I think I heard the Tánaiste correctly when he outlined the figures indicating that so far this year there have been 20 new members of the Reserve. He said there is room for improvement. I would suggest that is the understatement of the year. The first problem we have, as we have with the Defence Forces overall, is that there is a retention crisis. It was put very eloquently at the committee today that we have to deal with the retention crisis in the Defence Forces as opposed to putting all efforts into a recruitme…

There are huge swathes of the country now where there is no visible evidence of a Reserve being in place at all. That is systematic and I would argue it is getting to the point where it is existential in terms of the crisis that is being faced. The representative body the Tánaiste mentioned told a previous member of the Oireachtas committee that the next few years may see the last elements of the Reserve disappear completely unless we take fundamental action. One of those actions, of course, is the issue of employm…

I revert to RACO's appearance before the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence earlier. It made a very powerful presentation. One of the criticisms that was set out was that the organisation, that is, the Defence Forces, continues to prioritise costly labour-intensive recruitment policies in favour of tangible retention initiatives. We know there is a need for recruitment initiatives, but we have to deal with the retention issue. It was set out today by RACO, it has been put on the record by PDFORRA, and i…

Our first question is simply to ask the Tánaiste if he will give us an update on the Government's consideration of taking legal action on the British Government's so-called legacy Bill.

I thank the Tánaiste for the answer. As he rightly says, this is one of the few issues now on which there is absolute political agreement across all political parties, not only in the North but across the island. The Bill clearly and very blatantly reneges on the commitment to implement legacy mechanisms agreed in the 2014 Stormont House Agreement, of which of course the Irish Government is a co-guarantor. While I welcome the very strong position the Irish Government has taken and the language used with the British…

I thank the Tánaiste. This is not just about political instincts, although political considerations are important. It is crucial that the Irish Government sends a very strong message internationally as to the seriousness with which we take the British Government's actions. There are also practical rationales. As the Tánaiste will know, six families of victims have already initiated their own legal actions and the understanding is that other victims' groups and other victims' families are considering doing likewise.…

We followed very closely the Tánaiste's recent visit to the Middle East. He will have read the commentary that arose during that visit. On foot of that visit, what actions does he propose the Government should take?

I welcome the Tánaiste taking the time to travel to Israel and Palestine. If I have one critique, it is that I would have liked him to have visited Gaza. I do not know if that was considered in his deliberations. Notwithstanding that, it is important that Ireland shows leadership and an interest and that the Government reflects the interest the Irish people have in seeing a lasting peace settlement in the region. The Minister spoke about our influence and the fact that recognition of the state of Palestine might im…

With the focus being on the two-state solution, and then recognising that the two-state solution is becoming more and more unattainable as a result of the actions of the Israeli Government, to me points to a need for greater urgency. To repeat the point, this has to be followed by substantive actions because Ireland being considered hostile to the Israeli Government's policies is something I would not be one bit ashamed of. As the Minister rightly says, our position is in defence of international law which is being…

I wish to be associated with every word the Ceann Comhairle has said and welcome our Ukrainian friends. Unfortunately, I was not able to meet them at the joint committee because of the timing clash with these questions, but they are very welcome to this Chamber and we are honoured to have them here. My question is to ask the Tánaiste if he will report on his engagements during his attendance at the UN Seminar on Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs.

I thank the Tánaiste. When he was marking the UN International Day of Peace last week, the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, said, "Peace is needed today more than ever. War and conflict are unleashing devastation, poverty and hunger and are driving tens of millions of people from their homes. Climate chaos is all around". We know the SDGs are one of the best tools we have not only to address inequality, poverty and global poverty, but perhaps the most constructive tool we can wield in response to the scourge…

I reiterate the point that our development aid is the advertisement of our commitment. It is where people can actually put our commitment to the SDGs to the test. Another undertaking the Government has given concerns climate financing, which runs across the responsibilities of the Departments of Foreign Affairs; Finance; Agriculture, Food and the Marine; and the Environment, Climate and Communications. One of the difficulties, however, in assessing our progress in this regard is the fact that, according to my under…

The House will know that Shane O'Farrell was 23 years of age when he was killed in a hit-and-run on 2 August 2011 by Zigimantas Gridziuska, a known criminal who had breached several bail conditions at the time and had 42 previous convictions in three different jurisdictions. Since Shane's death, his family have sought to get the truth of why the man who killed their son was in a position to do so when he should have been in prison and certainly should not have been on the road in Carrickmacross that fateful evening…

I wish to put on the record that I absolutely refute and reject that position. The O’Farrell family has been here many times before and have had 11 years or more now of words of sympathy in this House. They want to see action. I would have liked if the Minister had taken the opportunity today to agree to some small steps that could allow them, but also society at large, to get to the truth as to why a man who should have been imprisoned was in a position to kill Shane O’Farrell. The first thing the Minister could d…

So the Minister would agree to a debate.

Was Zigimantas Gridziuska a Garda informer?

I commend Deputy Doherty on bringing this motion to the House. If I were in the humour, I might commend the Minister on managing to spend ten minutes avoiding the very context of the motion in his own remarks. I recall that not so long ago, on 1 September, when people realised that their petrol costs had increased by 7 cent per litre and their diesel costs by 5 cent per litre, there was a genuine sense of frustration among many people I spoke to. Then they realised that this was nothing to do with Ukraine; it was n…

-----that are put forward, but was a decision by Government. As one of my constituents said, it was the equivalent of the Government putting a tax on a loaf of bread. This is the thing that some people on the other side of the House do not recognise. For people in my constituency driving a car is not a luxury. It is essential for them to be able to get to work, to drive their kids to school because they cannot access school transport in some instances or even to drop their kids at a football game. What the Governme…

There was a second part to my question that did not make it onto the Question Paper, which was specifically about the Nuremore Hotel in Carrickmacross, which is and has been a crucial hub for tourism activity and generation. I would like the Minister also to reference that in her remarks.

I agree with the Minister entirely that County Monaghan has a huge amount to offer tourists. One of the things we cannot offer them on many occasions is a place to stay, because the most renowned residence for tourists, a place that was used by Jack Charlton and the Italia 90 team and is one of the most esteemed hotels in the region, is shut down. The Minister is right. The question related to that was disallowed because it says that she has no official responsibility for the matter. I do not accept that. The Minis…