Deputies have raised a number of cases, none involving Ireland. In fact, there was a letter in the newspaper today which criticised me for describing these cases as relatively rare and then it went on to give the reason in the same letter why we have relatively low numbers of cases involving Ireland. We have very few. The cases that have been talked about are not related to CETA. Even the example used of the Canadian company is not under the CETA agreement.

Exactly. That is my point.

That is my point. These examples have been given as if they are directly related to the ratification of CETA or the passage of this legislation. The cases the Deputies mentioned have not been decided under the investor court system. They have been decided under the old, long-standing system of investor state dispute settlement, ISDS. I have already outlined the difficulties with that. We felt there was a lack of consistency and predictability, a lack of transparency and the issue of the right to regulate, which I h…

I had nothing to do with the scheduling of the debate on football. I presume that is a matter for the Business Committee. As Deputies are aware, the Costello judgment prevented Ireland's ratification of CETA and other mixed EU trade agreements containing similar investment provisions. The Supreme Court in the Costello case not only identified constitutional concerns that prevented the ratification of CETA but the court then identified a legislative path to allow us to cure the concerns that had been raised. The Gov…

I will answer.

To be clear, as one Deputy said, there is an element of repetition. That is what happened on Committee Stage when there was no time limit whatsoever and yet, quite frankly, the debate ran out of steam. This is a Bill that is not even two pages long in total. It is a very short piece of legislation. It is a very net point. We have not seen much debate on the individual amendments tonight to get through them. We have heard the overall points that have been made time and time again. I want to be clear about one thing.…

Sé sheachtain ó shin, dhúisigh muid go léir san Eoraip agus trasna an domhain le radharc nua is drámata de bhuamaí agus cogadh sa Mheánoirthear. Dá bharr seo, tá taithí ag gach tír san Eoraip le méadú ar phraghas an ola mar aon le ganntanas. Baineann sé seo le gach duine. Tá sé seo ag tarlú na mílte míle ón tír seo, ach tá éifeacht láidir aige ar phobal, ar ghnóthaí agus ar theaghlaigh na hÉireann. Mar Aire Stáit a bhfuil freagrachtaí na ngnóthaí Eorpacha orm, tá a fhios agam, ó bheith ag labhairt le mo chomhghleac…

I met my Polish counterpart, the Secretary of State for European Affairs, Mr. Ignacy Niemczycki, in Warsaw on 13 March. This was the first of many engagements I had during my three-day St. Patrick's Day programme in Poland, which was followed with a visit to Ukraine and then to Moldova. The Secretary of State, Mr. Niemczycki, and I discussed the excellent bilateral relations between our two countries, including growing economic ties and the outstanding and wide contribution the large Polish community is making in I…

What the Polish people have done in supporting refugees from Ukraine, as well as giving military support, has been extraordinary. At the start of the war people arrived off trains or off transport and were met on the platforms by Polish residents and brought to their homes. We can account for millions of people who have benefited from that. There is a strong desire in Poland to see Ukraine accede to the European Union. I have had much conversation on this topic with counterparts, with the chargé d'affaires here, an…

Belarus is an issue of considerable concern to the Polish Government. The Deputy is right. It is a major security concern for them. I think pretty much all of the major figures in the Belarusian opposition are based in Warsaw at the invitation of the Polish Government, so there is a strong link between them. At all levels of government, be it with Prime Minister Tusk, the Taoiseach, Deputy Prime Minister Sikorski, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, the Secretary of State Mr. Niemczycki, and myself, we have a very good r…

The Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, was busy today because not only was the school here on his behalf, but Councillor Cronin and his colleagues were meeting him as well. In less than four months' time, on 1 July 2026, Ireland will take on the Presidency of the Council of the European Union for the eighth time. As the Taoiseach has made clear, our EU Presidency will be "a Presidency defined by action". The Government has set out a clear commitment to deliver a successful EU Presidency in 2026. By working with our …

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí go léir as cad atá ráite acu anseo sa Seanad. Tá áthas orm go bhfuil daoine dearfach faoin Uachtaránacht agus go bhfuil tuairimí acu ar conas gur féidir linn an Eoraip agus ár dtír féin a chur chun cinn i rith na hUachtaránachta. I thank the Senators for their contributions here today. There is a huge range of issues and forgive me if there were certain aspects mentioned or not mentioned. When you have ten minutes, it is almost impossible to get everything in but I have listened …

The Senator said the European Union cares little for who lives or dies.

The reality of the situation is that the European Union is founded on the idea that people care about who lives and dies; people care about who lives. We can look at the foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community. It was literally founded so that the coal and steel industries would be merged so you could not make weapons to fight against each other. That is literally why the European Union was made One of the people who was responsible for the founding of the European Union, to Senator Mullen's point, was …

You never mentioned the Irish citizens.

I think it is €18 billion.

I may not take all my time. Hopefully, I can answer many of the questions that have been raised. I thank Senators not only for their contributions and insights, but for having an ongoing focus on issues of security and defence. It is important. I acknowledge references made in different guises to the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission on the Defence Forces. The security landscape has changed significantly in this country since this report was published. Yesterday, we marked the fourth anniversa…

Ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil leis an Teachta as ucht an t-ábhar seo. Increasing the provision of disability specialist residential services is a key Government priority and there has been significant investment in residential services over the course of the last number of years. The overall budget increase in recent years, from €1.7 billion at the close of 2017 to almost to €3.8 billion in 2026, reflects the programme for Government commitment to investing in improving the lives of people with disabilities. I…

I will gladly ask the Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, who cannot be here, to send that exact information to all the Deputies and representatives in Fingal. That is a reasonable request but I just do not have it to hand.

Once again, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Government. The Government recognises that there is more to do to improve the lived experience of those with a disability. The increase in the disability budget for 2026 further demonstrates the multiple commitments made in the programme for Government commitment to improving the lives of people with disabilities and making a difference. The ambition of this Government is to bring about a step change in services for people …