I propose to take Questions Nos. 76 , 78 , 101, 112 and 116 together. The full and effective operation of all of the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement is a key priority for this Government, across all three strands: the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland; the North-South Ministerial Council and the cross-Border bodies; and the east-west institutions. The agreement is designed so these institutions support and reinforce one another. As a co-guarantor of the agreement, together with the British Go…

On Deputy Durkan's points, the opportunity does exist. The 25th anniversary is rightly to celebrate the courage of all those involved in arriving at the Good Friday Agreement 25 years ago and marking the fact that a whole generation grew up in peace and not in conflict in comparison with what had happened prior to that. Equally, it is an opportunity to pivot to the future, and the appointment of Joe Kennedy as an economic adviser by the United States President, Joe Biden, is an important signal that the United Stat…

I think Deputy Durkan is correct that many people forget the enormous impact the Good Friday Agreement had at the time. I was a youngster when the Troubles started. I witnessed many atrocities, as we all did, regularly with daily news bulletins and so on. When the breakthrough came, when Albert Reynolds and John Major announced the Downing Street Declaration, it was something people never thought they would see. The violence went on for far too long. There is no question but that terrible atrocities were committed.…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 79 and 115 together. The Good Friday Agreement says we can best honour those who died or were injured, and their families, through a firm dedication to reconciliation, tolerance and mutual trust, and to the protection and vindication of the human rights of all. This has framed the Government’s approach to the legacy of the past in Northern Ireland. The needs of victims must be core and all relevant human rights obligations must be met. Dealing effectively with the past will allow th…

First, on Deputy Haughey's questions, again we have been strong and robust in our exchanges with the UK Government in respect of this legacy Bill. We think it is a wrong thing to do; it has no agreement within Northern Ireland. I met with victims who are extremely angry about it and are very concerned about its implications. I will marry Deputy Haughey's question with that of Deputy Howlin in saying that there has been a degree of unilateralism in the conceiving, and the writing up, of this Bill and its passage thr…

It is a founding member but this seems to be pandering to an election mandate, manifesto and so on. It shows significant disregard for the plight and the wishes of victims in Northern Ireland in respect of their having the capacity to have investigations into the cases of their loved ones carried out and closure brought to their situations. To answer Deputy Haughey's question, we will continue to engage with the British Government on this. It is engaging with our officials on this but we are awaiting further amendm…

In terms of the Omagh bombing, we have to keep saying that what happened in Omagh was an unspeakable act of barbarity and cruelty. The terrorists who carried the bombing out had no sense of any humanity and they displayed a complete and shocking disregard for human life. We welcome the announcement of the UK that it intends to hold a public inquiry. We got a heads-up and there was engagement with the Secretary of State in terms of his decision to go ahead with this. I have discussed possible next steps with the Min…

They continue to be endorsed by Sinn Féin. I respectfully put it to the Deputy that there is an issue which Sinn Féin needs to deal with, because it undermines its credibility to attack the British Government for its failure in respect of some security issues and then for victims still not to get answers.

I thank the Deputy for the question. As the Deputy is aware, Ireland completed its term on the UN Security Council at the end of 2022. During the term, the Middle East peace process was a key priority for Ireland. The United Nations Security Council discusses the situation monthly, and Ireland used these opportunities to underscore the importance we attach to the effort to secure a just and lasting peace. While there is significant divergence of policy on this file among the Security Council members, Ireland nevert…

I am conscious that there is general consensus in the House about having a two-state solution and of the concern that Members have about this particular Israeli Government, with its very-far-right members who are articulating-----

-----outrageous and racist comments in respect of Palestinians which, in themselves, represent an incitement to attacks on Palestinians and almost an endorsement of what happened in Huwara with the appalling attacks on Palestinian citizens there. The strategic approach has to involve working with those in the neighbourhood in the first instance who are endeavouring to de-escalate and to see if, internationally, we can put pressure on Israel to get back to a two-state solution, and then to use any other measure that…

Ireland plays a leadership role at European Union level in taking a consistent, clear, firm position on the situation in the occupied Palestinian territory. I work closely with EU partners to ensure that the Israeli and Palestinian conflict remains central to the EU's foreign policy. At the Foreign Affairs Council on 23 January, EU foreign ministers had an exchange with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammad Shtayyeh, and Palestinian foreign minister, Dr. Riyad al-Maliki. We gave them the opportunity to brief EU …

Go bunúsach, is é atá i gceist ag páirtí an Teachta, Sinn Féin, ná a bheith ar gach taobh den scéal seo. Is é Tadhg an Dá Thaobh an teideal is oiriúnaí dá pháirtí ó thaobh chúrsaí tithíochta de. Labhraíonn an Teachta gach aon lá faoin ngéarchéim ina bhfuilimid. Cad a dhéanann Sinn Féin áfach? Bíonn sé i gcoinne gach aon Acht a thagann isteach sa Teach seo chun an scéal a fheabhsú. Sin í fírinne na ceiste seo. Deputy Doherty talks about me coming in every day and trotting out slogans. The only people who come in her…

-----what did Deputy Ó Broin say?

Where are they going to go next Christmas? What did Deputy Ó Broin say yesterday on "Morning Ireland"? What did the Deputy say in a Private Members' motion debate only recently? What did he say? He said we should end it at the end of the year, in December.

Where is the honesty in that? Is the Deputy seriously suggesting that Sinn Féin would have allowed the rent ban to be lifted in December, days after Christmas Day? That is the kind of dishonesty-----

-----that I find reprehensible in terms of debating the housing crisis, because it is a crisis. Why did we decide to lift the ban?

We do not want to make the situation worse. The Deputy spat out that the Government is interested in the landlords. I heard Deputy Ó Broin on "The Pat Kenny Show" this morning saying he talks to landlords all the time. It is the Tadhg an Dá Thaobh syndrome. The Deputy has been in here demonising landlords for the last three or four years.

He wants them out of the market, but then-----

-----up comes Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson saying he is a very reasonable man, he will talk to landlords and he is even talking to developers. Deputy Doherty will come in and say we are all developer-led and corporate investment-led. The hypocrisy of it spews out of what he is saying-----