The Minister outlined some of the measures that have been implemented. People are voting with their feet and continuing to leave. The one area that can and should be addressed is the full implementation of the working time directive. I ask the Minister again what exemptions are being looked at. Are naval patrols one of the areas being considered for an exemption? If so, it will only see a continuation of the haemorrhaging of members of the Naval Service. We should be trying to stop that and giving people incentives…

Has an assessment been done?

I ask the Tánaiste to bring heads of a Bill within six months.

Earlier on, the Minister stated the process associated with the working time directive must not be allowed to drag on. We already know that it is. According to the Government's high-level implementation plan concerning the commission report, which was published 13 months ago, the heads of Bill concerning the working time directive were to be introduced within six months. It is now eight months since the high-level implementation plan was published and there are no heads of Bill. The Minister is saying there are sti…

Within the next few weeks, we will mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, the antecedents of which lie in the early efforts of Gerry Adams and John Hume. At the time, their efforts were much maligned and vilified by members of the establishment who failed to grasp the significance and potential of the early peace process. The Good Friday Agreement represents one of the most enduring and successful attempts at conflict resolution in the world. The roles of Irish America and of the Clinton Administra…

What is the Government's response to the ongoing and significantly escalated settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied territories? What action is the Government prepared to take to hold Israel to account?

As I outlined in my question, the attacks on Palestinians have escalated, as the Tánaiste will agree. Attacks on Palestinian homes, cars and livestock, along with shootings and knife attacks, the theft of livestock and land and the burning of crops are ongoing daily. Much of this is happening under the guidance of the occupying Israeli army. The attack on Huwara was described as the worst attack by settlers in many years. It needs to be placed in the context of the more than 3,000 illegal settler attacks against Pa…

There may have been an agreement in principle but the reality on the ground is that there are extreme right-wing ministers in the Israeli Government. On Sunday, the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, claimed there are no Palestinians because there is not a Palestinian people. That comes from the same minister who called for the town of Huwara to be wiped out after the attack by illegal Israeli settlers. Only today, the Israeli Government repealed a 2005 law that ordered the dismantling of four illegal sett…

I wish to raise the issue of the welcome announcement last week that the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, will visit Ireland in the next month or so. Will the Minister give some details, if any details are available yet, on the nature of the visit, what the itinerary looks like, where exactly he will visit, and whom he will engage with?

I agree that the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement is an ideal opportunity for the President to visit Ireland. We are aware of the influence that Irish America had 25 years ago in the entire peace process and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement. The President is very proud of his Irish heritage, as the Minister has outlined. He wears it on his sleeve and it is great to see a President with such strong Irish roots. He has essentially made the White House an open door for Irish politicians to go and …

The opportunity should also be taken to brief President Biden around the British amnesty legislation, if that has not happened by then. I hope it has been raised with the President. There is an opportunity to brief him on the issue. It is not every day that this happens, I believe 2011 was the last time we had a US President here in Ireland. There is also the whole issue of the undocumented in America. This will be a key opportunity to try to push the issue to get a resolution for so many Irish people living in the…

Given the ongoing refusal by the Government to acknowledge that there is a need for a Passport Office to be opened in the North, will the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs consider putting in place a mechanism to allow elected public representatives, including MLAs and MPs, from the North to make representations to the Department on behalf of their constituents with regard to their Irish passport applications?

I welcome the political decision that has been taken to open the hub for representations from MLAs. It is a critical decision because that technology has been there for the last year or so. The Minister's predecessor, Deputy Coveney, gave us a similar response last year. He said it was being looked at. The Minister might give us specific dates as to when it is going to be implemented and explain why it will not be extended to MPs, who have also been elected in the North. They also have a mandate and are equally ent…

The Minister might give us some more specific details as to when exactly the portal will be opened to representations.

I thank the Minister. I would like clarity as to what "shortly" actually means. Maybe the Minister will come back to us. The technology is there. The hub has been developed and it is in place. It is just a political decision that needs to be taken to roll it out to MLAs. The Minister did not answer the question about MPs and whether it can be extended to them. If it is being extended to MEPs there should be no reason it cannot be extended to MPs who are elected in the North. What analysis has been carried out? The …

I know the Minister will counter that and he will dismiss it but I believe there is strong evidence there for it.

Rightfully so, too.

They still have an electoral mandate.

We are doing what Fianna Fáil wants done and that was boycotting Westminster.

What the Minister is saying is wrong and is questionable.