This brings me back to an earlier question relating to cybersecurity and the considerations of the Commission on the Defence Forces for the future in terms of the cybersecurity elements of the threats we face in the security domain. It is important to point out that the budget the Government spends on cybersecurity is not just confined to the defence budget. It also goes to the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. In fact, the Minister for Environment, Climate and Communications has the primary re…

Cybersecurity is going to be one of the key challenges for the State in the context of a post-Covid recovery and how we protect data and our telecommunications systems and infrastructure as more people work from home and more people require and rely on high-speed broadband connectivity, both internationally and in the State. We will have to ensure that these systems and protected and safe. In my view, Ireland will continue to be a magnet for foreign direct investment, as a gateway into the European Union, and will …

The Deputy will be aware that with the agreement of the representative association, the specialised instructors allowance was bought out for officers under the defence sector collective agreement of the Public Service Agreement 2013-2016, also known as the Haddington Road agreement. When the allowance was abolished, 54 affected officers were fully compensated for their loss. While the May 2019 report of the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment and retention in the Permanent Defence Force made a recommendati…

I hear what the Deputy is saying. This is an issue under consideration and we will continue to talk to RACO about it. As the Deputy knows, the new agreement provides two means whereby any party to the new pay agreement can pursue matters such as this one, namely, through sectoral bargaining or a submission to an independent body established under the new pay agreement. It is possible by those means to assess issues arising for consideration in this regard, including the context for pay and productivity measures wit…

The point is taken. I have already put it on record that the May 2019 report and the Public Service Pay Commission on recruitment and retention for the Permanent Defence Force made a recommendation regarding Defence Forces allowances, but it did not make any recommendation on the re-establishment of this specific allowance. Having said that, time moves on and I do not want to rule anything out. I do not, however, want to commit to something here on the floor of the Dáil when a confidential process is under way.

Ireland’s position on the illegality of Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory informs our engagement with the state of Israel across a range of bilateral issues and will continue to do so. Ireland distinguishes between the territory of the state of Israel and the territories occupied since 1967 in line with international law and the relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Ireland will continue to use our seat on the UN Security Council to draw attention to the issue of settlements, demolitions, ev…

I do not agree with the Deputy on this issue. The question of boycotts and sanctions has been discussed on many occasions in the Oireachtas. The Government does not support boycotts on Israel. Such sanctions would be ineffective and, more importantly, counterproductive. Although we differ on issues to do with the occupation, we do not regard ourselves as hostile to Israel. If we are to achieve what the Government wants to continue to advocate and work towards, which is a peace settlement that results in two states …

It is clear that I am not shy to call out Israeli policy when it is not consistent with international law. I have repeatedly referred to the illegality of settlements, settlement expansion, demolitions and forced evictions. I have been highly critical, both nationally and internationally, of those policies because I believe they are counterproductive to achieving the outcome of a peaceful resolution to a conflict that has gone on for far too long. Do I believe that taking the approach the Deputy is advocating, whic…

I thank the Deputy for his question. As he knows, I have strong views on this matter, as do many others in the House. I am deeply concerned by the impact of the recent escalation of the conflict on children in the occupied Palestinian territories and in Israel. I have been clear about the need to respect international humanitarian law, including the protection of civilians, particularly children, and the need for any response to attacks to be proportionate. In my address to the UN Security Council on 16 May, I made…

As I said earlier, the only way sanctions are effective is if they are agreed collectively. Ireland, on its own, does not have the capacity to impose sanctions on Israel and should not do so. We would end up isolating ourselves, not Israel, if we tried to do that. The way to do this is to focus on the relationship between Israel and the EU because that is where there is real leverage. We are trying to work within the EU system, and with the UN, to ensure there is real engagement with the new Israeli Government and …

We will, of course, focus on supporting communities there. We are putting our money where our mouth is in that regard.

Using terms like "coming to heel" probably is not appropriate in relation to-----

I know it is.

Often the language used in this Parliament about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is not helpful to what I am trying to achieve internationally on behalf of Ireland and the Government. I am trying to ensure we are a relevant partner internationally, influencing decisions that impact on the lives of young Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank and indeed young Israelis as well, who have also lost their lives, although the injury and loss of life has been completely disproportionate, as it always is when there are ro…

I thank the Deputy for his question. I am really glad he asked it. I know there is huge interest in the Israel-Palestine question and that is always going to be a big feature of foreign affairs questions but there are so many other really significant issues and conflicts that Ireland is involved in also, particularly in the context of the UN Security Council, and this is one of them. I am extremely concerned by the ongoing conflict in Tigray. Notwithstanding commitments made, the situation on the ground is deterior…

It is helpful to put some facts on the record, or certainly as they are understood. Food insecurity continues to be of serious concern. Over 5.2 million people are in need of emergency food aid right now. Alarmingly, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, UNOCHA, has confirmed that 350,000 people are in imminent danger of famine. There are grave concerns about levels of malnutrition, particularly among young children and pregnant and breastfeeding women. The United Nations Children'…

I would like to think we have been one of the most if not the most active country on this matter at the UN Security Council and within the EU. What we understand happened yesterday will increase even more the need for international intervention here. A crowded market seems to have been targeted with an air strike, and where we think up to 60 people have been killed, with hundreds of people injured. There seems to be evidence that ambulances travelling to the scene from a nearby hospital were deliberately prevented …

The repression carried out by the Lukashenko regime in Belarus has intensified over recent months with widespread crackdowns against political dissidents, human rights defenders, journalists and media outlets, civil society organisations and minority groups. At our meeting on 21 June, EU foreign ministers adopted a fourth package of targeted sanctions against 78 individuals and eight entities. These measures target those behind the repression, those responsible for the forced landing of the Ryanair flight in Minsk …

I do not have a date for when the report will be finalised but I expect it to be public. This incident has, in many ways, galvanised the EU in its response to the Lukashenko regime. A Ryanair plane, registered in Poland but flying from Athens to Vilnius, was effectively hijacked in the sky - that is what happened - and the pilot was told there was potentially a bomb on the plane and it had to turn around and fly to land in Minsk. It was escorted by a military aircraft and when the plane landed, the passengers were …

We had the opportunity, as foreign ministers, to meet Ms Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, who is one of the key opposition leaders in the democratic movement for, and in, Belarus. Of course, she is living in Lithuania now for her own protection. She is planning to come to Ireland and we have extended an open invitation to her. We expect she will be here next month and I look forward to welcoming her here. She knows Ireland well, by the way. As a young girl she lived with a family for different periods in County Tipperary.…