It is a very serious proposition by the Deputy that needs to be dealt with quite delicately. In December of last year, the EU widened the scope of sanctions against Belarus in response to hybrid activities affecting EU member states. That decision was not taken lightly. While, of course, we welcome the release of political prisoners by Belarus and we are very grateful to the role of the US Administration, we have yet to see evidence of a change of policy in Belarus. In addition to its violations of human rights and…

In direct response to the Deputy's question, I do not envisage a lessening of sanctions any time soon. They were only just increased in December due to the hybrid incursions into Lithuanian airspace. I go back to his original point on how we get guided by the application of sanctions. Sanctions do work. Sanctions forced the Belarusians to release so many prisoners and the sheer prospect of them being weakened by the Americans provided that support. When we talk about Belarus, bearing in mind that we are, most likel…

I thank Deputy Gibney for raising this. If the Deputy does not mind, I acknowledge the work of Senator Alice-Mary Higgins in this regard. I have taken a Commencement matter for her in the Seanad and have had many engagements on what is a complex issue. It is good that we are discussing it. On 4 October 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union upheld an earlier ruling of the General Court annulling the Council decision on the conclusion of a 2018 agreement in the form of an exchange of letters between the Eu…

It must be made clear that Ireland maintains bilateral relations with the Kingdom of Morocco. We have an embassy there and a resident ambassador here, but we also maintain engagement with the opposition within Western Sahara. We do have that full engagement with all peoples, recognising that about 20% of Western Sahara is under the control of the self-determination movement. We tread a delicate line here, to be quite frank. I am not trying to be evasive or dismissive in any regard. The irony of having to uphold obl…

I appreciate the intervention - I am looking up to make sure I am not missing anyone - from all three Deputies. What I want to get through is real clarity. Ireland's position on Western Sahara has been, and continues to be, guided by the aim of achieving a just and lasting political solution that will provide for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, as to Deputy Ó Laoghaire's point, and we make that point at every opportunity that we are given. Ireland's engagement on this issue will also continu…

The Deputy and I occasionally disagree. We actually agree more times than we disagree but let us not let the people of Dublin Rathdown know that. I like to think one area we passionately agree on is Ireland's role when it comes to official development assistance and development. I am relishing Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union putting development back at the centre of European discussions. We are faced, quite frankly, with possibly the most destabilising and worrying approach to overseas dev…

Crucially, every challenge we face in Europe at the moment goes back to global instability. When the pillar of development is removed, the foundation stone of that global stability is removed. You are creating more problems for yourself on direct bilateral relations and allowing more malevolent actors fill the space of more benevolent actors. The Deputy is quite right that certain member states are cutting development aid and saying they need to put it towards security and defence. I do not buy that argument for an…

Absolutely. As I said, I have no issue with European member states or the Union investing in security and defence. It is sensible, but I do not think you can make the argument that money can be taken from development and not expect to end up spending more on security and defence as a result. The Deputy mentioned early intervention and the source of the conditionality of aid. Something I am concerned about is the notion of tied aid. We do not believe in tied aid. We believe in development being the right thing to do…

I will address the generality of the Deputy's point and then get to the specifics. Ireland's engagement with the European Union is comprehensive and deep, reflecting our commitment to the European project. Since the Minister, Deputy McEntee, assumed office in November, she has participated actively in all three formal Foreign Affairs Council meetings that have taken place, including most recently in Brussels. These meetings are vital for co-ordinating our response to international challenges. The Minister also part…

The Deputy's point is well made. He knows as well as I do the complexities of EU law and the right of the European Commission to negotiate a trade deal and of the European Council to give it the power to implement something in reflection of a vote passed by absolute majority or qualified majority voting, QMV, as was decided. The Irish Government is clear that it does not back the Mercosur deal. We are against it. We voted against it. We lobbied against it for an intense period, building an alliance with many member…

We voted against it.

I greatly welcome the opportunity to briefly respond on aspects of this debate. It is a vitally important debate at, to be quite frank, an extremely delicate time in international politics, one that many people, in particular our Taoiseach have said, requires cool heads and very clear thought. It is also an opportunity to reassert absolutely and unconditionally Ireland’s commitment to the global rules-based order, multilateral institutions, including the United Nations, and of course the European Union, to which th…

It is a great pleasure to address the House on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, who will join us momentarily. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment asked me to begin by addressing the serious concerns that all of us have in relation to the abuse of Al capabilities, more specifically regarding Grok’s ability to "nudify" individuals without their consent. To be absolutely clear, the sharing of non-consensual intimate images is illegal and the generation of child sexual abuse material is i…

I am grateful to Deputy O'Reilly for raising this important issue. While I am taking it on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, it is one I have a personal interest in. We spent many a day on this topic in the previous Dáil. As the Deputy will know, the programme for government sets out a strong enterprise and fiscal framework prioritising economic and employment growth, with a target of creating 300,000 extra jobs by 2030. I am pleased to report that Ireland's labour market continues to …

That is after five years of low numbers.

Where we are in agreement is that the trend is the concern. Youth unemployment being ahead of general unemployment is something we can accept happens but the rate at the moment is a worry. I share that with the Deputy and it is important we clarify that. That is why the Government continues to monitor labour market conditions and the youth unemployment rate and several of our recent initiatives will be central to supporting the broader economy, not least our ambitious investment plans and the action plan on competi…

I thank both Deputies for raising this important Topical Issue. I welcome the opportunity to outline the position on this important matter on behalf of the Minister. This Government takes the safety of vulnerable individuals in our society extremely seriously and recognises the effect of Storm Éowyn and the impact it had on power, water and telecommunications services for those individuals. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht is responsible for the seniors alert scheme, which provide…

The review of Storm Éowyn, published in October of last year, by the Department of housing recognised the particular challenges of providing humanitarian support to vulnerable people during emergencies, acknowledging the complex and multisectoral nature of developing effective response measures and the complexities of defining, reporting and sharing information in relation to vulnerable people. However, it did more than just acknowledge it. Some of the recommendations of the review include exploring outreach struct…

I am very grateful to Deputy Ellis for raising this matter, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Social Protection. The objective of the school meals programme is to provide regular, nutritious food to children to support them in taking full advantage of the education provided. The programme is an important component of policies to encourage school attendance and extra educational achievement. In the last budget, the hot school meals programme was extended to all remaining primary schools. This means tha…

I thank the Deputy once again for raising this matter and for allowing an opportunity to discuss the school meals programme and, in particular, the breakfast and snack clubs. I assure him that the Ministers for Education and Youth and Social Protection are both very much aware of the importance of children being able to receive a breakfast meal before they start their school day. The breakfast or snack club is a targeted support to those most in need. The Department of Social Protection continues to expand the scho…