The Government abolished NPHET.

Tairgim: Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú. I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution. I thank Ms Diana O'Dwyer and Mr. Des Hennelly in People Before Profit for their work on the Bill as well as the Bills Office. This is a Bill which, if passed, would mean we would have a referendum to enshrine neutrality in the Constitution. That is defined as Ireland being a neutral State that will not join many military alliances…

I wish to share time with Deputy Barry. I welcome the Bill and the establishment of the authority as a late and small step towards tackling the reality of Ireland as being in the Wild West when it comes to fertility care. The problem is that the Bill does not do anything in terms of the public provision of fertility care, in particular IVF, and, therefore, does not really address the key issue that Ireland is, according to a report launched by a Fine Gael MEP no less, Ms Frances Fitzgerald, the fourth worst in all …

The actions of P&O Ferries last week highlighted the brutality of capitalism, with 800 workers sacked by video call, special handcuff trained security sent in to clear them off the ships and the company hiring new workers on wages as low as $2.38 per hour. This is part of a wider race to the bottom. The RMT union has reported that workers on the Dublin-Liverpool route were on a basic rate of $3.47 per hour. Companies like this are little better than pirates on the sea, flying whatever flag of convenience they need …

There is a lot of mysticism that goes on when talking about the increase in energy prices, which basically presents laws of a private, for-profit market as if they are laws of nature. It is as if these prices are going up by themselves, and that it is a natural disaster about which nothing can be done. It removes what is actually going on, which is the profiteering that has already been spoken about. One other example about which people will know is that Bord Gáis Energy is increasing gas bills by 39% next month. P…

The armaments industry's merchants of death have seen their stock prices rise dramatically in recent weeks as the brutal invasion of Ukraine has an impact and the arms race that began in its aftermath has accelerated. The Government, unfortunately, seems to be planning to join that arms race. Presumably, it will get a boost from the meeting in Versailles today. What is the Government's position?

To be clear, we are in favour of spending to ensure that Defence Forces personnel are not living in conditions of poverty. Only €20 million of the €500 million and €2 billion extra recommended in the report relates to that. We are in favour of doing that but we are not in favour of trying to win an arms race that cannot be won. It certainly cannot be won by Ireland. We are not in favour of increasing spending by €2 billion a year for buying an intercept capability, the acquisition of a squadron of jet combat aircra…

Yes, I have read the report and I disagree with it. I disagree with close to 50 mentions of NATO, all talking about the need for interoperability and so on. That makes me suspicious. I disagree with buying a squadron of jet aircraft or buying warships.

It absolutely is recommended in paragraph 6.11. It is recommended; the Government likes to shy away from it. I also see it in a certain context, which is that a war on neutrality is being launched by the Government and by right-wing media commentators. Military spending will be ramped up and as a logical consequence of that, it is going to be used for something. Instead, we are saying that we need to copper-fasten and protect neutrality. We will bring forward a Bill to insert neutrality into our Constitution. I wil…

I ask the Minister for the up-to-date figures on the arms trade between Ireland and Israel, which is shameful. It goes from Ireland to Israel in the form of dual-use goods and it goes from Israel to Ireland in the form of weapons that have been battle-tested on Palestinian civilians.

That is €1.7 million or so in the past three years to Israeli armaments companies.

They are Israeli companies that are providing military equipment to the Irish State.

I have a couple of questions. The Minister says there is no arms embargo. Does he agree there should be an arms embargo on a state that has been defined as an apartheid one by Amnesty International? It has been defined by it as operating a racist and cruel system of apartheid within the State of Israel, within the occupied Palestinian territories in Gaza, and against the millions of Palestinians exiled in the Palestinian diaspora. Just a minute ago, the Minister made the point that Ireland is a neutral state, which…

It is a clear question. Is the Minister in favour of an arms embargo on Israel? That is what Amnesty International recommends. Is the Minister in favour of it or not? He made a clear statement earlier that the Government is on the side of Ukraine against Russia. That is okay. I am also for the defeat of the Russian invasion in Ukraine and for its repulsion by the Ukrainian people. Will the Minister make a similar statement about Palestine and say the Irish Government is on the side of the Palestinian people against…

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry. I thank the Labour Party for tabling this motion. The Government's response, whereby it will allow the motion to pass, reeks of cynicism again. Last night, the Government allowed a motion to pass that lacerated its approach to waiting lists for children with special needs but has no intention of doing anything about the issue. Today, it will allow a motion to pass that correctly rejects as inadequate the Government's proposals on the right to request remote working and calls on …

Here we go.

No problem.

There was a virtual meeting on the issue of remote working, which the lobbyists-----

-----at the committee meeting last week forgot all about. Does the Minister of State know who IBEC met? It met him, the other Minister of State, the Tánaiste and every senior official in the Department. That is some level of access. IBEC has that access and gets the legislation written in its interests. I will remind the Minister of State of something else. It is three months since he said he would give me a call that afternoon because he was under pressure to pass the ventilation Bill. Since then, he has sent me a…

Three months have passed and there is a pandemic-----