-----that every agency in the country will come in looking for additionality, and so on.

The idea that the State just responds to every submission it gets is, of course, not a sustainable position.

The bottom line is this: €7.7 billion has gone in. The mortality rate fell by over 10% over the decade.

Our life expectancy is now about 82.

Hold on, please. We are in a small group of only seven EU member states, and the Deputy calls us a laggard. That is because everything with the Deputy has to be negative.

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I agree with her wholeheartedly in that it is absolutely imperative and necessary that this war ends, that Israel stop its bombardment of Gaza and that there be an immediate ceasefire. We have appealed to the Israeli Government and to Hamas to facilitate a ceasefire. There have been intensive negotiations now for quite some time. What is happening to the civilian population of Gaza is an outrage, and what is happening to the children of Gaza in particular is absolutely beyo…

-----in terms of the National Treasury Management Agency divestment from certain investments in the occupied Palestinian territory. He has been advised that the agency has decided to divest from certain Ireland Strategic Investment Fund global portfolios relating to companies undertaking-----

-----certain activities in the occupied Palestinian territory. We continue to do what we can in relation to this aspect.

Again, the EU is the competent authority in respect of trade. It conducts trade agreements with countries all over the world, including Israel. No boycott of Israel that I am aware of has been proposed by anybody across the European Union or by any government anywhere. Regarding the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill 2018, the European Union has various legislation in terms of labelling and so forth. The area of trade competency presents a challenge in the context of the Bill. I have written t…

We will continue to engage with the UN. As the Deputy will be aware, we had Philippe Lazzarini here last week and so, people who are appreciative of the stance Ireland has taken.

I have several points to make to the Deputy. In terms of diplomacy, the Deputy scoffed at and scorned it. More than 70 Irish citizens and their dependants have been evacuated from Gaza. The importance of diplomatic relationships or channels cannot be overstated in the context of getting those 70 citizens and their dependants out. Our ambassador in Israel, Sonya McGuinness, has done exceptional work there, as have our representative to the Palestinian Authority and our ambassador in Cairo. The Deputy's colleagues ha…

I will deal with the triple lock. First, in 2023 and to date in 2024, no applications have been received or exemptions granted to permit the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft flying to a point in Israel. Second, no airport in Ireland or Irish sovereign airspace is being used to transport weapons to the conflict in the Middle East or any other war. People should stop trying to muddy the waters in that respect, which is what is going on.

It is an absurdity for the Deputy to suggest that any amendment to the triple lock is about ditching neutrality or aligning with any other member state. It is not.

The Deputy rarely condemns Russia or Iran in here.

I try to be balanced and look at things in a balanced way. It is extraordinary and interesting that the malign influence of Iran in the Middle East barely gets referenced in this House. Iran has meddled, has manipulated and has been a huge issue in respect of the escalation of violence in that environment.

I am answering the Deputy's question. I do not believe Russia should have a veto on whether Irish Defence Forces become engaged in international peacekeeping anymore. That is the bottom line as far as I am concerned. We are depending on a rogue state on the Security Council that can veto any peacekeeping proposal from the United Nations. I am unequivocal about it. It is not about ditching neutrality; it is the idea that Russia can veto Irish troops being involved in any peacekeeping initiative. We need to wake up a…

I respectfully say to the Deputy that we should be able to debate these things without making assertions about what we are doing.

We are not ditching military neutrality. We support military neutrality in Ireland and we are not going to change it in any shape or form. We have said that consistently and that remains the position. Amending the triple lock does not amount in any shape or form to undermining our policy on military neutrality.

It does not. It genuinely does not.

I fully agree that the situation is intolerable for those living in the area. I have met them in the past and I will meet them again. Senator Murphy has been in regular contact with me, and Deputy Fitzmaurice and others have raised the issue consistently. As he knows, Roscommon County Council had plans for the construction of a pipeline and so forth, and a legal action was taken. The legal action was never concluded.