I am more than happy to answer as many of the questions as I can. Deputy Brady asked about Catalonia. It is a matter for the people of Spain and the people of Catalonia as to how their affairs are dealt with, in accordance with the rule of law. It is a matter for the European Parliament to make decisions regarding the application of its parliamentary privileges and immunities. It is up to the MEP of the Deputy's party to vote in accordance with his views on this issue and other MEPs are likewise free to vote as the…

Hopefully, the Deputy will give me the opportunity to answer quite a few questions that have been raised in respect of the general issues he has raised. Before Christmas, Deputy O'Donoghue was anti-vaccines. Now he is telling us that we should be going to Russia-----

In regard to what Deputy O'Donoghue said about Ireland not being mentioned in the conclusions - or minutes, as the Deputy calls them - of the European Council, he should look back at all the conclusions of previous Council meetings and all the records of discussions at the General Affairs Council and in the European Parliament, particularly since Brexit. I honestly think he will find that no country has been mentioned more than Ireland in terms of the effects of Brexit. I urge him to look back at all the other Coun…

The difficulty is that I have been asked to mention Turkey and Russia in my wrap-up. I want to get through some of the questions now, if I can. In regard to new variants, which were mentioned as a cause for concern, there is a great deal of work under way in the European Union on that issue. The EU's early warning and rapid response system is providing some data on the circulation of variants but the information is not complete. We are working with other EU member states on the response to new variants and making s…

I am very happy to echo the comments of Deputy McNamara. We were in a state of some disagreement last week but I completely agree with his comments in that the fundamental right of free movement is not only a human right but a legal right. It is one of the benefits of European Union citizenship and the treaties. The Deputy also mentioned free movement of goods, which is another critical area. There is a debate ongoing as to what this will be used for. Fundamentally, it will be for member states. Some of the member …

If the Greek Government wants to accept something like this, that will be its concern. Currently, the position here is it is an offence to travel abroad unnecessarily. It is complicated. The vaccine roll-out is getting under way fast and we hope we can put this behind us. We must be very careful.

Global solidarity is really important and fair and equitable access to a vaccine is vital, regardless of income, around the world. EU engagement will accelerate global efforts to bring the pandemic under control and scale up the distribution of successful vaccines when available. We strongly believe in a co-ordinated and multilateral response to Covid-19 as an unprecedented global health crisis. We have quadrupled funding to the WHO in 2020. We support COVAX, the Covid-19 vaccines global access programme, very stro…

I thank everybody for their statements and questions. As the Taoiseach indicated, I will report on the discussions of the members of the European Council on the two external relations items on the agenda, namely, Russia and Turkey. As the meeting was by videoconference, the discussion on Russia was only an information point. European Council President Charles Michel briefed leaders on his phone call with Russian President Putin on 22 March. Ireland fully supports the EU's position on Russia, which has been set out …

We are in favour of it.

For anybody to come into the House and accuse anyone, particularly someone born and reared in Drogheda, of being comparable to Cromwell is outrageous.

He is revered in Britain. He is certainly not revered in Drogheda and east Meath.

My line of Byrnes were moved from Wicklow to Mayo because of Cromwell. What the Deputy said is outrageous.

My role here is not necessarily to answer questions, but I am happy to do that. The Taoiseach has asked me to speak on certain points. It is traditional that after the European Council meeting I come here to answer questions, but I am happy to clarify some issues. We spoke on a number of issues at the General Affairs Council this week, including, for example, the digital green certificate. It is not correct for Members to say the Government is opposed to it when the Taoiseach said here today that the Government is …

We spoke in favour of the digital green certificate at the General Affairs Council this week. The Taoiseach will do so tomorrow. On Monday, I met European Commissioner Didier Reynders, who is in charge of this area, to discuss how it is proposed to advance this proposal. It is an important proposal. The Taoiseach wants to make sure we can do all of the work that is necessary on the technical side to ensure its availability, initially for medical purposes, but let us see where that goes.

Of course it is about freedom of movement, but that is the position as we currently stand. We are not encouraging any international travel at the moment. Like the Deputy, I represent an airport constituency. I want to see my aviation constituents back in work. I want to see people being able to travel again when it is safe and to have that freedom of movement. I care, and the Government cares, just as deeply as Deputy McNamara. At this time, the priority is to get the vaccines rolled out as quickly as possible and …

The Deputy also does not have a monopoly on the freedoms we all desire. That clears up that issue. On the Istanbul Convention, which was helpfully raised by the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Deputy Barry, again, we have issued a strong statement on that matter through the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Deputy Coveney. Also, at the General Affairs Council this week it was raised under any other business where everybody agreed to condemn the disgraceful decision by the Turkish Government to withdraw from the Istanbul Conv…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach agus leis an Seanadóir Ó Donnghaile as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a ardú ag tús imeachtaí an tSeanaid. North-South co-operation, as we all agree, is an integral part of the Good Friday Agreement and a priority for the Government. It is protected under the protocol on Ireland-Northern Ireland. The protocol’s recognition of the role of North-South co-operation is important. It is also a recognition of the importance of strand two of the Good Friday Agreement and of the …

I have taken strong note of what the Senator has said on what is a really important issue. There are huge challenges for citizens across a number of sectors, North and South, with regard to the all-island economy. We all agree that those problems caused by Brexit require solutions. We have solutions to some problems, such as the CTA, and we have a trade agreement with Britain which resolves some problems but does not resolve every problem. The protocol is the solution to the problem of Brexit. Brexit is a problem f…

Go raibh maith agat, a Chathaoirligh, agus go raibh maith agaibh, a Sheanadóirí, as an ábhar tábhachtach seo a chur faoi bhráid an tSeanaid inniu. Tá áthas orm freagra a thabhairt in ionad an Aire Oideachais atá gnóthach faoi láthair agus gabhann sí a leithscéal. Bhí mé ag caint léi roinnt noiméad ó shin. I thank the Senator for raising what is obviously an important matter, of interest not only to Senators, Members of the Dáil and all of us, but particularly to the 60,000 young people across the country who are du…

I have no difficulty in passing that message on to the Minister. In terms of what was in the Sunday newspapers, I know that talks still continue today. Clearly, I do not know the provenance of what was in the newspapers at the weekend, but it certainly cannot be the final answer because talks continue and that work has not been completed. The Senator attached the sobriquet "young" to me, and I am glad she did so, even though it is a few years since I did the leaving certificate. Certainly, the big difference now fr…