I could put it on the record.

Deputy Colm Burke has been working hard on it.

I will respond on the comments on the Defence Forces. To be clear, PDFORRA was not looking and is still not looking for the right to strike. RACO is certainly not either. What they were looking for and now have-----

-----is a link to ICTU that allows them to be part of the various rounds of pay negotiations that take place. That is what they looked for and have. Nobody apart from Deputy O'Reilly seems to be looking for the Defence Forces to be given the ability to strike, which would not be the right decision for national security issues, which people in the Defence Forces recognise. It is important to put that on the regard.

I hear what the Deputy is saying and I also recognise his contribution to and experience in this area. To give reassurance, we are not taking anything for granted here. We are assessing the current approach towards a culture of entrepreneurship, start-ups and risk-taking in Ireland, which is needed to continue to generate economic activity and new business all the time. It is one of the reasons that I and the two Ministers of State are spending quite a bit of time around the country, talking to small businesses and…

Setting up a local unitary patent court in Ireland will offer users an accessible, cost-effective and more efficient option for broad patent protection and dispute settlement across Europe. Businesses will defend or challenge a patent via a single litigation process rather than costly litigation in each individual member state. Savings for businesses will be significant in this area. That is why, in June of last year, the Government reaffirmed its commitment to participate in the unitary patent system and the Unifi…

As I said, my Department is a lead Department here. We are working with other Departments, like the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and, of course, the Department of Justice because we have to set up a new court, but we have to get a referendum passed too. The Deputy and I are around this House long enough to know that passing referendums is not a straightforward process. The most important thing is that we get this passed as soon as we can but also that we do not risk its success by going at t…

The preparation is quite advanced. Of course, we have to rely on the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage regarding the work on the electoral commission that is required for the referendum, but that can be done. I am confident that if we choose to do this in the autumn, it will be possible to do it in the autumn, but I think we need to make a wise political decision as to when we are most likely to get it passed and when we will have an electorate that wants to hear and understand the detail of what…

I thank the Deputy for tabling this question. My Department has a responsibility, along with others, to ensure that increasing numbers of people with disabilities participate in the labour market and to do more in that regard. I acknowledge that, as a country, we are not where we need to be in this area and it will be a priority for me over the next year or so to change that. There are some good results within the public sector, where we are meeting targets. In my Department, for example, we are well above the 6% t…

On the public transport issue, I accept this is a barrier to entry into the workforce, particularly in rural Ireland, but some of these barriers are not as difficult to overcome as they used to be. Many more people are now working remotely and are getting options to work from home. We have technology platforms now that allow many skilled people to work from home or from local enterprise hubs in places like Skibbereen and elsewhere. There are a lot more opportunities now, through using technology, that allow people …

First, I will outline some of the other things Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland are doing. Last year Enterprise Ireland signed a partnership agreement with Open Doors to further develop awareness campaigns and programmes that will utilise success stories of self-employed and entrepreneur role models across a variety of areas, including people with disabilities. Additionally, the office infrastructure is designed, or has been adapted, to accommodate people with intellectual and physical disabilities. IDA Ireland i…

We touched on this yesterday in committee and, to be fair to Deputy Bruton, he has been a remarkably consistent voice in this area for a long time, including when he served as a Minister. He put in place Ireland's first proper structures for responding to the climate challenge. To be fair, we are moving from being in a poor position in this area relative to other European countries to a much better place. However, we have a distance to travel yet in terms of how we manage, reduce and recycle waste, how we produce e…

The second iteration of the whole-of-government circular economy strategy is currently under development in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. As the Deputy would expect, that needs to be a cross-governmental response. My Department is very much part of that discussion with the lead Department in the context of industry and economic development. I accept the criticism on where Ireland has been in this area. However, I do not accept that we are not putting in place a pathway to a much mor…

Ah, Richard, come off it.

The 2023 St Patrick's Day programme saw the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and Government Ministers take part in an extensive international programme to promote Ireland and Irish interests around the world. These visits provided an opportunity for Ministers to promote Irish trade and meet business leaders, to engage with political counterparts and to meet the Irish diaspora in different locations. As part of this St Patrick’s Day programme, I visited Australia and carried out a wide-ranging programme of community, business an…

They do not like the truth.

Hear, hear.

I wish to share time with Deputy O'Dowd.

As has been said well by the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, and Opposition spokespeople, the Good Friday Agreement is a treasure unearthed after a huge amount of work and bravery in Belfast in 1998. It has been valued and protected ever since by those of us who remember the terrible death and maiming that was brought on by the Troubles for three decades. The Good Friday Agreement is a piece of genius. No government, no party, no generation, no community and no tradition owns it. It is owned by everybody, and it has allow…

They are facts.