I join Deputy Bennett in calling on the Minister of State to look at Deputy Cullinane's straightforward amendment. We all are aware of the issue with rising insurance costs. It is no shock that this arises not only with public liability and motor insurance but also health insurance. A lot of people feel they have no choice but to take out insurance because of deficiencies in the health system. We need to see that amendment passed. We need a report and to see the ins and outs of what can only be called gouging and p…

I ask the Minister the engagement his Department has had with organisations, in particular Rowing Ireland, or any other stakeholders, following the publication of concerns regarding the welfare of athletes in the high-performance programmes. In fairness, we have all seen it - anybody who has read Paul Kimmage or heard any of the podcasts he has dealt with. It is frightening. We have seen the huge success there has been in rowing and we would like to make sure these particular issues are addressed.

I am not going to get into the specifics of this. We have all seen it. We know those who have been named. We were even very shocked in relation to the people who, luckily enough, brought this to the attention of the world. What the Minister of State said sounds fine. It is just about ensuring not only that Rowing Ireland has sufficient protocols to ensure we are looking after the welfare of all those involved, including staff, but particularly those who are going out there and doing their absolute for this country.…

I appreciate what the Minister of State said. As I said, I was shocked when I saw it, in particular in relation to the sport where we have had a huge level of success. I suppose the question is: how do we ensure this code of conduct is to a degree enforced or policed and that each of the national governing bodies has a sufficient level of protocols, checks and balances to ensure we look after the welfare of all those involved from the staff and athletes throughout?

We all know the issues that exist at the minute in relation to the cost-of-living crisis. The Government's budget did not have any solutions for those who are suffering at this time, whether we are talking about the issues of insurance, rent or the cost of housing in general. There are also the insurance companies, and anybody who recently had to buy shopping will realise the cost of everything. That is the way it has been explained to me by many people. If we are talking about roads, we know the addition of carbon…

I am glad of the opportunity to bring up this issue. It is a very worrying one. It was brought up earlier by Deputy Doherty. It relates to the ongoing school funding crisis in Darver National School. The easiest way to put this on the record is to read out an email a number of parents got the other day: Dear parents, I am writing to share an important update regarding the financial situation currently affecting our school. Over the past several years, government grants have not increased sufficiently in line with r…

I appreciate that we have a new Minister for education who is only just in position. I appreciate that the Minister of State is here to answer this but I will also be asking him to go back to the Department, as I will myself, to make the Minister aware of this so that we can just take it off the agenda. I agree this is not normal and it should not be normal in any way. In this case the next thing the school had to pay for were these hygiene items and money was not there. We have heard other principals say, "We are …

We have already taken too long with the occupied territories Bill. I, like many others, do not buy the legal arguments that are made. We have often said you can get the legal advice you want on the basis of what you pay for and I do not see this as being very much different. We have heard from many experts who say there is nothing stopping us from implementing the occupied territories Bill for goods and services now. This just needs to happen. Nearly 70,000 Palestinians have been slaughtered in Gaza. We have seen s…

However, it is about the Palestinian people; it is not about us. It is about doing the right thing.

I would like to use this time to remember Chloe McGee, Chloe Hipson, Dylan Commins, Shay Duffy and Alan McCluskey. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse. We think of their families and friends. It is going to be a very difficult time over the next couple of days for communities right across counties Louth, Monaghan and Meath. I have been in O'Fiaich College and DkIT and seen huge supports for students and staff. It was the same in the Sean McDermotts club last night also. This is the level of resilience we will s…

I would like to bring up the fabulous news about the partnership between DKIT and Queen's University. We are talking about a greater level of provision of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes and an innovation and research hub to be based in Dundalk. We know that this can definitely develop the Dublin-Belfast corridor. There is a necessity to follow through with legislative support. Beyond that, this could be part of a vital shared island project. I would like to know what will happen in that regard.

A serious piece of work has to be done to reassure the agricultural sector and farmers of Ireland, particularly in relation to issues that can detrimentally impact the future of farming in Ireland. We want to see maintenance of the nitrates derogation. There is absolute fear in respect of what the impact of Mercosur will be. There is deep annoyance, as we heard it yesterday, at the Government's position on that. I would like to see commentary that would actually settle people's minds in respect of the Government ha…

I ask the Minister of State to urge the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to ensure the issue in relation to the pension of John McNeela, the father of Michael McNeela, who was killed in Lebanon, will be sorted because it was promised by the Tánaiste but it has not happened yet.

I do not know whether the Minister of State has dealt with my question because I was at a meeting earlier. Where are we on the EU–Israel agreement? Has there been any movement? At one stage, there was discussion to the effect that a number of countries might be able to deal with aspects of it. We all know the issues concerning what Israel has done to the Palestinian people. We hope something can come from this ceasefire. It is very hard to call it a peace plan at this point. The EU has serious leverage and has let …

I accept that. We all want that embryonic process to go somewhere. We all know the issues over what has happened not only in Gaza but also in the West Bank. We have seen the movements that have been caused by the Israeli regime, including through the huge annexation splitting the West Bank from East Jerusalem. We are not quite sure where this will go. I know where some in the regime want to bring it, but it is a matter of us maintaining whatever leverage we have. What conversations have been had on a best-case scen…

We are obviously in support of ensuring that we have a sufficient amount of capacity in our Defence Forces. We also need to ensure that we have the capacity to deal with some of the hybrid threats that are in the world that we have to deal with at this point of time. That is everything from cyber to the issue of disinformation, whether organised or disorganised, and the huge harm they can cause. When we are dealing with artificial intelligence, it is about having a sufficient amount of protection across Europe whil…

I understand that.

Yes, but the investor–state dispute settlement-----

Más rud é nach bhfuil fadhb ag duine ar bith, tá muid ag dul ar ais go dtí Sinn Féin leis an Teachta Ward.

The Select Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure, Public Service Reform, Digitalisation and Taoiseach has completed its consideration of the following Supplementary Estimates for Public Services for the service of the year ending 31 December 2025: Votes 7 and 9.