This time, the Opposition-----

This time, the Opposition did not like the result. What did it do? It comes for the Ceann Comhairle's head. This is straight out of a populist playbook. If you do not like the answer, attack a person's integrity and motive, and inevitably seek his or her head. Fine Gael has had differences with the Ceann Comhairle over the years - they are well documented - and I am sure we will again. However, we respect her mandate and the difficult job she has to do. This is a democracy. This is Dáil Éireann; it is our national …

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire and I join him in extending the sympathies of everyone in this House and everyone in this country to the people of Myanmar and Thailand after the horrific earthquake and the devastation it has caused. My Department has moved swiftly on behalf of the Irish people to provide €6 million in emergency assistance as part of the international effort. Of course this country stands ready to do more and do all we can to help. I join the Deputy in that. I thank the Deputy for the question. At the ou…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire. I assure him there is no change in the Government’s position on engaging with the US or anywhere else. I have spoken to the Taoiseach about the conversations and understand that he reiterated the programme for Government commitment to introducing legislation in this area. I agree with the Deputy that international law does matter and that is why Ireland has joined the ICJ case and is standing very resolutely behind international law. It is also why Ireland did a lot of work with European…

As the Deputy suggested, I am happy to tease through and debate those issues when we publish and introduce legislation. I do want to engage with Senator Black. I have been in contact with her directly in recent days and look forward to meeting her on the issue next Tuesday. Of course, I would much rather be in a position in which we could in this House say the ceasefire is holding, the hostages have been released, the humanitarian aid is flowing and we have an Arab plan. Six weeks ago, it was beginning to look like…

I thank Deputy Smith and his party for the constructive suggestion on engagement across parties in this House. Let me assure him at the outset regarding what is likely to be a very turbulent time. While there is no doubt that there will be moments of agreement, disagreement, suggestions and whatever else, we should continue to have a good flow of information across the Oireachtas. I certainly commit, on behalf of my Department and the Government, to doing just that. We all regret in this House the US decision last …

The most important thing we can all do in Ireland and the EU, and indeed around the world, is to stay calm and measured. Often after a headline announcement by the US Administration, you have to work through the detail. Given that the misinformation has started, we need to make the point very clearly that Europe does not want tariffs but talks. We want representatives of the European Union and the United States to sit down around a table and find a way that is good for the EU, including Ireland, and the US. That is…

Those are very fair questions. Obviously, we will hear the announcement tomorrow. We will all have to assess it and respond in a calm and measured way. I will be continuing calls with EU counterparts tomorrow. I have spoken to my counterparts in Finland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Slovakia and Croatia in very recent days, including today, and I will have a call with the EU trade Commissioner. I will speak to my Swedish counterpart tomorrow. There is a big pharma presence in Sweden. We will address the Seanad on Thurs…

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire and he is entirely right. Calls for a ceasefire are being undermined by one party and that party is the aggressor. It is Putin and Russia. There are two presidents involved in this; President Zelenskyy has said he will accept without precondition a 30-day ceasefire to try to get into a process to bring about a lasting and enduring just peace. As recently as today, Putin continues to bomb civilian infrastructure, energy grids and ports. He continues to say this does not work for us and we …

I thank Deputy Ó Laoghaire and we need to keep the sanctions regime under review. We remain fully committed in Europe and in Ireland to keeping in place the sanctions that are already in place. We have had an unprecedented number of rounds of sanctions and Ireland wants to continue to work with European counterparts to make sure any loopholes or agility that exists in respect of those sanctions are closed. We remain open and willing to constructively engage on any further sanctions, should they be required. To be b…

In this moment of agreement, let me add two things. Membership of the European Union for Ukraine is a positive, constructive role Ireland can play. We are a supporter of Ukraine's journey to EU membership and we need to continue to be because that, in and of itself, is a security guarantee to ensure Ukraine can have a future within the European Union. Second, peace and solidarity costs money and that is why we in Ireland are also committing to providing €100 million for practical, non-lethal military assistance to …

I agree fully with Deputy Ó Laoghaire. We had engagement with his party last Tuesday, I think, specifically with Deputy Doherty, on this, and those lines of communication must and will remain open. It is important that every Member of this House, every political party, whether Government or Opposition, and every stakeholder is kept informed on the facts. Then it is for all of us to make informed contributions as to what we believe is in the best interests of our country and the European Union, which we are a part o…

The Deputy is correct that we have made a submission on the original list, if you like, that is, the tariffs that would be due to be reactivated. That is what submissions were invited on. I am not sure whether the letter is published. I am happy to share it with the Deputy. In that we highlighted our particular concerns about dairy and the drinks industry. I think they were the two particular areas of concern. More broadly, though, and as time has moved on, the biggest immediate concern now is obviously the pharma …

I think that is right. I assure the Deputy that the Government at a whole variety of levels, including at political levels - the Taoiseach, myself, the Minister for Finance, the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, others as well, I am sure - and at agency level like the IDA, together with our embassy network, is in ongoing contact with all the major companies. They are also represented through their representative bodies on the Government trade forum, which I chair and which will meet again on Friday in …

I thank Deputy Moynihan for raising this question on behalf of Deputy Smith who has, as Deputy Moynihan has said, a long and active interest in these areas. Next month marks the 51st anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, devastating acts of violence in which 34 people, including an unborn baby, were killed and hundreds of people were injured. At the memorial event to mark the 50th anniversary of the attacks last year in Dublin, I was honoured to lay a wreath remembering those who tragically lost their li…

I thank Deputies Moynihan and Carthy. I will reiterate Deputy Moynihan's call in respect of Belturbet. I will also say very clearly that I expect all authorities to co-operate fully. That is why extraordinary steps were taken in 2022 by the then Minister for Justice to put in place a bespoke mechanism to allow relevant information from An Garda Síochána to be shared with Operation Denton. This assistance has been acknowledged, including by Sir Iain Livingstone, head of the Kenova review, who made reference to the h…

I join with Deputy Carthy in praising and commending Justice for the Forgotten and thanking it for its work. I assure him that, on behalf of the Irish Government and this House and in recognition of the mandate of the four all-party motions, I will continue to raise my voice at every opportunity in every engagement with the British Government, including the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in respect of the absence of a substantive response to requests for access to material. That remains a matter of deep c…

This is obviously a similar question to the one I answered for the Deputy's party colleague, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, but I am happy to answer again. The programme for Government sets out a commitment to progress legislation regarding the occupied Palestinian territories following the July 2024 International Court of Justice advisory opinion. I was the Taoiseach who requested specific bespoke advice from the Attorney General once the ICJ gave its advisory opinion to see if there was a way forward to passing legislation.…

The answer is the same: I intend to bring forward legislation as outlined in the programme for Government in relation to the occupied Palestinian territories. The substance of that legislation will be a matter for scrutiny, discussion and decision by this and the other House. My next step is to meet the Senator who is the sponsor of the original occupied territories Bill. We have been in contact and have arranged to do that next Tuesday, I believe. In addition to that, the EU level is also important because of EU c…

I am happy to discuss the content of the legislation when we publish it. I want to engage with the sponsor of the Bill. We have engaged in good faith. I think the Deputy was on the committee at the time when my predecessor, the now Taoiseach, was the Minister for Foreign Affairs. We have engaged in providing information. I want to take stock now of where that is at with the latest legal advice and opinions from my Department's legal people, the views of the Senator as the sponsor of the Bill and the commitment in t…