Those of us who are not in Nicaragua depend on receiving independent reports about what happened. It is important we consider those reports. The American division of Human Rights Watch reported that the election results were a sham. The Organization of American States said the elections were neither fair, free, nor transparent. Other countries around the world that respect democratic institutions have regarded the elections as being unfair and, in effect, corrupt. To appreciate this, we have to look back at what ha…

It is important the EU has a strong voice in this. People who are supportive of the Ortega regime will seek to present it as if this is merely Americans and supporters of the United States who are criticising the revolutionary movement of Daniel Ortega. That can spread regionally in South America. People who have congratulated him include the President of Venezuela and people who seek to purport there is an attack on their regime from the United States of America. The voice of the European Union is very important. …

It may be the case that this British Government is coming to a place that it has never been before, namely, its senses. Looking back ten days ago, it was clearly the case that the British media and the British political establishment had been forewarned that this was the time when Article 16 was going to be triggered. Fortunately, they pulled back from the brink. The intervention of the Irish Government and Irish diplomats played a significant part in that. The British Government ultimately recognises that if it tr…

Will the Minister update the House on the report on the fourth independent monitoring group for the Defence Forces? It should have been initiated in 2019. I do not know if it has been overtaken by the independent review. I hope not.

I very much welcome what the Minister said about the establishment of an independent review but I am concerned that it seems to have superseded and overtaken the independent monitoring group. That is reflected by the fact that the Minister has linked my question with the other questions on the independent review which is obviously required. However, there is concern among the Defence Force representatives that it seems to be the case that the independent monitoring group has been set aside. The Minister's answer sa…

I will conclude by stating that everyone in this House recognises the need for an independent review into the very serious allegations contained in the "Women of Honour" programme. I commend the Minister on the work he has done on that. I do not need an answer to the point I will make and that I ask the Minister to reflect on, which is that that process does not necessarily mean we should shelve the work of the fourth independent monitoring group. The Minister said the previous independent monitoring groups did ver…

Sexual offences in Ireland are unique, when we look at the criminal code, because they are targeted nearly exclusively against one group in society, and that is women. I know there have been and there are sexual offences that are perpetrated against men but, predominantly, these are offences that are perpetrated against women. We need to recognise that when they are being perpetrated, they are offences that are combined with physical violence, as well as sexual violence, against that victim. Gardaí are getting much…

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, on bringing forward this important legislation. As my colleague, Deputy Murnane O'Connor stated, it is the case that laws existed to criminalise human smuggling and they were contained within the Illegal Immigrants (Trafficking) Act 2000. However, that legislation covered a lot of issues, including human trafficking as well as human smuggling. It is crucial that when we are dealing with something as important as human smuggling and human trafficking that we dist…

There is a tendency during political debates about budgets for politicians and political commentators to concentrate on individual measures that have been introduced. That is understandable and I will do that presently. However, it is important we also take into account the general economic condition of the country at the time of the budget. That is what experts in economic departments refer to as the macroeconomic outlook. The budget presented by the Ministers, Deputies Michael McGrath and Donohoe, showed the Stat…

A presidential election is due to take place in Nicaragua on 7 November next. It is obviously a matter for the people of Nicaragua to decide who they want to elect as their president, but if it is the case that that election is taking place without transparency or fairness, it becomes a matter for the international community. I ask the Minister whether the Government has any concerns about the forthcoming election considering that, since last May, more than 30 opposition leaders have been arrested by the regime of …

I thank the Minister for his reply. I share his concern. Some politicians have the benefit of being viewed as political saints. It is not a designation that applies to me or most Members of this House, but it is a designation that was applied to Mr. Daniel Ortega, the President of Nicaragua. As the Minister is aware, Mr. Ortega came to power in 1979, was elected as President in 1984 and was viewed as the great liberator who brought freedom to Nicaragua and fought against the Contras. That may have been the case at …

It might also be worth considering whether the Department can encourage international human rights bodies to seek authorisation to return to Nicaragua. I am thinking in particular of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It is a worrying development if there is this level of oppression in Nicaragua. I hope that the election on 7 November will be monitored. I am not aware as to whether international election monitors will be permitted i…

It has been great over the past month see Dublin city reopening. We see people back in their offices. We see shops and businesses reopening. At night-time, we see many people back out socialising again. Unfortunately, however, that reopening has also been accompanied by a significant increase in violent criminal activity in the inner city of Dublin. The title given to this matter is "Antisocial Behaviour" but I think it could be more appropriately referred under the title of "Violent Criminal Activity". I do not th…

I thank the Minister of State for that thorough response and, like him, I am fully aware this is a problem that cannot simply be resolved through increased Garda visibility or strengthening our laws. We need to focus on the group of men and boys in our society who seem to think it is acceptable to use violence against people they do not know, be that for the purpose of trying to rob from them or for the purpose of inflicting gratuitous harm upon them. We as a society need to generate a message that this type of beh…

I am to take Deputy Smith's place.

I welcome the Housing for All plan. It is a plan and a document that recognises the scale of the housing crisis that exists in this country at present. One of the reasons I welcome the document is that it recognises that this is not just a housing issue but also a societal issue. We need to recognise that in this House, and I believe that the Government is coming to recognise it with the publication of this document. Since Independence in Ireland, a social contract has existed between the citizen and the State. One…

One of the reasons Irish independence succeeded was that we were able to establish an independent police force very quickly after we got independence and that police force secured the support and consent of the Irish public it policed. That was a major achievement of the State. Other countries that gained their independence did not always manage to transfer power to a police force that operated in a non-partisan manner. An Garda Síochána did that. We are now coming towards the centenary of An Garda Síochána. We als…

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." I will share my time with Deputy Devlin, who I believe is to speak for five minutes. I welcome the opportunity to commence the Second Stage debate on the Firearms and Offensive Weapons (Amendment) Bill 2021. Fianna Fáil and I introduced this legislation last March because of the increasing concern of the parliamentary party regarding the increased use of knives in disputes and fights taking place in public areas. This is an issue of considerable concern not only to…

I thank the Minister of State and my colleagues, Deputies Devlin and Kenny, for their contributions. It has been most beneficial that we have had this debate. As all speakers have recognised, changing this law is not really going to resolve the problem. Legislation itself is a very blunt instrument. Therefore, when we introduce legislation into this House, sometimes it can generate a debate and a discussion about an important issue. Obviously, when it comes to legislation, it is very difficult to implement into tha…

I thank the Minister of State for bringing forward this legislation. We all know the reason we are here is because of the recent Supreme Court decision in the Zalewski case. It was probably one of the most important decisions given by the Supreme Court this century and has resulted in this legislation coming before the House. I am conscious that my colleagues in the House know the facts of the Zalewski case, but it is important to remind other people who may not be here about it and to recall what happened in that …