Was it 400?

Was it 500?

Was it 600?

Okay. There were 600 Afghan refugees, compared with 20,000 Ukrainian refugees. No matter what the person’s skin tone, every human life should have the right to live a life free from war and oppression. We have turned our backs on Palestine for too long. We have ignored its people's cries and stayed silent in response to the hideous crimes committed against them. The Minister has been outspoken in the House here in relation to it, but what actually happens on foot of that? The Minister goes to Europe and says he has…

Recently, I got some woefully inadequate freedom of information, FOI, responses from a number of Departments. I note the Minister's FOI review roadmap indicates quarter 1 of 2022 for the publication of the consultation paper and commencement of the public consultation. We are fast approaching the end of quarter 1. Is the Minister on schedule to meet this target?

I thank the Minister for the update on the process as it stands. I wrote to him approximately four weeks ago in general terms regarding a recent response to an FOI request I submitted to the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage on the mica issue. I am still awaiting a response from the Minister's office in that regard. As I indicated in my correspondence to the Minister, I am not looking for a generic response outlining the appeals process that is open to me and I do not want such a response today e…

Will the way in which the FOI bodies look at applicants be part of the review?

The review should also examine how FOI officers deal with FOI requests across different Departments, bodies and such. The standard of response people get and the way requests are dealt with are very mixed. That is very important. The Minister spoke about the costs of an FOI project. That is true. The raw cost to the Exchequer can be calculated with a very high degree of certainty. There is no doubt about that. I hope the Minister intends to look at the intentions in his Department to use proposals to restrict acces…

I have a question on the Brexit adjustment reserve, BAR. I am looking for a breakdown of where the funding is going. I have the response, but I have not seen the answer. The answer did not fully respond to the question. One thing I would like to impress on the Minister is the need for our offshore islands to be included in that and for them be funded significantly for piers and harbours. That is vitally important.

I would be interested in seeing the breakdown of those in particular. The Minister mentioned that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine will be one of the sectors that will be funded. That is vitally important. It should be funded additionally, rather than the current spend being put in under this and governing it that way. In particular, in that context, the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation, IIMRO, has made a submission for island infrastructure that is vitally important. As the Deputy will …

Will the Minister impress on the Department the need to examine the funding allocations for the offshore islands as well? They are at an even greater disadvantage, with Brexit impacting on them directly. It is possible the larger fishing ports and so on will take up all the funding that is available under the Brexit adjustment reserve fund, but it has to go wider than that. The islands have made a detailed submission to the various county councils to seek that funding and that should be taken on board and seriously…

In yesterday's Irish Examiner , Aoife-Grace Moore reported on the continuing controversy surrounding Donegal County Council's acquisition of five houses that, as the council's engineer stated in writing prior to the purchase approval, have mica and will require significant remedial work. At the crux of the matter is openness, transparency and accountability and whether proper procedures and due diligence were followed. This is not the only murky cloud hanging over Donegal County Council. The Mulcahy report, which w…

This Topical Issue matter relates to damage caused by the recent storms at Polawaddy slipway. I am glad to see the Minister, Deputy McConalogue, is present to respond to it. As a fellow Donegal Deputy, he knows the slipway I am talking about at Polawaddy on Árainn Mhór. He knows too the extent of the damage it suffered from the pictures that were sent to us by members of the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation. The recent succession of storms that hit Ireland caused disruption and damage in numerous areas ac…

I thank the Minister for the overview in regard to the piers and harbours. There are two aspects to this, that is, the ongoing maintenance in respect of the Brexit reserve fund, which was mentioned by the Minister, and normal Government funding for piers and harbours. Donegal may have received the largest allocation, but as it has the highest number of piers, that makes sense. It is a pity we had to have a Minister from Donegal to ensure that would be recognised. It is at least recognised now. It is to be hoped tha…

Tomorrow, school secretaries and caretakers represented by the Fórsa trade union will return to talks at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, regarding pay and pension arrangements for grant-funded positions. These protracted talks continue despite the Tánaiste stating in this Chamber in the first months of the Government that it was the objective of the Government to regularise employment terms, conditions and pension rights for school secretaries. I expect I will get the stock reply about letting the process …

I would like to take this opportunity to discuss the recent publication of the Police Ombudsman's report on the North. The report was an investigation into the police handling of certain paramilitary murders and attempted murders from 1989 to 1993. This report found incriminating evidence of collusive behaviours between the police force at the time, the RUC, its special branch and loyalist paramilitaries. I start by addressing the fact that I know the report made a point of using the term collusive behaviours, but …

Yesterday, I met with postmasters from across County Donegal. These dedicated people, and, indeed, postmasters around the country, are waiting anxiously for the publication of the report by the interdepartmental group, IDG, for the delivery of offline services. It has not been announced on a few occasions. It was supposed to be announced before Christmas and then in January, which have both passed. It has got to the stage where postmasters are thinking that the Government wants many of them to retire or go out of b…

This question concerns the activities of the so-called "Heavy Gang" throughout the 1970s and 1980s. This matter was highlighted recently in the RTÉ series "Crimes & Confessions". I refer to the impact this is having. There is a need for a public inquiry to ensure that what happened can be brought to light and changes implemented to ensure that it never happens again.

I thank the Minister for her reply. She has outlined a raft of information there and, on paper, everything looks good. While the activities of the Garda in the 1980s may be historical, the impacts have fed through to the modern day. We have cases particularly relating to Donegal in this regard. There must be an examination of how these activities have influenced the Garda all the way through. We must open this up. If everything has changed in the way the Minister has said it has, then that will stand up through an …

I must disagree with the Minister there, because I think it would serve a useful purpose. The Minister in her response said that the activities were not agreed with at the time. That is not actually true. They were agreed with and a blind eye was turned to them. The crux of the problem here is that not only the Garda but the State, the Government and everybody else turned a blind eye to these activities and allowed them to continue. Free rein was given to the Garda to allow that to happen. If nothing else were to r…