In the context of the ongoing discussions around the triple lock, which have been referenced, and the Government's proposal to dismantle it, I ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Defence whether a peacekeeping mission deployment has ever been unable to proceed due to the lack of agreement of the UN General Assembly since the introduction of the triple lock, which is a measure provided for in the Defence (Amendment) Act.

I thank the Tánaiste for his answer. Once again he said he supports military neutrality but it appears not when we see the actions the Government is taking and this proposal before us. While he positions the change as something he has to do because he cannot secure the UN mandate, the facts do not justify it. I am left to assume he does not want to have that UN mandate applied to our peacekeeping missions and the human rights monitoring and transparency it demands. The reality is the General Assembly endorsement ca…

In answer to the first of the two questions posed by the Tánaiste, I am aware that, of course, there are other countries that are militarily neutral that do not have a triple lock. However, they did not arrive at their position of neutrality in the same historic pathway as we did with the Nice and Lisbon treaties, simple as that. The other question the Tánaiste asked concerned whether the people of Ireland want those missions to be stopped, which once again brings us into the hypothetical - the “What ifs?” or “Woul…

No, I asked when it was prevented by the UN General Assembly.

I thank Deputy Jen Cummins for the great work she has put into this. I oppose the Government's amendment, which is so disappointing given that these are really practical and strong recommendations that we believe can bring to life the parental choice we are all seeking in the education system. This is a rights issue for me. I was in Geneva in 2016 in my previous work in the human rights space at the examination of Ireland under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. In between sessions,…

We in the Social Democrats are a party of proud Europeans and active members of the European Union. We see it as our obligation not to be passive members in the Union but to question EU policy and law and what it means for us here in Ireland on an ongoing basis. European Union membership has pushed Ireland into a more progressive place over the decades. Our membership of the European Union has given us many great things as a society: better employment rights; better women's rights in workplaces and beyond; environm…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. My constituency of Dublin Rathdown has the most expensive childcare in the country. I hear from people every week in emails, whether they are people I am in contact with or they contact me, who talk about the twin problems of cost and capacity, that is, the absolute crippling cost to families and the chronic lack of places. Those two inevitabilities end up with people either having to leave the workplace to provide childcare in their own home or a strain on famili…

I want to express my thoughts and concerns for Grace, for her family, for all victims of State wrongdoing and for victims who have been further bruised by the failure of the State to facilitate their access to justice. The key points I want to raise today are the flaws in our framework for accessing justice through commissions of investigation, tribunals and inquiries. I want to speak out to those people who are concerned right now, whose loved ones are in care in various ways across the State. They are seeking rea…

I start by marking International Workers’ Day and recognising workers throughout Ireland and the world and, as Deputy O’Reilly said, particularly the workers of Leinster House who make our lives so much more enjoyable as we come in every day to do our work. Lá na n-Oibrithe sona daoibh go léir. I will talk about three specific topics within the area of workers’ rights. I will focus on collective bargaining, an area in which we are so far behind. While it is great to hear a consultation is happening, I am a bit cyni…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward the motion. In particular, I commend the recommendations made in the motion, where we see outlined the upholding of the vision of inclusive education to which we should all aspire. Unfortunately, it sometimes seems to become a little lost in our discussion that inclusive education is where we need to be at. All of us are sharing experiences today. It is the same in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown, including Stillorgan, Foxrock, Dundrum, Goatstown and Kilmacud. I have…

I welcome the opportunity to comment on the revised national planning framework. It is such a crucial piece in the infrastructure of our planning in this country. Obviously, it flows down into regional plans and into local area plans and sets those parameters which we need to guide the development of our population and our communities over the coming years. In particular, I welcome that brownfield sites and infill development is a feature in this. In my constituency, although really across Ireland, we need to make …

-----and indeed sports facilities are crying out-----

Just to finish-----

There is such a positive story here in terms of the population development we will see.

It will be 296,000 people by 2040-----

-----so we have to build the appropriate infrastructure-----

-----to meet those needs.

We welcome this motion and thank our colleagues in Aontú for putting it forward. We welcome the opportunity this morning and later today to speak on tariffs. We urged that this time be made available so that we can discuss this crisis. We in the Social Democrats share deep concerns about the impact of these tariffs on Irish jobs, the economy and consumers. These concerns are shared across the globe because so many people will be impacted by them. In particular, I want to mention the news we woke up to this morning …

I welcome the opportunity to make statements on the tariffs that we know are worrying people across the globe, this country and my constituency of Dublin Rathdown. Tá faitíos ar go leor daoine fud fad na tíre. Tá an faitíos sin orthu mar gheall ar a gcuid post, mar gheall ar chostais maireachtála agus mar gheall nach mbeidh na seirbhísí poiblí a theastaíonn uathu ann mar gheall ar cúlú eacnamaíoch. These concerns extend, in particular today, to the pharma sector in which, following the announcement we all woke up t…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on today's legislation. I will set out some of the key principles that inform the Social Democrats' policy positions on retirement and pensions. I had the privilege of working in this area a few years ago when I ran a digital literacy programme for older people in a previous job. People use that word "privilege", but I genuinely did find it a privilege to learn about ageing in that context. It really opened my eyes and it was quite transformational for me to see how much we hold o…