we assess ourselves when it comes to deciding how we respond to the threat posed by Vladimir Putin’s unlawful and brutal invasion of Ukraine. We need to know what our capacities are and what our limitations are. The first thing we all need to acknowledge is that we are not a military power. We do not have the type of military power that would have any i…

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on this important legislation. I commend the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, on bringing it forward. Back in 2014, the Houses of the Oireachtas decided to enact legislation that would provide a statutory protection to whistleblowers, and they were whistleblowers who came from within the public sector. It was very important legislation that we introduced and enacted in this House. It is also important to recall that it was e…

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, on introducing this important legislation. Not only does it transpose into Irish law the European Competition Network, ECN, directive from 2019, but it does something novel, in that it extends the remit and powers available under the Criminal Justice (Surveillance) Act 2009 and applies them to the CCPC, which has not been the case to date. Up until now, the Garda, the Defence Forces and the Revenue Commissioners have been able to use the extensive powers available under…

Yesterday marked the centenary of the publication of James Joyce's Ulysses . It is an event that deserves to be commemorated and recognised by this State. Over the past ten years, we have engaged with a lot of commemoration in terms of the important historic political events we have commemorated, including the commemoration of the Irish involvement in the First World War, the Easter Rising of 1916, the meeting of the First Dáil in 1919 and the War of Independence. All of those are commendable, political, military e…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. I am pleased to hear that progress is being made in terms of the commemoration of Ulysses . I welcome the detail contained with the reply. It is fair to say James Joyce had a difficult relationship with Ireland. He probably would be surprised that, in a national Parliament, Members are standing up to commemorate the publication of his great book 100 years ago. I do not think he would have envisaged he would have the support and appreciation of the Irish people that is ma…

I do not think it is possible to overstate the impact and importance universities have had on the course of Irish history. We all know the role that was played by Trinity College over the centuries but there was also the establishment of the Catholic University of Ireland in the 19th century. That became the Royal University of Ireland and subsequently the National University of Ireland, which had a huge impact in establishing Irish independence. It educated a huge group of Irish nationalists who were able to artic…

As time goes on it becomes apparent the problems associated with the protocol are more to do with politics than policy. I refer to the politics internally between the UK and the EU on the one hand and then separately, the politics in Northern Ireland. It is to be hoped Brexit is becoming less of a political issue in the UK, especially in Great Britain. If that is so, much of the tension will go out of the talks about the protocol. However, in respect of Northern Ireland, it obviously remains a very strong political…

We need to look at the politics of this in which people in this House have great expertise. If the relationship between the UK Government and the EU is resolved, that will end the dispute and internal politics in Northern Ireland. The reason politics in Northern Ireland is being fuelled by the row in respect of the protocol is that messages are being given that the protocol will change. The British Government is sending out messages that we can change the agreement we entered into and the protocol has to be ditched…

My question is about the proportion of commissioned officers in the Defence Forces who have less than five years' experience. The Minister will be aware of the importance of ensuring we have sufficient experience within the commissioned officer ranks of the Defence Forces. What is the proportion and does the Minister have concerns if the proportion of officers who have that level of experience is declining?

I thank the Minister for his answer. Recruitment and retention are considerably important issues in the Defence Forces. The focus of my question was to try to identify the proportion of commissioned officers who have more than five years' experience. The Minister was at the Representative Association of Commissioned Officers, RACO, conference last year and he probably heard its general secretary state that 24% of personnel in the Defence Forces had less than five years' experience but 35% of officers had less than …

Something we need to look at is the mandatory retirement age. Part of the reason people are leaving the Defence Forces is because they know they will have to retire between the ages of 56 and 60 years. At that age, many people are just getting into their prime - I think of Deputy Durkan here beside me. Could the Minister imagine if there was a requirement in politics that people had to retire between the ages of 56 and 60 years?

We would lose some of the best wisdom we have in the House. That needs to be looked at again. If people know they will have to retire at 56 years, they will start making plans for their careers in their 40s and we will lose great wisdom.

I welcome the introduction of this legislation to the Houses of the Oireachtas and commend the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, on bringing it forward. This legislation is extremely important because it engages with some of the fundamental rights enjoyed by Irish citizens under the Constitution. Bringing legislation that involves giving statutory effect to a constitutional right through the House can often be easy because all you have to concern yourself with is one fundamental right. However, it is very challenging here…

The killing of Ashling Murphy was not just a brutal crime that shocked the whole nation. It was also an event that has highlighted the fear that exists among women in our society for their personal safety. The shocking killing of Ashling Murphy has enabled and encouraged women to talk openly about that fear. More important, it has forced society to listen to that fear. I regret to say that it should not have required the brutal murder of Ashling Murphy in order for the very real fears of women to get a thorough and…

It is now 22 months since this House enacted legislation that imposed very significant restrictions on people's lives and freedoms. At the time Deputy Stephen Donnelly and I, as well as Deputy Lahart, were in opposition on the other side of the Chamber. In fairness to this Dáil, every party in this Chamber agreed with that legislation, which was enacted back in March 2020. All Independent Deputies supported it as well. It is important, however, that we reflect on the powers that were given as a result of that legis…

I am sharing time with Deputy Murnane O'Connor. I remember 20 months ago, in March 2020, we were here debating the amendment to the Health Act 1947 in response to the pandemic that had just arrived on our shores. I know many other Members in the Chamber this evening were here when we were all congregated discussing the amendment of the Act and the emergency measures to be introduced to provide financial support in light of the closure of businesses that was taking place. If we had been told that 20 months later, we…

The Minister will be aware that on 7 November, there were elections in Nicaragua for the office of President and to the National Assembly. The official result records that Daniel Ortega and the Sandinista Front won 76% of the vote with a turnout of 65%. No independent journalistic or public policy analysis believes those results. What is the Minister's assessment of the result?