Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí. Fáiltím roimh an deis a bheith anseo leo ar maidin. Measaim gurb é seo an chéad uair a bhí mé anseo ó cheapadh mé i m'Aire Stáit le freagracht as gnóthaí Eorpacha agus cosaint. Táim ag súil le dul i dteagmháil leis na Seanadóirí sna seachtainí agus míonna atá romhainn. Gabhaim buíochas leo freisin as an méid atá ráite acu ar maidin. Tá dúshlán ollmhór romhainn in Éirinn agus san Aontas Eorpach. lreland's prosperity requires a well-functioning, competitive and open Single Market …

Tá sé sin uafásach.

Tá mé ag éisteacht le cad atá á rá aici.

I move amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that: - Ireland's policy of military neutrality is characterised by non-membership of military alliances or common or mutual defence arrangements, and this policy choice has been practised by successive Governments since the Second World War; - the Government reaffirms its commitment to this policy and reiterates that it has no plans to either join a military alliance, or enter into a mutual defence arrangement; an…

That is not what Deputy Hearne thinks.

I did not criticise him for that.

No, I am obviously not.

I am answering questions on the European Council last week.

I will answer these because there is a lot of stuff here. It is kind of a free-for-all. I am happy to answer but in some ways I am limited to answering on what comes before the European Council. I do not have information on some specific items that were not discussed at the European Council and nor am I the Minister of State with responsibility for some areas. I do want to take one point, however, that has been raised by a number of people, particularly Deputy Mary Lou McDonald, with regard to the Taoiseach apparen…

I understand the question.

I cannot speak for the Signal conversations. We saw what was said there. I cannot speak either for pressure on people to spend money on defence. I think Deputy Lahart summed it up best. He mentioned the Nordic countries and said they are terrified but prepared. That is why these individual countries, not the EU, want to spend more on their own defence. I have here a booklet that has been sent out to every house in Sweden by the Swedish Government, “In case of crisis or war”. Every house in Sweden is getting that, a…

To respond to some of the Deputies' comments, the Opposition vociferously opposed the trade agreement with Canada. I was asked what we will do about tariffs. What we do about them is we have trade agreements where we reduce the tariffs to nothing or nearly nothing. Every time we do that, there are High Court cases and Opposition motions. We had all those photographs on Twitter, "they all voted for CETA." We all voted for zero tariffs with Canada, the friendliest country in the world, and we are proud of that. The O…

I answered.

I thank Deputies for their statements and questions. I will address some of the issues that the Taoiseach did not go into in great detail. He did mention them and spoke about the multi-annual financial framework and new own resources. Some of my contribution will be as Gaeilge. I wish to address the issues of migration, which Deputy Lahart raised, oceans, and multilateralism. In respect of the next multi-annual financial framework, EU leaders held their first exchange of views on the EU's long-term budget, for whic…

Is mór an onóir dom seasamh os bhur gcomhair inniu chun Seachtain na Gaeilge a chomóradh agus chun cloch mhíle thábhachtach i scéal na Gaeilge a cheiliúradh. Agus muid ag machnamh ar stair ár dteanga agus ar a todhchaí, tá sé ríthábhachtach an dul chun cinn iontach atá déanta againn a mheas, go háirithe ar stáitse na hEorpa. Ag meán oíche ar an 31 Nollaig 2021, bhain an Ghaeilge cothromas iomlán amach le 23 teanga oifigiúil eile an Aontais Eorpaigh. Nóiméad tábhachtach a bhí anseo, agus ní hamháin d'Éirinn. Ón 1 Ea…

Nonsense.

Hear, hear.

I am glad to have this opportunity to take part in this debate as we mark the third anniversary of Russia's unprovoked, illegal, full-scale invasion of Ukraine - nobody else's. I join the Tánaiste in recognising the unrelenting suffering that has been inflicted on the people of Ukraine in recent years. Those people are ably represented in Ireland by the Ukrainian Ambassador, H.E. Larysa Gerasko, who is in the Gallery with members of her community. As Russia continues to prosecute its war of choice, ordinary Ukraini…

Nation states in Europe have only really been allowed to exist in the last number of decades, primarily through the European Union. Our European colleagues see that as under severe threat now from Russia's aggression. The European response to date has been significant and multifaceted, encompassing political, economic, military and humanitarian support, while imposing costs on Russia for its actions. The most dreadful support we have had to give is supporting bomb shelters for children. That is support we have give…

I am speaking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, who is at the Cabinet meeting. One of the overarching goals of Zero Tolerance: Third National Strategy on Domestic, Sexual and Gender Based Violence, is to ensure that everyone who needs a refuge space will get one. The strategy, which was published in June 2022, included a commitment to doubling the number of refuge units throughout the country. This represents the fastest ever expansion of refuge accommodation in this country. Cuan, the domestic, sexual…