It is the lack of consistency from the Taoiseach that often bothers me most. He referenced the fact that the majority of applications by those seeking international protection are turned down, yet the measures announced today and yesterday in the media are specifically targeted at those who have succeeded. Family reunification, which is factored into the Geneva Convention and the UN refugee convention, was only available to fewer than 600 people who came here last year, either to be with their wife or husband or as…

I am in the Dáil for Questions on Policy or Legislation. Will the Taoiseach answer the question?

Answer the question.

It is madness.

Before I begin, I wish the Ceann Comhairle and her team a happy Christmas and a wonderful 2026 and the same to the Minister and the staff across the Oireachtas, who do such a brilliant job. I was not a member of the justice committee during the pre-legislative scrutiny that took place last year on the An Garda Síochána (Recording Devices) (Amendment) Bill, but I have taken the time to examine it carefully, to read the report and compare it directly with what is now before the House. On the basis of that research, o…

Hear, hear.

I will begin by thanking Deputy Whitmore not only for bringing forward the Bill, but also for the passion she brings to the area of animal welfare. I refer to the idea of a 12-month delay. We will work with the Government because of the importance of the issue, but we need to get beyond simply kicking the can down the road. Let us start the immediacies of working together. I am very proud to talk about this animal welfare Bill because it also gives me an opportunity to talk about my dog, who I have been dying to ta…

At its core this protocol is presented as a modernisation project, an updating of a 1959 convention in order that cross-border co-operation in criminal investigations can function in a world of encrypted phones, cloud storage, cybercrime and increasingly transnational networks. That is a legitimate challenge. Nobody denies that. However, to be clear, we have been given extraordinarily little briefing on the real implications of what we are being asked to sign up to today. When the language is stripped back, this pr…

Over the weekend, a child of four years of age and his 60-year-old great aunt were murdered in their own home through an arson attack in a manner most despicable and most heinous. It is something which absolutely requires the immediate attention of this House. I cannot understand how the justice Minister is not here talking about how we are going to crack these gangs and how we were are going to confront drug-related intimidation that is destroying our communities. This warrants immediacy.

Hear, hear.

The Tánaiste was outside answering migration questions-----

Satellite images taken by the humanitarian research lab at the Yale School of Public Health show numerous clusters of ground discoloration across Darfur, consistent with the presence of human bodies. The blood spilled in Sudan is now visible from space. Let us think about that for a moment. The scale of killing is so vast, unrestrained and utterly unhidden that it is visible from orbit. Nobody, no government, institution or leader, can pretend that they do not know what is happening. The horror is in full view of t…

As a self-proclaimed Irish Republican, does the Taoiseach have any shame at all that his Government continues to change our laws around immigration simply to mimic those of Great Britain and the influence Nigel Farage is having on its politics? Today it was announced that there will be family reunification only for the wealthiest of migrants. The Government has set the standard that those on welfare are somehow less worthy of citizenship. It is making people who are earning paltry sums in wages pay for substandard …

If it is suitable.

Is it possible to come in?

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for allowing that. I am happy to support the extension of the Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2025 once again but I will say at the outset what we said the last several times we have been asked to extend this piece of legislation: we cannot keep treating it as a temporary measure. I appreciate the Minister of State said in his opening contribution that this is going to be addressed. It is important we do that with some urgency. Outdoor dining has proven itself.…

International co-operation in the fight against serious crime and terrorism is vital. No one disputes that, but how we co-operate matters just as much as whether we co-operate. These motions on the conclusion and signing of PNR data-sharing agreements between the EU and South Korea are part of a wider framework that can enhance public safety. I support that objective, but I sound a note of caution. When the EU’s PNR regime was tested before the European Court of Justice, the court was unequivocal. PNR systems can o…

I will be voting against this motion for a variety of reasons, but first when it comes to the transposition of the asylum and migration pact into Irish law through the International Protection Bill 2025. Anybody at the justice committee a month ago when this was going through pre-legislative scrutiny could not in good conscience agree to advance it one Stage further. Heads of the Bill were missing. Vital aspects of the Bill fundamentally change who we are as a country. The Bill pertains to how we allow the detentio…

Under Standing Order 35(3), I wish to move an amendment to the Order of Business for Thursday's afternoon session, that we have statements on the changes to immigration brought forward by the Minister for Justice, Migration and Home Affairs, which are quite significant. When we respond, as we should, we are often told we are shutting down debate. We would like to have a debate this week on the Minister's changes to the immigration system so that we can get-----

Yes. I propose an amendment to amend the arrangements for Thursday’s afternoon’s business in order to provide for statements in relation to the Minister’s changes to immigration procedures.