Deputy Naughten will be taking this question.

My request would be to at least change the music that is played when on hold, given that people from my office have spent so much time listening to it. I am sorry for interrupting.

Absolutely. I would be happy to do that.

I allowed the Minister a bit more time to reply because Deputy O'Donoghue did not use up all his time.

I am not sure if there is wining in Saudi Arabia.

This question is to ask the Minister if he is in a position to give details of the sanctions, if not perhaps all of them, that Ireland has imposed on Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine. I ask him to make a general statement on the matter, regarding what those sanctions might involve and what he thinks the likely impact and effect has been on Russia in that regard. Regarding the businesses in question, have they complied with the sanctions and what oversight is in place to ensure that there is compliance …

The Minister addressed my question in the last line there in respect of the impact of the sanctions. My question is really on the efficacy of the sanctions. How do we know what impact they are having? How long does the Minister think it will take for the report on those impacts to be returned? He referred to it being done at EU level. What is the ultimate purpose of the sanctions? I support them, but I would like more details on them. I listened to an interview carried on radio recently. It was on RTÉ and done by a…

I thank the Minister and it clearly takes time. Everybody is interested in the background - the rationale rather than research - for particular sanctions rather than others. We must be guided by the fact that the last people we want to penalise are our own citizens and people in business here. We do not wish to affect consumers here who have felt an impact. What is the purpose or rationale for this? In other words, what is the endgame for sanctions? What are they designed to do? Is it, as the Minister implies, to b…

Part of the Glen of Imaal is in my constituency and I ask the Minister for an update on how the Defence Forces use it.

I have no further questions. If the Minister wants to elaborate on it he can take my time.

It is very remote.

Just in case the Department’s officials were trying to figure out what motivated the question, it really was as innocent as it stated and I wanted an update on its use. The answer is comprehensive and useful from an information point of view.

Some of the findings and recurring themes in the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces relate to human resources issues that are a source of considerable frustration in terms of career planning and progression, as well as the lack of a modern organisational perspective on work-life balance. Will the Minister accept that this is corrosive to the morale of the Defence Forces, as is the lack of investment? What steps are being taken in the context of the commission? What can he tell the House about how these …

I want to give the Minister the opportunity to demonstrate that. I was fortunate enough in a previous career to see at first hand some of the work our Defence Forces do, much of which goes unsung. The piece I witnessed was in their UN capacity, redrawing and actually plotting out the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea. One of the issues I have found is that the public has no comprehension of the range of duties and functions the Defence Forces carry out. I have never encountered a finer body of men and women. The …

The Select Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has completed its consideration of the Birth Information and Tracing Bill 2022, and has made amendments thereto. The Select Committee on Health has completed its consideration of the Patient Safety (Notifiable Patient Safety Incidents) Bill 2019, and has made amendments thereto.

The Select Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media has completed its consideration of the following Revised Estimate for Public Services for the service of the year ending on 31 December 2022: Vote 33 - Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

I welcome the opportunity to speak briefly on this Bill and I welcome the Minister of State's presence here today. I was in the fortunate position to be in the Chair while listening to some of the contributions. I am reminded of the fact that moneylending is still with us. We will have read about it in the New Testament and read as children about Jesus railing against the moneylenders in the temples. It featured strongly in some of the greatest pieces of Shakespearean writing as well. It is an old practice but that…

With the approval of the House, we will step back to Questions Nos. 11 and 12. This means that, if other Deputies do not turn up, the last question we take will probably be No. 17 in the name of Deputy O'Rourke. I do not think we will get to any more.

May we conclude this question?

We have run out of road on this question. I am sorry.