Further to the previous debate, I hope the Minister will accept what I consider to be an absolute fact and that is we now have a clear and ongoing crisis in respect of Garda numbers and in particular Garda visibility within our communities. That crisis will not be addressed unless we substantially increase the training uptake capacity for An Garda Síochána. What measures does the Minister intend to apply in order to achieve this?

It absolutely is. A career in An Garda Síochána has the potential to be a very fulfilling life experience. However, the difficulty is not people applying to join An Garda Síochána but, with due respect to the Minister, it is the intake capacity and the experience of some people who apply but who do not make it into Templemore - in other words, they have a negative experience which they convey to others that would in time prevent them from following suit. Some 750 recruits left Templemore in 2023. Last year, 2024, t…

Government representatives have increasingly cited the increase in population as a rationale behind the increase in crime figures. For example, earlier this morning the Minister cited it as an explanation for the increase in the number of people offending while out on bail. Yet, we have a Government target that has 15,000 members of An Garda Síochána, a target that is nowhere near being met at the moment. Surely the Minister accepts that target is not enough considering the increase in population and what are very …

We need to be clear. The previous Minister for Justice committed to ensuring that there would be at least one refuge in every county. In January, Cuan confirmed to me what the Minister has repeated here, namely that rather than delivering one refuge in both Cavan and Monaghan, the plan has changed to one centre between the two counties. That is not good enough, particularly when we consider the circumstances that would lead somebody needing to enter a domestic violence refuge. If a person lives in Carrickmacross an…

The commitment was already given.

I welcome the opportunity to take part in this debate on international security and trade. Of course, there are very particular dangers facing Ireland in respect of the international trajectory of trade policy, ones we must be very cognisant of and ones we must be very committed to addressing head on in a way that protects the very important FDI sector and recognises that we have paid a price for the failures of successive Governments to adequately and consistently support indigenous enterprises to allow us to with…

The Government is not expanding our horizons; it is narrowing our horizons. The Government is narrowing our influence to scope that is entirely condensed within the European Union, failing to recognise that Ireland's reach has gone and should go much further. That issue and the difficulty with all of that is that this tying us in to an EU policy framework now extends to a militaristic agenda that I have huge fears of. We are witnessing a drive towards militarisation that we have seen at different points in history.…

-----is that Fine Gael in particular has no principle left other than to oppose whatever position Sinn Féin takes. Sinn Féin continue to use any real opportunity we have to say that the bombardment of Gaza and the occupation, annexation and apartheid regime must end because that is the only viable route to peace in the Middle East. Not only that, we will be consistent in our approach. It is the consistency of our approach of demanding adherence to international law and respect for the institutions of the United Nat…

The question which should be asked is what is in Ireland's interests. The route the Government is pursuing is absolutely not in Ireland's interests.

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward the motion on this important issue. The truth is that this State fails carers. We do not give them the support they need and deserve. We do not truly recognise that carers are not only providing an essential service to their own loved ones; they are also providing society with an essential service. The truth is that far too many carers are struggling to survive. When you speak to those people who are caring for their family members, it is hard to comprehend how they are…

We know, regrettably, more severe weather events will hit our country in the time ahead and how the State responds to them, particularly in terms of how it supports people who are impacted, will be very important. During and immediately after Storm Éowyn, Ministers, including the Taoiseach, promised those people who were financially impacted and who were suffering as a result would be supported, and they were continuously pointed towards the humanitarian assistance scheme. I estimate that in recent days tens of tho…

On the frozen foods, under the humanitarian assistance scheme-----

Will the Taoiseach intervene in respect of frozen foods under the humanitarian assistance scheme?

Will the Taoiseach take the opportunity to answer in respect of the humanitarian assistance scheme and frozen food?

I was not on the list. I came in when I came in.

Was a quorum called?

Tá áthas orm go bhfuil deis agam labhairt sa Dáil inniu faoi shábháilteacht phobail agus ár gcóras ceartais. Ní mór dúinn dul i ngleic go práinneach leis an easpa gardaí ar ár sráideanna. Communities deserve to feel safe and protected. Our cities, towns and rural communities should be safe, day and night. When crimes are committed, victims of crime must be supported to get justice in a timely manner. There must be equal access to justice for all. Every community has an equal right to proper policing. There are many…

Maidir le Seachtain na Gaeilge, ní leor é ráitis sheanchaite a thabhairt don teanga; gaoth mhór gan aon chur leis. Tríd an rún seo a thabhairt chun tosaigh inniu, tá an méid a chaithfimid a dhéanamh chun cearta oideachais trí Ghaeilge a chur ar fáil leagtha amach go cruinn ag Sinn Féin. Mar thuismitheoir páistí a d’fhreastail ar Ghaelscoil agus ar Ghaelcholáiste, creidim go hiomlán go gcaithfidh an deis chéanna sin a bheith ar fáil do gach páiste. Is féidir linn i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh chun an Ghaeilge a chothú …

What transpired at the meeting of the Dáil reform committee last evening confirms that the Tánaiste's Government is hell-bent on plunging the Dáil into chaos. The Government's proposal seeks to turn the democratic rules and functioning of the Parliament inside out and upside down. It is seriously pushing to allow Michael Lowry and his group of TDs to be part of Leaders' Questions. It is also trying to extend this right to backbench TDs from its own parties, who already have multiple opportunities to speak in the Dá…

The Tánaiste should not ask people to buy that rubbish. He might treat his own Fine Gael backbenchers as idiots but he will not take the Irish people for fools, because this has nothing-----