I begin by acknowledging the commitments offered in this House less than a week ago by the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, that the European Union remains committed to the Good Friday Agreement, that there will be no agreements with the British Government that will undermine the Irish protocol and that there would never be the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland. These are very important assurances. They are assurances that point towards the strength of Ireland's position as we con…

Why has Ireland failed to apply for a reimbursement from the fund?

Ireland's share of the fund amounts to a modest €1 billion, compared with the likes of Spain, which has received more than €30 billion. These are badly needed funds which could help in a green transition, boosting regions and boosting our digital transition. The Government needs to get its act together in respect of the recovery fund. It is not acceptable that we are entitled to funds but they are not being accessed. I will finish by turning to the issues of the ongoing protests in Iran and the continuing persecuti…

Since the European Council last met, another deadline in the Northern Assembly has come and gone, with the DUP still refusing to re-enter the Executive. Ministers can no longer hold office and take decisions to support the people in the North. The DUP has cited concerns about the protocol, but in reality it is holding democracy to ransom. There is no justification for putting Stormont on ice while talks about the protocol continue. While the DUP refuses to allow politicians in the North to do their jobs, ordinary p…

I want to follow up on the point several Deputies and I made on the Russian decision to sanction 52 Members of this House of the Oireachtas. It is very clearly an attempt to silence critics who have rightly decided to stand with Ukraine against the brutal occupation and invasion seven months ago. I reiterate my call, a call made by Members of this House and others over the past seven months, to move finally to expel the propagandist in situ in this city, Mr. Yuriy Filatov, who represents the brutal occupying force …

I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges that: — Retained Firefighters provide an invaluable service to their communities; — the role of our emergency front line defenders, including Retained Firefighters, involves considerable personal sacrifice; and — increased capital investment, new stations and equipment is meaningless if there is not an adequate number of firefighters to staff these stations; recognises that: — the recruitment and retention level of Retained Firefighters is at crisis level; — due to current st…

Members of the retained service and their family members came to Dublin today and marched on the Dáil. Some have sat outside for the duration of this debate. They came here out of frustration looking for hope and respect, but all they got from the Government benches were words. They received no hope from the Government benches and little respect. Instead, they got a classic case of kicking the can down the road. That is what has been done with the Government's amendment. This motion was penned by the members of the…

Long Covid is a very serious and debilitating illness that is impacting on tens of thousands of people throughout the State. It is being widely ignored by the Government and across the board. I welcome the report published on Monday by APC Microbiome Ireland - a research centre based at University College Cork - in conjunction with UCC and the long Covid advocacy group. The report shows that almost 90% of those living with long Covid in Ireland have not returned to pre-Covid levels of health and many people's lives…

There is a recruitment and retention crisis within the retained fire service, a service that is simply not fit for purpose. The strain of being on call 24-7 in understaffed fire stations has morale on the ground. The situation is putting at risk the safety of both firefighters and members of the public. Failure is to address the issues within the retained service has resulted in firefighters having to serve two weeks' notice of their intent to ballot for industrial strike action. This is not a matter for local auth…

When speaking at last month's General Assembly, the Taoiseach acknowledged in his remarks that Israeli settlements are a clear violation of international law, that the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory is untenable and that the global community cannot become inured to it. At least five Palestinians were killed yesterday and 21 wounded in the occupied West Bank after a wave of Israeli forces entered Nablus. Civilians have described the city as a scene from hell. Last week, a dozen Israeli soldiers raid…

I am more concerned about what the Taoiseach has to say.

We continually raise it here but get no answers.

What action?

Ireland's well-being framework is a laudable initiative. The limitations of GDP as a measurement of a country's progress has long been acknowledged. As with any initiative, it can be judged only by the positive outcomes it delivers for society. Like equity budgeting, we have yet to see what tangible benefits and realisation of rights it will deliver. What impact, for example, will the framework have for people living in residential services for people with disabilities, who contributed to the HIQA report on residen…

Iranian protests following the death of Mahsa Amini are now in their sixth week. Support for the country's women is growing but so is the regime's brutality against its own citizens. Mahsa was arrested in Tehran by Iran's so-called morality police and taken to a re-education centre for lessons in modesty, where she later died. Earlier this month, Iran's revolutionary guard went into a girls' secondary school and forced the children to sing a pro-regime song. The girls refused and were beaten. Seven were arrested, t…

For public transport to work, it needs to be accessible, affordable and reliable. However, under existing Government policy and the previous Government's policy of privatisation, that simply is not happening. Four years ago, 10% of the Dublin Bus fleet was privatised and handed over to a private operator, Go-Ahead Ireland. Since that time, it has been a disaster. I have stood here in this House many a time, in front of the Minister of State and her departmental colleague, raising the serious issues relating to Go-A…

Hopefully the Chair will be lenient with time due to the heckling and interruptions. Europe is arguably enmeshed in the most critical security crisis since the Second World War, a security crisis that continues to have national, regional and global ramifications. Amid the horror of human rights abuses and war crimes committed by Russia, Vladimir Putin saw fit to introduce the unprecedented threat of nuclear attack, a development that has been utterly condemned by all right-thinking people across the globe for its u…

I think the Deputy will find that is what I said.

We are proposing an alternative to war with a focus on humanitarian assistance. I ask the Minister of State not to take this out of context. We need to take account of how much-----

I ask the Minister for his response to the speech that was made by the Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid recently in the UN, when he talked about his commitment to a two-state solution, and whether the Minister is aware that the Israeli actions on the ground absolutely do not compare with what the Israeli Prime Minister said.