I thank Deputy Ó Muirí. I agree with everything he said. To state the obvious, it is true that we are all living in a world that is becoming so much more interdependent. That is why it is right that Europe leads on this in demanding that all member states put in place plans but also learn from each other in relation to this. To expand a little more, the strategy will set out our national approach, our strategic objectives and the priorities for the improvement of our resilience across each of the critical entities.…

I agree with that 100%. I fully support swift progress on the programme for Government commitments on this. For far too long, politics here has been prisoner to ideology rather than the obligations we have as a Government and Oireachtas to make sure key services, including the provision of energy, an absolutely vital component, can continue in a whole variety of situations. I assure the House that while we obviously do not discuss these matters in detail, a lot of work goes on in the background on responding to var…

I thank Deputy Keogh for raising this issue. This is an area I want us to do so much better on. There is already good work done in relation to veterans. I am very pleased that my Department provides funding to a number of veteran associations. I have met and visited them. How we support, acknowledge and recognise the role of men and women who served in Óglaigh na hÉireann, at home and abroad, is really important. I fully agree with Deputy Keogh on this. There is a firm commitment in the programme for Government to …

I thank the Deputy for mentioning Gena Heraty. It gives me an opportunity to pay tribute to her. I had the honour of speaking to her on the phone a while back. She is the closest thing I have ever encountered to a living saint. In Westport, County Mayo, and right across Ireland, there is great relief that Gena has been released from captivity. I thank her for the incredible work she does. I think of her family, who went through such a torrid time, but I am really glad Gena is doing well. I send her my very best. Th…

I fully agree. You are entirely right. If I felt everything was perfect, I would not passionately believe we need to establish the office of veteran affairs. The Deputy is entirely right. There is a need for a greater sustained focus and co-ordination on the range of issues veterans can experience in the here and now, as the Deputy said, immediately after leaving the Defence Forces and returning from a mission, but also years down the road. We have a duty to them after their service to our country. On the issue of …

I thank the Deputy, who rightly raises this issue with me regularly. It is important we continue to keep the focus and pressure in terms of justice on these matters. Since the events of 14 December 2022, in which Private Seán Rooney was killed, and Trooper Shane Kearney and other personnel from the 121st Battalion were injured, the Government has consistently expressed determination that all of the facts and circumstances of the incident be fully established and that no stone be left unturned to ensure those respon…

I should have also said that an independent inquiry is being undertaken by Mr. Michael Delaney SC, which is ongoing. This review is examining the internal tactics, techniques, processes and procedures employed by the Defence Forces with a view to determining whether there are any lessons to be learned from the circumstances surrounding Private Rooney’s death. Mr. Delaney is expected to present a report to me in quarter 4 of this year. I have raised the apprehension of the person convicted specifically with the just…

I am aware that the UN is providing information but my satisfaction will depend on whether the family are satisfied, so I want to keep in close contact with them. I had the honour of meeting John McNeela at the national day of commemoration. When I met him, I credited the Deputy regarding his advocacy of the family's situation. We are committed to rectifying this in primary legislation and I spoke to my Secretary General in recent days about this. It will need to be changed through primary legislation. I am not sur…

Let me check that with the Attorney General as well.

I thank the Deputy for his question and for the opportunity to discuss the considerable investment made by my Department in the Defence Forces over the past five years. This is much-needed investment when we have to do more in terms of our national security and defence. The Defence Forces infrastructure development plan sets out a programme of project delivery for the years 2023 to 2027. The programme reflects the complex environment in which the Defence Forces operate and the need for appropriate infrastructure to…

I acknowledge the Deputy's family's proud tradition of service in our Defence Forces. I know that he will very much agree that investing in our defence infrastructure is not just about investment in buildings or vehicles. It is actually an investment in our people, in keeping them safe, providing them with the best equipment and ensuring they are trained to the highest possible standard. It is about ensuring our soldiers, sailors and air crew can carry out their duties in a safe and secure environment. I am really …

These are very significant developments that have taken place. Regarding the need to develop a national maritime security strategy, the waters over which we have exclusive economic authority are about seven times larger than the land mass of this country, so we have to have a better understanding and better security structures in place regarding that. This is why we are leading on the national maritime security strategy. We ran a public consultation over the summer and received about 300 responses. I expect to rece…

There are currently 80 uninhabitable residential Defence Forces buildings. None of these uninhabitable properties can be brought up to a habitable standard without significant work. Many of them were built prior to the introduction of building regulations, for example. As such, considerable work will be needed to bring them up to modern standards. Consultants were commissioned to assess the condition of the Defence Forces vacant housing stock and its suitability for conversion or refurbishment to provide for additi…

The Deputy is not wrong, but it is a balance to do with what is a sensible investment. Are we better off spending money on new accommodation projects and getting on with that and driving forward on that? We see the 775 beds that have been completed since 2020. Nearly €50 million was spent on that. There are 12 other accommodation projects under way, providing in excess of 500 additional beds. That is 775 plus 500. We need to make a call, and we will in 2026 with this procurement plan, about what might be salvageabl…

I would have to get the Deputy a detailed building-by-building breakdown, but my understanding is the ones assessed to be uninhabitable are deemed so because there is a very significant requirement of work to bring them into any sort of line with modern building regulations, rather than it being more preferential to have something laid out in a different way. I am happy to get the Deputy more information on it but we have commissioned consultants to assess the condition of the housing stock and identify what might …

May I begin by expressing the shock and sadness that we, as a country, are feeling about the deeply tragic and upsetting scene unfolding in Donabate. As a country, we have been gripped for weeks by the search for this missing little boy. Until today, we did not know his name, but we know it now. His name was Daniel. Until today, we had not seen his face, but now the image of this beautiful little boy is seared into our consciousness. I know there is a Garda investigation ongoing into both the scene and the circumst…

I do not want to be too argumentative the first week back but the Sinn Féin proposal to help people with their energy bills was to subsidise these massive energy companies. Its proposal was to give our taxpayers’ money to the energy companies. That was bonkers, in fairness, but I believe Sinn Féin reflected on it and changed its policy. Sinn Féin was not a big fan of the energy credits and I do not believe it committed to them even in its manifesto. It is now jumping on every bandwagon going. We are going to take a…

I thank Deputy Bacik. I do not know her councillor, Corina Johnston, but I heard her on “Morning Ireland” this morning. I thought she spoke for so many people and for her community on the very tragic situation. I thank her for that. I thank the Deputy and her party for their constructive engagement. Of course, we will give consideration to Deputy Smith’s Bill. From an Irish perspective, literally around now 15 young Palestinians have been safely evacuated from Gaza. Fourteen of them are students who will be coming …

Yes, we can and will take action at national level. There is a political consensus on that. We all gave commitments during the election. I am happy to do that, but the Deputy will also remember the previous Government's position was always whether we could get to a point where Europe might act. That looked very remote when this genocide started. It now looks like a distinct prospect. We have got to try to see this through. One way or the other, in a democratic Europe, we have every right to be able to vote for thes…

I thank the Deputy for his kindness and solidarity. I very much appreciated the very kind letter I received, on behalf of his parliamentary party, from Deputy Jen Cummins. I look forward to all of us working on a cross-party basis, as suggested by the Ceann Comhairle, on safety in public life. I thank the Deputy very much for that. The Deputy is entirely correct in the way he summed up the most horrific and tragic situation in relation to Daniel. He is right that we do not yet know what went wrong but that somethin…