Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I understand the argument the Minister is making. It is my understanding there are a considerable number of adjournments on the basis of the gardaí and the State itself. The fear is that we will have a number of solicitors who are not willing to engage with this system. We will obviously have those who need representation but beyond that, I am told that in many cases involving legal aid, and when the solicitor is given a sufficient amount of time, due diligence is done and this facili…

I welcome that the Minister will meet them again, particularly as the Law Society and many of its members, some of whom have contacted me, have stated they are incredibly worried about this. I agree with the Minister that we all want to see our courts system work as efficiently as possible. We have all seen that for too long justice has been denied. We have all seen cases which have taken an extraordinary length of time to make their way through the District and Circuit Courts. However, in a previous answer, the Mi…

The Minister spoke about price increases, including the price of CAN having risen by 20% and that of urea by as much as 60%. In the context of his engagement with importers and sellers of fertiliser, has any work been done with regard to ensuring that these price increases are based on a lack of supply rather than someone trying to make a profit on the back of fears that are out there? How has the Minister’s engagement with the European Commission gone? It sounds as if it has not been utterly fruitful in relation t…

I ask the Minister to outline any progress made in relation to alternatives, be it supply or organics. When does he think we will have a crux in relation to fertiliser supply? Has there been any monitoring of prices and whether there is any price gouging going on? That would be utterly unacceptable.

Well said.

As my colleague stated, we support anything that improves the lot of business from the point of view of streamlining systems, services and grant application schemes. There are concerns about this legislation that I will deal with. The intent can be fine but unless we have the resourcing and capacity, we will have particular issues. At a meeting of the Good Friday Agreement committee recently, representatives from various chambers of commerce, including those in Dundalk and Newry, contributed. They were almost singi…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Maeve O'Connell - To discuss urban broadband provision. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss discrepancies in inheritance tax and capital gains tax. Deputy Emer Currie - To discuss the regulation of loot boxes and chance-based microtransactions in video games. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss supports for children and students with dyslexia. Deputy Malcol…

I have a letter from retained station officer, John Molloy, from Dunleer fire station. It was sent to the Taoiseach. It states: I am serving retained station officer with Louth County Council due to retire in a number of weeks on 24 May 2026. At 62 years of age, I do not want to retire, nor am I ready to retire. All assistant chief fire officers can stay until 70. All county council outdoor working staff can stay to 70. I am pleading with you to put something in place in the interim to allow us retained fire fighte…

Could there be an interim solution?

He is John Molloy.

When are we going to see the occupied territories Bill in relation to services and goods? When will we ever see any action by the European Union with regard to the EU-Israel association agreement given the breach of the ceasefire, plans for further settlements in the West Bank and attempts by Israelis, through ethnic cleansing and every other means open to them, to create a security buffer zone in Lebanon? I cannot mention Lebanon without mentioning our UNIFIL mission there, as well as Seán Rooney. In the parliamen…

And the report?

What about the Michael Delaney report?

What about the Michael Delaney report?

The biggest issue here is that while we have not had the Government attack this legislation, we have had it talk about the fact that it is premature and not the time. When we make proposals in respect of many issues, we hear that it is not the right time. The fact is that people are dealing with a cost-of-living crisis that was in existence long before the Iran and Lebanese war, and we could go back a long time before that. Once upon a time, we had the cheapest electricity prices in Europe. We now have the most exp…

We have all seen the benefits of sports capital grants. There was a lot of conversation about the sports capital grant for the pitch and lights in Oriel Park. It has been a great benefit and absolutely necessary. We need that to continue. I add my voice to the call to increase the caps of €200,000 and €500,000 given the higher costs, especially with serious capital builds. When will the large-scale sports infrastructure fund open? This is of major interest, not only to Dundalk Football Club and Oriel Park, but part…

I agree. We all know the necessity of sport as being a real positive in a world of many negatives. It is about making sure that the money does come on stream and that the Government would look at the caps. Whether it is Louth GAA, Dundalk FC or Drogheda United, they would be somewhat worried about what looks like a delay in the LSSIF. It is necessary, particularly for League of Ireland clubs. I said it about Louth previously and now I will say it about Dundalk FC. Hopefully we will do better against Bohemians at th…

Europe has worked as a peace project. We all know Europe was incredibly facilitatory and really useful in our own peace process. The solidarity we were shown during the lunacy of the Brexit process was a necessity. I assume it also shows the power of the Single Market, even when it came to those from Germany or France who wanted to sell into Britain. However, we cannot say there are not issues in relation to the European Union and how it is constituted at this point in time. We all understand that we are in a very …

I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "notes that" and substitute the following: ": — the conflict in the Middle East has, once again, exposed the vulnerability of the Irish economy, and Irish society more generally, to imported fossil fuels; — these strategic dependencies have major macroeconomic implications, and the risks to macroeconomic and fiscal stability cannot be ignored; — at a minimum, the large upward shift in energy prices is likely to impart stagflationary impulses to th…

Michael Shine was an abuser who was well known for decades hiding in plain sight. There have been multiple failures, whether we are talking about Our Lady of Lourdes, Medical Missionaries of Mary, the Garda, successive Departments of Health and by the State and many Governments. We all welcome the scoping exercise by Lorcan Staines. There has been good engagement by the survivors and victims. However, it only matters if it provides what is needed, which is a full public inquiry that provides the absolute truth in r…