I cannot commend our Defence Forces enough on the level of training our personnel get. That is evolving and changing all the time. I was recently in a barracks where there was new technology that enables our Defence Force personnel to train in tanks in a simulated fashion. It allows as many as possible of them to train where there is not the capacity in actual tanks. So, we are now using new equipment. It is Irish companies devising these types of technologies. It means they have the most up-to-date level of traini…

As the Deputy knows, Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union began on 1 July. It is a major national undertaking for many different reasons. In preparation for the Presidency, including in relation to security, there has been significant and intense work for some time across Government. An Garda Síochána, under the auspices of the Department of Justice, Home Affairs and Migration, has primary responsibility for security for the Presidency. The Deputy may also be aware that An Garda Síochána has es…

As the Deputy rightly said, over the past number of years, we have seen changing types of threats or challenges that we had not faced previously. Maritime security is to the fore in that regard. As a country, our maritime domain is seven times the size of our landmass. It is really important that where we have such a large number of critical subsea cables, energy infrastructure, and gas infrastructure quite literally on our seabed, we have the equipment to identify where there are risks and where there are threats …

That is something we said we are very interested in joining.

All of this helps to build that sense of security but also helps us share our experience and mitigate some of the risks now coming to the fore.

When we talk about our security and our defence, we are talking about keeping people safe. We are also talking about protecting critical infrastructure, which could be subsea cables, the HSE and our national infrastructure, and it is then about working together to be able to respond to those threats as they emerge. That will require us working closely with other countries. That is already happening. If we even look at NATO, we are in part of 12 Partnerships for Peace, which focus on maritime security, focus on trai…

I am sorry.

Apologies.

I thank the Deputy. At the outset, I thank the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann for the outstanding professionalism and commitment with which they deploy, and have deployed, on UN peacekeeping missions. It is important to stress that there have been no new peacekeeping missions through the UN Security Council since 2014. That is a source of great regret for all of us. It is not operating as it should and I think we would all like to see the issues there being addressed. At the same time, though, we know exactly…

Unfortunately, at this present time, there are no requests for us to participate in any other UN peacekeeping missions. I know that if you are not part of a mission at the outset, the scope for you to join afterwards is significantly impacted in terms of the number of personnel and the types of role you can take on. In regard to the mission in the Middle East that I mentioned, I would be concerned about the possibility of what happened with Operation Irini and UNIFIL, where the UN mandates were not renewed, happeni…

It is the case that no mission is the same, so it is also a matter for the Defence Forces to assess and scope out the mission and then to decide whether it is a mission we can partake in. A question keeps being asked about what it is we would not be able to be a part of if we were to keep the triple lock. I am concerned that the troops we have on the ground currently are going to be removed from the missions they are on, and that is what is happening. UNIFIL is now closing. It is finishing up and we have 320 troops…

I thank the Deputy for his continued engagement on this matter. It is appreciated and I reaffirm our shared commitment to truth and justice, not least for Private Rooney, but in particular for his family. Unfortunately, I can confirm that there has been no change in the status of the appeal that was taken since I last addressed the matter in the Dáil. My Department's Lebanese legal representative continues to actively engage with the president of the military cassation tribunal to seek updates on its progress. We r…

I have reviewed the report and referred it to the Office of the Attorney General for advice regarding its publication. The advice has been received and officials in my Department are examining it. I want to ensure that we facilitate, albeit in a limited way, the release of the report to certain individuals with a material interest in its contents on a confidential basis. This, of course, includes Private Rooney's family. I hope to meet the family again in the next couple of weeks. We will work towards that. I want …

I would like to think that we get a lot of things done, but I acknowledge the Deputy's work as well. I appreciate that the outcome of the criminal trial was somewhat disappointing for the family. Given that we now have the appeal and it is dragging on as well is very difficult for the family. This has been exacerbated by the fact that the conflict is making it very difficult for authorities and other elements to function in an appropriate and normal way throughout what has been an appalling attack on innocent civil…

I cannot give the Deputy an exact timeline but it has gone to the Attorney General and has come back, so I should be able to engage with the family soon.

We are all on the same page.

Deputy Byrne is at the Department of Defence as well.

I thank all the Senators for being here and, indeed, for the points that they have raised. I also acknowledge the Palestinian ambassador, who is present. Maybe to start with that last point, I appreciate when you look at the different translations they all form a different form of words. In looking at our own legislation and our own wording, we have engaged with those countries. We have engaged with other member states. What we have set out here is very clear in our intention and what they have set out is very clea…

I referenced the reports. The report would be on the postal codes but the postal codes will be updated as they are applied. They are already on the Commission website here, but they will also be posted as they are added to the website. They will be there. There may be something we can do to review at some stage. It is something I am open to doing. On the approach that is being taken by the EU, while there may be differences of opinions within member states as to how far we should go, there is a very clear view that…

I would say that we are showing leadership through this legislation. I appreciate we will debate the view that we are not going far enough, but this is against the view of much of our friends in the EU. We are going further here. I fully accept what the Senator is saying. There is obviously a huge concern in the fact that there is an ambition now that 70% of Gaza would be occupied and the Israeli Government has said that very clearly, even though the second stage of the peace agreement is that it would start to wit…