Deputy Lawless is now present, so I do not know whether-----

I will plough ahead then. My question was to ask the Tánaiste, given Ireland's role in UN and EU missions in Africa, to respond to a UN report that argues that socioeconomic conditions are driving young Africans into extremist militant groups. Will he make a statement on the matter?

Since 2020, there has been a 130% increase in violence in the Sahel region. In excess of 8,000 people were killed there last year as a result of militant Islamic violence. As the Minister of State outlined, temperatures are increasing as a consequence of climate change and are rising one and a half times faster than the global average. According to the UN development programme, with no way to make a living, as I outlined in my opening remarks, many young men in sub-Saharan Africa are being driven into the arms of I…

Friday marks the first anniversary of the brutal, illegal invasion of Ukraine, the impact of which on the psyche of the body politic of Europe can be compared to that of the 9/11 attacks on the United States. Indeed, it may take a generation or more before the full implications can be measured of the decision by President Putin to put a torch to the norms of international behaviour which have governed Europe since World War II. The scale of horror, the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure, …

I am conscious that this is our first question time with the new Minister. I congratulate him on his new appointment. It is also our first question time since the tragic murder of Private Seán Rooney on 14 December so I will take this opportunity to offer my condolences to his friends, family and comrades and to wish Trooper Shane Kearney a speedy recovery from his serious injuries. Will the Tánaiste give us an update on the work that has been going on over recent years with regard to full implementation of the wor…

The Tánaiste will be very aware that the Defence Forces are now reaching breaking point with members leaving in great numbers. Over the last 12 months, since the publication of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, a further 500 members of the Defence Forces have left. There are very significant pressures on members of the Defence Forces. The critical need to fully implement the working time directive has been highlighted time and again. In the Government's response to the commission's report, the hig…

That is simply not good enough. In the Government's own high-level action plan for the implementation of the commission's recommendations, the low-hanging fruit was considered to be the bringing forward of heads of a Bill with regard to the working time directive. The Tánaiste now tells me that work has not even started. The Government's legislative programme for the spring does not even mention the drafting of such legislation as a priority. There is little or no faith in the Government's willingness or ability to…

Why include it in the action plan when there was clearly no intent to bring it forward?

Next week marks the first anniversary of the publication of the report and recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. Will the Tánaiste outline the process of implementing its recommendations? What meetings have taken place and what is the schedule for the full implementation of all the recommendations?

There does not appear to be a sense of urgency or crisis within the Defence Forces. When the report was published this time last year, there were 8,468 members of the Defence Forces. As of the end of January, that figure stood at 7,907. The commission report could have been used to instil some sort of confidence that the Government is taking action. Members of the Defence Forces are voting with their feet; they are leaving in their droves. Some 500 members have left in the 12 months since the publication of the com…

This is about solutions and those solutions were provided by the commission 12 months ago. The Government responded with its analysis of the commission's recommendations seven months ago, in July of last year, and there is still a massive haemorrhaging of members of the Defence Forces. There is a lack of willingness, as far as I can see, to fully implement all of the commission's recommendations as quickly as possible. I have already highlighted the issue around the working time directive where a solution has been …

I think that Question No. 6 is grouped with No. 55, which is in the name of Deputy Ó Murchú.

Question No. 55 was tabled by Deputy Ó Murchú. He asked to-----

Deputy Ó Murchú has been in touch to transfer it.

You are reading the wrong reply.

You are giving the reply to Question No. 7.

They are in the commission's report and you are not implementing them.

What is the Minister and his Department's response to the change of practice whereby the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform will no longer allow his Department to retain budget savings arising from the shortfall in the establishment figure in the Defence Forces?

The practice that was allowed to develop over many years whereby the Department was forced to rely on the inability to reach the establishment figure was an inbuilt reliance on failure to plug gaps and shortcomings in funding for other elements and areas within the Defence Forces. It spoke of a lack of ambition and desire to address the chronic haemorrhaging of members of the Defence Forces. The Tánaiste might outline what the underspend on pay is in the context of the shortfall of 1,500 personnel versus the establ…

Unfortunately, I must disagree with the Tánaiste again. There is a lack of urgency. I refer back to the failure of the Government to reach its own minimum targets for bringing forward the heads of a Bill on the working time directive. The Tánaiste outlined some of the positive measures that have been made on some of the allowance, but as we stand here there are many members of the Defence Forces who are still reliant on the working family payment. It is an absolute disgrace. The Tánaiste is portraying this as some …