Pay and conditions are key to addressing and stopping the haemorrhage of members from the Defence Forces and to trying to build a force that would be attractive for people to join. Allowances are part of the pay. There are key areas of concern with regard to particular allowances. There is the Naval Service tax credit, the sea-going service commitment scheme and the patrol duty allowance. Concerns have been raised time and again about those. What are the Minister's views? Have those concerns been addressed to the M…

Allowances paid to members of the Defence Forces are significantly less than those paid to members of other bodies such as customs officers and sea-fisheries patrol officers. On many occasions they are on the same operations and in the same ships, yet there is no parity. What people in the Defence Forces are seeking is parity across the board to ensure that issue is addressed. With regard to the other schemes, only 30% of members are eligible for the commitment scheme. The Minister mentioned a figure of 106. More p…

The Minister mentioned the Haddington Road agreement a number of times and also referred to the special training allowance. He said that was bought out. RACO and other representative bodies would contend that this is not the case. That is something that must be addressed because it is a major concern. These allowances were cut and unlike in other public sector areas where some allowances have been reinstated, they have not been restored for the Defence Forces. The specialised technician pay is another allowance tha…

The largest party in the North.

Maybe the Tánaiste should.

We mark the 72nd anniversary of the Schuman Declaration at a time of great challenge to the European family. This would have been true of Brexit alone, but now we contend with a triple threat of crises which test our community of nations in ways which seemed unimaginable a few years ago. Today, Europe and the world emerge from a pandemic that has resulted in heartbreaking loss of life and unprecedented disruption to European health systems, economies and communities. The cost-of-living crisis and energy prices have…

The piecemeal measures taken by this coalition have not worked and, incredibly, we have yet to see any action to reduce the cost of home heating oil. The Government has resisted calls for a mini-budget while other European states are meeting the crisis head-on. Last week, the Italian Government unveiled an ambitious €14.1 billion stimulus package to shield workers, families and businesses from surging energy costs and the threat to economic growth posed by the war in Ukraine.

There should be similar ambition and determination on the part of our Government-----

-----but that is just not happening. Government inertia in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis is also highlighted by the fact that Ireland has yet to receive a single euro from our €990 million share of the EU's recovery and resilience fund. That recovery plan was agreed nine months ago. This month Italy and Greece received allocations from the fund, but Ireland lags behind in drawing down our share. That is unacceptable, given that a large part of Ireland's plan is focused on bringing about the green revolution…

There is currently a great demand for passports, which is no surprise given the two years of Covid, during which people were not able to travel. Getting a passport in time is a huge problem. On top of that, Brexit has resulted in increased demand for Irish passports among Irish citizens, particularly in the North. This is causing huge problems and a huge backlog and, therefore, I ask the Minister to give an update and outline what exactly is happening in the Passport Service.

There are serious problems, particularly for first-time applicants, as the Minister acknowledged, but also those seeking children's passports. There are significant delays. I am working with a family whose story, I am sure, could be shared by every Deputy. The family, who want to go away this weekend, are still waiting on their children's passports. The estimated time for the passports to be issued is not until later in the month, even though they applied well in time. Unfortunately, many families have had to cance…

I thank the Minister. He might be able to state what percentage of passport applications have exceeded the target issue date. He referred to glitches. Yesterday, the phone lines were down. They were down again today. There is a serious problem with the web chat function. I have spoken to people who have, for the past three weeks, tried to talk to people via web chat on a daily basis but cannot get hold of anyone. It is a serious problem. People cannot get clarity. As a last resort, they come to Deputies and ask us …

Can the Minister give me the percentages?

I ask the Minister to provide details of the actions being taken by the Government on the UN Security Council and within the EU in providing assistance to Ukraine, given that we are coming close to three months since the illegal invasion by Russia of Ukraine. What actions have been taken by Ireland to push for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to this brutal war?

I thank the Minister. I absolutely agree that Russia needs to be held to account for its brutal invasion and human rights violations, including the murder of innocent civilians in Bucha and other towns and cities across Ukraine. I welcome the moves for the International Criminal Court, ICC, to hold Russia to account. The heroism displayed by Ukrainian forces in the face of the brutal onslaught is an inspiration to the world. Ultimately, however, it is diplomacy that will bring a conclusion to this barbaric war. The…

I agree that diplomacy is the only way. Ultimately, this war will be brought to an end because of the failure, as we have seen, of the Russian military, which was made out to be a great fighting force. Due to the heroism of the Ukrainian forces, it certainly is not having its own way. It is hard to see how and when Russia will meet its military aims. In the meantime, unfortunately, we are seeing civilians being butchered and cities being destroyed. What role does the Minister see for a militarily non-aligned countr…

What action is Ireland and the international community taking to address what will, unfortunately, be impending food shortages due to the illegal invasion of Ukraine, given the supply of wheat and grains to the international community, particularly the global south? That also includes Russia, which is also a major supplier. There are major fears and concerns that this will kick-start serious challenges for the developing world.

I thank the Minister of State for his response. Unfortunately, the conflict in Ukraine is making a dire situation even worse for tens of millions of people who have already been plunged into extreme poverty as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, armed conflicts, climate shock and economic turmoil in different regions of the globe. Not only has the war disrupted shipping within the Black Sea, which has had a huge impact on the artery for grains and other commodities, but it has impacted exports from Russia and Ukrain…

I welcome the Minister of State's response. As he will be well aware, the war has raised fuel prices, which have pushed up the cost of transporting food to some of the poorest parts of the world. Some 45 of the world's poorest countries depend on Ukraine and Russia for a third of their grain supply. The Minister of State referred to the World Food Programme. Prior to the war, it faced a massive funding shortfall that forced it to cut rations in 17 African countries, including Zimbabwe, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopi…

Time and again we see the total disregard Israel has for international law. We have seen it again in its illegal detention of up to 600 Palestinian prisoners without charge or trial in what is described as administrative detention. What actions are being taken to hold Israel to account for its flagrant breaches of international law in this regard?