Anything we do-----

Anything we do will be utterly consistent with the UN Charter and the upholding of UN fundamental rights.

The Deputy has raised two issues, the first of which is the Middle East and the current situation there. I agree with everything the Deputy has articulated in respect of the appalling killing of children, innocent civilians and humanitarian aid workers whose work is extraordinarily brave and courageous. It is outrageous that the UN humanitarian workers are being killed, as it is in respect of medical care workers and journalists who are reporting bravely on the situation in the Middle East. We welcome what we are h…

I found it shocking that people did not even want to give a debate a chance. They attacked the chairperson. They sought to undermine it. Then, when they went to it-----

You did.

Then, when people went to it-----

In any event, it was-----

Deputy, you did-----

Could I say to Deputy Bacik, in terms of the triple lock-----

Through the Chair, in respect of the triple lock, the consultative forum was a very rational, reasonable, very well-balanced debate. That is important. There was clear consensus about supporting military neutrality. There is no question about that. In the context of the triple lock, there has not been a peacekeeping mission sanctioned by the UN since 2014.

I just happen to believe-----

-----that we cannot allow Russia, China and everybody else to dictate what we do.

I was 12 years of age in 1972, when the referendum on joining the European community took place. Parties across here opposed it at the time. There were groups, which are still at it today, arguing that if we joined what is now the European Union, we would have NATO troops and nuclear warheads parading down O'Connell Street within a few weeks. This is what was said as far back as 1972 and I have heard the same mantra throughout the debates on all the European treaties since then, which people have opposed, and it ne…

Because of their geopolitical ambition and agenda, they do not want peacekeeping missions around the world any more. We know where the world is today. It took six weeks-----

The alternative is we stay consistent to fundamental human rights and the UN Charter. The UN Charter mentions regional actors; the EU or the African Union are bona fide actors. We should not just react-----

-----in a knee-jerk way to what I proposed yesterday in terms of amendments. We should have reasonable debate but there seems to be an inability in this House to have a reasonable debate about these matters and false hares get sent up the field.

I excuse you from that.

There are two issues. The first is the financial issue and the second is the security and intelligence service. The Deputy is suggesting it should be an Irish citizen who takes the job, which I will come back to. I understand the concerns he has articulated about the fast-accrual pension scheme, which applies to An Garda Síochána, and the limit on pension funds, which has been discussed in this context as the standard fund threshold, which sets a lifetime maximum for tax relief on pension contributions. That is par…

It applies to all aspects of the public and private sector, but particularly to the public service at a given stage, especially where there are fast-accrual pension systems. I will revert to the Ministers for Finance and Justice on the issues.

It is my understanding that University Hospital Limerick has the largest capital investment programme at the moment in terms of new projects that are in the pipeline. The Minister has indicated that to me. Much of that has to happen. As the Deputy knows, work on the new €90 million project, consisting of a 96-bed inpatient block and renal dialysis unit, commenced in October 2022. The Government also committed to the delivery of a second 96-bed inpatient block at University Hospital Limerick. That will make a differ…