You are asking the Minister of State.

As was stated, this proposal builds on the original anti-trafficking directive from 2011. It will hopefully help to strengthen the ability of the EU to combat human trafficking-related crimes and give stronger tools for law enforcement to investigate and prosecute. On that basis, Sinn Féin will support the passage of this proposal and we look forward to further progress in implementation. I acknowledge what the Minister of State said about Article 7 and the cross-referencing and tweaks that may have to be made to i…

I thank the Minister of State for his presentation. There is no doubt but that this Bill is welcome. We had called for additional judges because from speaking to practitioners, guards and many others, it is a significant issue. In the Dublin Circuit Court, for example, trial dates for February and March 2025 were given out earlier this year. The only exception would be if a child was involved or if the accused was in custody. In the Central Criminal Court, trial dates have varied. In severe cases, judges have tried…

I ask the Minister for Justice to make a statement on his plans to legislate with respect to attacks on emergency service personnel, including gardaí.

I thank the Minister. We submitted a parliamentary question on this matter earlier this year. The response indicated that the proposals would be brought forward shortly. The Minister has now indicated that it will be a 12-year sentence. Does he have any idea when that proposal will be coming before this House or when the amendment to the Act will be coming forward? We are all aware of the attacks that took place over the past year. The urgency around this, following on from a couple of meetings I have had, is due t…

The urgency seems to be in the need for gardaí to be able to carry out their duties safely. I offer my best wishes to any of the gardaí who have been injured recently. There is a broader picture here in that many gardaí say they spend half their time covering their backs, and looking over their shoulders due to the increased monitoring of them. Unfortunately, while the Government planned to increase the numbers in the Garda by 1,000, up to the end of March there were only 136 gardaí going through Templemore. If you…

When the White Paper on ending direct provision was announced two years ago, it was broadly welcomed on all sides, although we would have preferred more State involvement in the reception and integration centres. Over the past year, however, the situation has deteriorated somewhat as a result of the war in Ukraine. Some of the difficulties of the past year could have been avoided if there had been more progress in respect of the capital projects. What progress has been made in implementing the White Paper?

I thank the Minister for the reply. When the White Paper was announced initially, the theme behind it, according to the website, seemed to be about encouraging integration and supporting independent living. There were various plans to use housing bodies, NGOs, urban renewal schemes, hosting and tenancies. However, there has been practically no implementation of any of those plans apart from for Ukrainians. A sort of two-tier system has developed whereby the hosting and tenancies responses seem to be only for people…

It seems we are back to square one in that there is an overreliance on for-profit accommodation providers. It seems those seeking international protection will continue in such accommodation for the foreseeable future. The danger is some elements will choose to exploit that. We seem to be back at square one. Has the Minister more or less completely abandoned the reception and integration centres that were a central part of the White Paper? Is that up for review? Is there a danger that approach will be abandoned? Th…

The Government is the body causing it.

Over the weekend, we saw a programme by the legendary broadcaster, David Attenborough, showcasing Killarney National Park. While there has been some progress on the contracts for the general operatives who work there and who, throughout the Covid pandemic, drove vehicles, tended to the herds, built fences, walkways, bridges and benches and even undertook a fire safety course, all of the praise we heard masks significant problems. We need an upland management scheme. We need a plan to deal with the deer and wild goa…

I am standing in for Deputy Martin Kenny. We will be allowing this motion to pass, but after the time I have spent in this House, there is a certain sense of déjà vu about it, given the number of motions in the area of security and justice. Of course, this is a consequence of the Brexit policy, where the tactics have been to delay and delay, even when it is just the inevitable that is being delayed. The institutions in the North have suffered, politics on this island has suffered and ordinary people, North and Sout…

There was a lot of heat and light, and some nonsense, generated from some TDs over the past two weeks in relation to this issue. I have heard some TDs saying that some tenants will require four years' notice and that the State would come in and issue compulsorily purchase orders, CPOs, on all of these houses. Whether they were concerned with voting to extend the ban or to retain it, there were some strange attempts to divorce themselves from the consequence of their own actions and they attacked Sinn Féin to distra…

I also commend Deputy Harkin and the Independent Group for tabling this motion. It is very comprehensive and covers a lot of ground. Over the past two or three weeks in particular, I have had to deal with a number of cases where family members' loved ones who are in community hospitals or the general hospital are coming home and require care. In some cases, they have a certain amount of care already but they need an extra person, an extra carer, to help out where, for example, there might be a hoist in use and two …

The Tánaiste was in Ballyseedy last weekend. No doubt he heard the documentary makers and historians say that the Dáil record which recorded the results of the court of inquiry established by one of his predecessors should be changed. The Tánaiste stated that what happened in Ballyseedy was premeditated murder. He knows that the account to the effect that the prisoners involved were clearing a mine is false. He met some of the victims' family members and told one of them that in time the Dáil record should be amend…

I am sure the Tánaiste wants the truth.

Does the Tánaiste accept the narrative is a cover-up?

Does the Tánaiste accept it here?

Whatever you call it, the Tánaiste accepts that it was wrong.

These were prisoners, though.