We will continue to work to get a humanitarian ceasefire and to get aid and medical supplies in at scale into Gaza, which is critical. We signed up to the GATT rules in respect of trade and the European Commission is competent - as the Deputy knows - on trade agreements. Ireland does not have the unilateral capacity and legally we cannot just extricate ourselves and say, "We want to do it this way", because then the same would apply to other countries that have equally signed up to it.

I thank Deputy Carthy for raising the question. I believe it has actually accelerated. Since coming in as the Minister I identified this as a key priority of mine. The Defence Forces are currently exempted from the provisions of the Organisation of Working Time Act 1997, which transposed the EU working time directive into Irish law. I assure the Deputy, however, that I am fully committed to ensuring that the provisions of the working time directive are applied, where appropriate, to its members in line with the Gov…

I have met the representative associations about this issue. They know my commitment to it. As part of the conciliation and arbitration scheme, we established a sub-committee and the representative associations have had an input through that committee. As part of that, compensatory rest is now provided for certain duties in line with the provisions of the directive. There is no question but that I have given this my focus. As a result, the dialogue with representative associations, through the sub-committee on the …

The responsibility, as the Deputy said, for developing the legislative framework to remove the blanket exemption for the Defence Forces under the Organisation of Working Time Act lies with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. We have to get the policy positions finalised to inform the general scheme and the eventual legislation. Formal engagement will commence once that is completed. In the meantime, however, the Deputy can be assured that my officials are actively engaging with officials from the De…

The report of the independent review group, IRG, established to examine dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces was published on 28 March last. The Government agreed to progress the recommendations contained in the report, which include the establishment of a statutory inquiry to identify systemic failures, if any, in the complaints system, in order to ensure accountability and transparency. Draft terms of reference were prepared in consultation with the Attorney General and shared with a wide variety of …

I have met with the Women of Honour group on a number of occasions, and with their legal advisers, who are experienced in the matter of tribunals and inquiries going back over a long period of time. I think we have been very fair. I have been very clear, honest and straightforward in relation to this. I think the recommendation of the IRG was to have a statutory inquiry, and we have followed through on that. There were debates and reflection as to what model would be the best model. The Women of Honour were anxious…

Exactly.

First of all, there have been exhaustive discussions. We have had a number of meetings and correspondence with the Women of Honour and other groups. The Attorney General has met with the legal advisers to Women of Honour. We have gone through a lot of stuff in detail. The fundamental recommendation of the IRG has been met by the draft terms of reference and we have sought to go through all of the issues. The discretion of the judge is always there. I was surprised - and Deputy Cronin made the point - with the publi…

Sorry.

The report of the independent review group established to examine dignity and equality issues in the Defence Forces was published following Government approval on 28 March of this year. The Government agreed to progress the recommendations contained in the report. One of the first actions taken was the establishment of an external oversight body, initially on a non-statutory basis. This body is a critical element to driving the necessary culture change throughout the Defence Forces and increasing transparency and a…

The publication of the IRG report was important. It enabled us to take fairly immediate action. I just outlined for the Deputy the amendments to legislation so that in the future all acts of sexual assault will go to the civil courts. They will not be tried at military police level or at military court level; that is important. We had given that directive already. We have witnessed that inaction already in a number of cases that unfortunately have arisen but which have almost immediately been referred to An Garda S…

I mentioned in an earlier reply the details of starting pay which has increased very significantly in the last number of years. The starting rates of pay in the Defence Forces now compare very well to comparable rates of pay across the public service. In addition, a range of financial and non-financial measures have been introduced such as the extension of private secondary medical care to all Defence Forces personnel. New work-life balance initiatives have also been introduced. Allowances for the Army Ranger Wing …

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. Russia's ongoing military aggression against Ukraine has fundamentally altered the security situation in Europe. It has also demonstrated the need for Ireland and our European Union partners to work closely together to deal with the serious security challenges that we face. Since my appointment as Minister for Defence, I attended the Foreign Affairs Council meeting in defence configuration, which took place in Brussels in May, and I also attended the informal defence minis…

I am not anticipating a rapid attack right now-----

-----and as the Deputy knows we have a position of non-alignment. We are not members of NATO, and we have no plans to join, and the Constitution prohibits Ireland's participation in any EU common defence pact. There is a broader provision in the EU whereby member states may come to the assistance of another member state that comes under attack but that has never been defined in any great clarity as to how that would manifest itself. Suffice it to say, on the Report of the Commission on the Defence Forces, we acknow…

I think it would be fair to say that we have engaged through our individual partnership for peace, the renewal of that individually tailor-made programme with NATO in the context of Partners for Peace, with which we have been involved since 1999. The areas we have prioritised with PESCO are subsea cables and infrastructure, critical infrastructure and cybersecurity. The big attack we had in this country in the past three years was that on the health service by the Conti group, a criminal operation in Russia, which …

On 15 November, when I was in the Middle East, my Department became aware of a Lebanese media report announcing that one of the individuals accused of the murder of Private Seán Rooney on 14 December last who had been in Lebanese custody had been released on bail. The case against this individual and the other defendants is due to resume in Beirut on 15 December. In addition to the assistance provided by the Irish Embassy in Cairo and the honorary consulate in Beirut, my Department has also engaged the services of …

I appreciate what Deputy Ó Murchú is saying. I am not happy with this and quite understandably the family are not happy. I will again convey to the Lebanese Government and to the United Nations my view that the lives of our peacekeepers need to be valued and affirmed through robust legal processes. We know the situation in Lebanon is challenging to say the least, in terms of the polity there and the range of issues. I did meet the Lebanese minister for foreign affairs in New York at UN General Assembly week when I …

I am conscious that the case is under way. Hezbollah is a major force in Lebanon. That must be acknowledged as well. A new government has not been formed in Lebanon in quite a long time. That is not helpful either. The situation generally in Lebanon, with the collapse of the economy and the currency, mean there is a significant need for stability in the country. We have been long-term peacekeepers in Lebanon. The presence of peacekeepers generally is in areas which are challenging and difficult, by definition. That…

The Defence Forces have almost 460 personnel serving between the two UN missions referenced by the Deputy. As of 1 November, 319 Irish personnel were attached to the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, and 136 were serving with the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force in Syria, UNDOF. All Defence Forces personnel are maintaining a high level of vigilance and continue to monitor the developing situation in their respective mission areas. All personnel serving in the Middle East region are account…