I am speaking to amendments Nos. 2 and 3. Some in the House this evening would lead us to believe this is a mundane and simple piece of house-tidying legislation, but it goes much further than that because this is about national interest and our sovereignty. It is about doing something this State has failed to do, which is to lay claim to a critical piece of our heritage, an important piece of our seas and our territory, namely, Rockall. This is an attempt to disguise the Government's intent to put its 2014 betraya…

I am getting to the important part and am speaking to the amendments.

Things have changed fundamentally since that agreement in 2014 because it was made on the basis of membership of the EU and commitments under the Common Fisheries Policy. The agreement was completely undermined by the British Government on account of Brexit and it is now completely null and void. The Irish Government and the Department of Foreign Affairs must now seek to revisit it and consider the best approach, including seeking to lodge a territorial claim to resolve this issue once and for all. While we stand h…

As early as last summer, it was revealed that there were 43 deaths at six different nursing homes across County Wicklow due to Covid-19. Those included the deaths of 24 people in Bray, with ten people passing away in just one nursing home in the town. Twelve people lost their lives in St. Brigid's nursing home in Crooksling, on the border between Dublin and west Wicklow. Another seven people died in nursing homes in the rest of the county. That is a total of 43 deaths in nursing homes in Wicklow in the first few mo…

I thank the Taoiseach for his statement. Ongoing fears and concerns around the rampant progression of the Delta variant are impacting throughout the world and serve to highlight our global interdependence. Until we achieve universal vaccination, new variants will continue to emerge. The Taoiseach has stated that there is a race between variants and vaccines. This is a race we will lose unless the EU, along with other key international actors, takes immediate steps to facilitate the implantation of a universal vacci…

I have two issues. First, I want to follow up on TRIPS and the need for a waiver in that regard. I want to challenge the Minister of State, and I think it is the correct thing to do regarding his statement that the world would be in a much worse position without the EU. The reality is that the Delta variant is now wreaking havoc across the world because of the failure of the global community to address the issue of intellectual property rights. The longer we drag our heels as an international community in addressin…

I welcome these amendments, which Sinn Féin will support. We debated the issues extensively in committee and I commend the Minister on following through on what he said he would do by bringing forward the amendments. We know there are many challenges and difficulties within the Defence Forces. The Permanent Defence Force is well below the established figure of 9,500, with membership currently in the region of 8,500. Unfortunately, the Reserve Defence Force is considerably worse in terms of numbers. The established …

The obvious priority for the Defence Forces is to create the conditions that make members want to continue serving for as long as possible. However, the reality is that large numbers are leaving, many of them ahead of schedule and many others due to retirement. What plans or measures are in place to assist people leaving the Defence Forces in preparing for civilian life?

I thank the Minister. I expect he will acknowledge that due to limitations on the contracts of members of the Defence Forces and given that the majority probably joined in their late teens, many will be exiting the forces in their 30s or 40s, at a time in their lives when they have young families and huge financial commitments. The Minister's response, unfortunately, seems to suggest something of a handwashing exercise, with the bare minimum being done to assist members out the gate. This does not give regard to th…

I am not sure whether the Minister has the statistics to hand as to how many members participate in the transition to civilian life courses. That provision is critical but what the Minister has outlined does not go far enough when we consider the supports that, rightly, have been built around employees in other sectors, such as the Bord na Móna workers. We need to look at something like that for members of the Defence Forces, who still have a huge amount to give to the State. My preference, which I am sure is share…

This morning at the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence we heard from RACO that the Defence Forces have reached a point where the decline in them is becoming irreversible. One of the many issues affecting members of the Defence Forces and staff retention there is the issue of the 1994 contract. I therefore ask the Minister to give an update on agreements, discussions or negotiations related to the post-1994 contracts.

The Defence Forces have a strength of approximately 8,500, which is a full 1,000 below the established full strength. It is estimated that approximately 10% of personnel exit the Defence Forces annually. This significant turnover rate, combined with the current recruitment rate, will mean the Defence Forces will not be able to attain the minimum recognised strength of 9,500 fully trained personnel. Over the weekend it was reported that the Minister is considering retaining up to 700 military staff due for retiremen…

It would be useful and helpful for the Minister to give a timeframe on when he anticipates the review will be carried out just to give clarity to the representative bodies and the members of the Defence Forces who have that date hanging over them. Morale in the Defence Forces is at an all-time low, unfortunately, and the matter must be addressed. Giving clarity around the review would certainly be helpful. I have stated that we live in a changed world, particularly when it comes to fitness levels and nutrition, etc…

I thought the Cathaoirleach had forgotten about me. Similar to Deputy Connolly, I have been following this up and had tabled the previous question as well. It is deeply frustrating, given the different times which have been given - 31 March and then mid-June. I understand a short extension has been given, but it is about rectifying the wrongs done by the heroes. I do not use that term lightly, but these men were heroes and it is about rectifying the wrongs, injustice and wrong history which has been written, for fa…

I appreciate the Minister does not want the issuing or awarding of medals to be a political thing but, unfortunately, it was politics which interfered in this over the past 60 years and has delayed - and I hope only delayed - the awarding of medals and rectifying of history. I appreciate we have a narrow window of two weeks. I heard the Minister say that he hoped to have it before the House. Hopefully, time will be provided in both Houses of the Oireachtas to facilitate that debate. It would be helpful, although I …

In light of the passing of what can be described only as the historic motion that declares that Israel's settlement expansion in East Jerusalem and the West Bank amounts to de facto annexation, which is illegal under international law, what measures do the Minister and the Government now intend to take at a national and EU level, and on the UN Security Council?

I welcome the Minister's response. We need to do more, however. We have now declared that Israel has breached international law and continues to do so at an accelerated pace. This week, sanctions were reimposed on Russia for its illegal actions - as the international community has declared - on annexing Crimea. We now need to push for similar sanctions on Israel for its grave violations of international law and continued policies of apartheid. We should now be pushing for a downgrading of economic, cultural, milita…

What is counterproductive is continuing with the same failed policy that allows Israel to continue its legal settlement expansion policies. What we now have is a new Israeli Prime Minister, who is committed to the illegal colonial settlements and their expansions. In recent weeks, we have seen continued abuses, human rights violations and attempts to remove Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and elsewhere in the occupied territories. We see the continued bombardment of Gaza despite a so-called ceasefire. The policies th…

Given Ireland's long-standing relationship with Ethiopia and especially the Tigray region, and given there has been a terrible onslaught on civilians in the region since November 2020, what urgent measures is Ireland taking at EU and UN Security Council levels to bring about a long-lasting and sustainable ceasefire and access to the region for humanitarian aid? The region is in the grip of a man-made famine at this point.

As the Minister is well aware, the UN recently released a report which estimated that 350,000 people are already facing famine conditions in Tigray, some 2 million more are close to that point and another 2 million are facing severe food shortages. We must continue to keep the focus on the situation in Tigray. It is unfortunate that the statement from the UN Security Council, while welcome, did not go far enough. It did not demand that Eritrean troops withdraw from the Tigray region. It did not mention the Amhara i…