I want to be clear: the purpose of this debate is to discuss what was on the European Council meeting agenda and its follow up. As it happens, this issue was not on the European Council agenda during this summit nor was the issue of fishing, as another example. The idea that Ireland is doing nothing about the Israel-Palestinian situation, as alleged in this Chamber, is completely belied by the fact the Minister for Foreign Affairs is in Israel and Palestine at present representing the country and conveying many con…

I have probably answered these questions insofar as I can. As Minister of State with responsibility for European Affairs, I do not deal with the Israel-Palestine situation on a daily basis. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is in that part of the world today doing great work on behalf of this country. He is following a long tradition among the governments of this country, going back to Brian Lenihan Snr., of being involved-----

We meet-----

The Minister, Deputy Coveney, will undoubtedly be here next week to be accountable and to answer questions or reply to a Topical Issue debate on his visit. He will be more than happy to go through the issues in detail. While he is there, it would not be a good idea for me to answer questions on these issues any further than I already have. I suggest that the Minister do so next week. The facts are that he is there today, that these issues are raised regularly at the Security Council, that we also discuss them in ot…

I will take the opportunity to answer on the issue of fisheries, which was raised by a number of Deputies here today. It is welcome that they did so. The European Commissioner who is responsible for fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevičius, visited Ireland for two days in September. He went to Donegal with the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, and met the Taoiseach. He has been left in no doubt as to Ireland's views on the issue of fisheries and the concerns that we have about quotas, which are shared by Government. The Taois…

The reason I raised the Malmö declaration is that the Deputy asked why it was printed under three stars. The reason, of course, is the great seriousness of that issue, which occurs across the globe and is not related to any specific conflict. The matter of Israel's decision was not on the agenda for the European Council meeting but the Minister, Deputy Coveney, is in the region today. We have consistently raised our voice very loudly on this in a very serious way. The Minister will be doing that, and probably has a…

Deputy Paul Murphy raised an issue in respect of Sudan, which is very important. The Government shares the Deputy's concerns with regard to recent developments there. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, spoke about that. It is important that the United Nations and the African Union collaborate urgently to respond to developments including by strengthening peacekeeping measures. Ireland is, of course, engaged in this at the level of the UN Security Council. We are using our position in that regard. I welcome what Deputies…

Táim buíoch as an deis an freagra seo a thabhairt don Seanadóir. As the Senator has said, there are currently no specific tax-based measures targeted at the owner-occupiers of apartments with defects. However, the programme for Government does commit to examining the issue of defective housing in general. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, who generally deals with these matters, has established an independent working group to examine the issue of defects in housing. Officials from the Departme…

As I mentioned, this is possibly the first Government to have a comprehensive approach to the issue of defective housing. The working group is examining all options, including tax. Famously, with the issue of mica, it is direct expenditure which is being looked at and not tax relief because the latter would not be sufficient for the campaigners. The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, including when he was a Member of this House, has been a champion for people affected by pyrite. We have a Minister…

I gave the Senator a stroke on the ballot paper in his first election.

Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Seanadóir Ó Creachmhaoil. The Minister for Foreign Affairs is in Israel today and has asked me to speak on his behalf. The Department of Foreign Affairs is responsible for citizenship by descent through the foreign birth register under the Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004. As the Senator will be aware, people may apply for Irish citizenship through foreign birth registration if one of their grandparents was born in Ireland or one of their parents was an Irish citizen at the ti…

I will certainly discuss this matter with the Minister and officials in the Department. It is one that comes across my desk from time to time. The passport service is working very closely with the human resources division in the Department of Foreign Affairs, and the Public Appointments Service, on an ongoing basis to get more staff in. That is the bottom line for the entire system of passport applications and especially foreign birth registrations. There is major forecasted demand for foreign birth registrations a…

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue. Notwithstanding what he said about farmers taking the hit, which they often do, there is no doubt that this would have a knock-on effect on food prices and is of general concern around the country. I come from a fertile county and this is no less an issue in Meath than it is in Tipperary, and I am concerned about it as well. There are no fertilisers manufactured in Ireland. Rather, fertiliser companies blend a number of imported fertiliser products into differen…

I appreciate the Senator raising this issue. We hope that for fertiliser prices, as we hope for a range of commodity prices, there will be a levelling off of some of the contributing price factors next year. Huge challenges still remain. The initiatives the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine has outlined will support farmers in reducing their overall dependence on fertiliser use. The Senator mentioned multispecies grass swards. I fully agree with what he said about farmers being very interested in this. …

I was on "Six-One" yesterday saying that. I made that exact point.

He did.

I thank Deputies for their statements. The agenda for this week's meeting of the European Council was discussed yesterday in Luxembourg at the General Affairs Council, GAC, which I attended. The Taoiseach has outlined his expectations for the European Council's discussions, as Members have also reflected, on Covid-19, digital, energy prices, trade and migration. Deputies should make no mistake; energy prices will probably be the signature issue of this particular summit. A number of Deputies mentioned EU-UK relatio…

Yes. However, the issue of anti-Semitism is very serious at the moment. We must remember the Holocaust, learn lessons from it and have it constantly in our memories and on our minds. We must constantly be on guard so that nothing like it can ever happen again. We cannot mix anti-Semitism into a discussion about the situation on the ground in Israel and Palestine. Ireland has been a supporter of a two-state strategy for decades. The late Brian Lenihan Snr was the person who brought forward this proposal. Deputy Boyd…

-----existing side-by-side in peace and security. That view reflects the mainstream of global opinion.

It is the mainstream of European left-wing opinion too. Some left-wing politicians in this House are completely out of the mainstream. We have to be constantly on our guard about anti-Semitism. It is so dangerous. Issues are being raised at a global level about comments made in this House about Israel.