As well all know, on 14 July 2021 the British Government published a command paper outlining plans for legislation providing for a statute of limitations ending criminal investigations and prosecutions in respect of Troubles-related incidents, as well as inquests and civil litigation. One obvious intention of these proposals is to prohibit future prosecutions of military veterans and ex-paramilitaries for Troubles-related incidents. This announcement has been rightly condemned, in the first instance by victims grou…

I wish to acknowledge the presence of the Ukrainian ambassador to Ireland and to express the solidarity of the Fianna Fáil party with her and her people at this time, as I am sure the Minister of State has done already. It has come to pass, after months of speculation, that Russia has moved on Ukraine. As we were warned all along, a pretext was engineered to give cover to Russia to recognise two breakaway regions, Donetsk and Luhansk, as independent states and to send in troops to be so-called peacekeepers. There w…

Before we consider the two issues to be examined by the two new citizens' assemblies we should take a minute or two to consider the role of citizens' assemblies and the justification for them. It has been put to me by some constituents that citizens' assemblies are not required and that they are of no value, pointing out that the Houses of the Oireachtas, Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, are the real citizens' assemblies. That may be so, but in my view citizens' assemblies have an important role to play in a modern…

As the Taoiseach knows, the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland, Marie Anderson, issued a 344-page report last week on a number of loyalist paramilitary killings in the 1990s, including the massacre at Sean Graham's bookmakers on the Ormeau Road in February 1992. The report makes for shocking reading. The ombudsman found that there was collusive behaviour between the RUC, the Ulster Defence Association and the Ulster Freedom Fighters. The report outlines how the police provided weapons to these paramilitary organ…

As we know, Ireland enjoys a close relationship with the USA. The Taoiseach said that it is deep and long-standing. This relationship has been further enhanced with the election of Joe Biden as President. President Biden never misses an opportunity to proclaim his Irish roots. It is important for the Irish Government to engage with the US administration, with President Biden and with members of the House of Representatives and of the Senate. We need to engage on a number of issues, including the need for their ongo…

The UK has been out of the EU for over a year now. What analysis is being undertaken by the Cabinet committee on the effects of Brexit on the Republic of Ireland? Some headlines in recent weeks have made reference to the effective end of the so-called land bridge, in that there has been a dramatic fall in Irish lorries using British ports and a rise in direct ferry routes to mainland Europe. Goods imports from Britain to the Republic have decreased by 20%. At the same time, cross-Border trade has increased substant…

I am sharing time with Deputies O'Connor and McAuliffe. The 50th anniversary of Bloody Sunday was marked on 30 January last. As we know, a march for civil rights in Northern Ireland took place in Derry that day. The participants marched for basic civil rights and equality, to be treated equally in a society where the minority were seen as second-class citizens by the government. The first battalion of the British army's parachute regiment opened fire on innocent civilians, killing 13 people on the day. This followe…

The European Commission has brought forward proposals for the so-called strategic compass for security and co-operation in Europe. The decisions in this regard are due to be taken at the March European Council meeting. What is the Irish approach to the strategic compass as negotiations on it continue?

The strategic compass has been described as a pathway for European security and defence capabilities with the aim of developing a sovereign European strategy, resulting in smarter co-operation. It has the strong backing of the French President, Emmanuel Macron, who stated, when France assumed the Presidency of the European Union, "we must move from a Europe of cooperation within our borders to a Europe that is powerful in the world, fully sovereign, free in its choices and master of its destiny". We know security a…

One aim of the strategic compass is to be able to act decisively when the need arises. The evacuation from Kabul Airport last year highlighted the need for this in a real way. We know there are proposals for a 5,000-strong rapid reaction force, greater investment in defence, and that Ireland has concerns about so-called Article 44 issues. Will the Minister give an assurance that Ireland's approach to the strategic compass will be based on the need to contribute to international peace and security and stress again t…

The Minister mentioned he met British Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, on 6 January. Did he notice a change in tone or attitude by the UK side on these negotiations? Would he agree these negotiations must be brought to a conclusion as soon as possible given the proximity of the Northern Ireland Assembly elections in May and the political issue the protocol has become? The UK is now also dealing with the situation in Ukraine. I assume that is a very big issue for the UK, as indeed it is for everybody else. Does the Min…

I reiterate what Deputy Shanahan asked about earlier on and Deputy Jim O'Callaghan mentioned about the benefits of the Northern Ireland protocol. As Deputies have said, an extra effort is needed. I know the Minister, the Department and various organisations are doing a lot, but we need to stress continually the benefits of the protocol for Northern Ireland business. The Democratic Unionist Party threat to pull down the Northern Ireland institutions is still there as well. We have all this factoring into the negotia…

Global Ireland: Ireland's Global Footprint to 2025 was launched in 2018 and is a plan to expand and deepen Ireland's international presence and influence and generally to bring about greater engagement by Ireland in global affairs. Significant progress has been made in implementing the plan, as we have heard, and many new initiatives have been undertaken. New diplomatic missions have been opened and, as we know, Ireland won a seat on the UN Security Council and held the presidency of that council in September of la…

As the Taoiseach has said, last weekend, Ireland marked the 50th anniversary of our membership of the European Communities. The treaty of accession was signed by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch, and the then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Patrick Hillery. The decision to join the European Economic Community, EEC, was overwhelmingly endorsed by the Irish people in a referendum in which 83% of the population voted "Yes". It is a decision we have never regretted since, as demonstrated by opinion polls showing consistent…

It is a fact there is a Franco-German axis at the heart of the EU project, which all member states, including small ones like Ireland, recognise. There is always momentum coming from that axis for further European integration, which has been given a new impetus during the current French Presidency of the EU. For many reasons, Germany is important for Ireland and Ireland is a friend of Germany. Germany is Ireland's largest market in the eurozone, for example. Mr. Olaf Scholz is Germany's new centre-left Chancellor. …

This will be a significant year for Northern Ireland, with Assembly elections taking place in May. Meanwhile, Brexit and, in particular, the Northern Ireland protocol remain issues of concern to the First Minister and deputy First Minister, albeit from different perspectives. Business, though, can clearly see the benefits of the protocol. It is interesting to note that recent statistics show cross-Border trade between the Republic and Northern Ireland continues to grow. Negotiations have resumed on the implementati…

There is a lot on the agenda of the European Council meeting, including the Covid-19 pandemic, crisis management and resilience, security and defence issues, the upcoming EU-African Union summit, the situation on the EU border with Belarus, energy prices and the external aspects of migration. Meanwhile, negotiations between the UK and the EU on the implementation of the Northern Ireland protocol continue. As we heard last week, the Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič attended our meeting of the Joint Oireachta…

The Department of Justice is spearheading a number of initiatives to tackle concerns about community safety, crime and quality of life issues throughout the country. I refer to the Greentown initiative, which aims to deal with criminal networks and to the recently established community safety partnerships arising from the Commission on the Future of Policing, one of which is located in Dublin’s north inner city. I welcome the fact the Taoiseach launched the fourth annual report of the north-east inner city forum la…

As Deputy Smith said, it is clear that President Joe Biden is very proud of his Irish roots. He proclaims his Irish heritage whenever he can. The most recent example of this was when he called the men's Irish rugby team to congratulate them on their historic victory over New Zealand. I understand that he also contacted the Taoiseach to pass on his congratulations to the people of Ireland on that victory. It is also clear that the Taoiseach has struck up a good personal relationship with the new President. All of us…

I welcome the fact the British Government seems to be drawing back from introducing legislation on legacy and also that it is dialling down the rhetoric on invoking Article 16. On the British-Irish Council, I am pleased the Taoiseach was able to attend the meeting. It seems a wide range of issues were discussed, including economic matters, trade, ongoing relations with the EU, COP26, Covid-19, and post-pandemic recovery. As the Taoiseach knows, the council was established in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement to …