We are all familiar with the scars left on people across this island from the Troubles. We know the hard work done by the people of Garvaghy Road in Portadown to build peace, reconciliation and understanding in their own community. The developments of the last two weeks threaten to derail that peace. What engagement has the Minister had, alongside her Government colleagues, in the past few days with her British counterparts and counterparts in the North?

I thank the Minister for outlining her position. I was on the Garvaghy Road on Sunday. I also met the residents last week. I was living and studying in the North during the last eruption of violence on the Garvaghy Road in the late nineties. The residents' message is clear and they are a genuinely dignified and clear group of people. We need to be careful about some of the messaging around the two sides in this debate because for me there is a clear act of provocation happening from one side, unfortunately, and on …

I agree the Government has made its position on the decision of the Parades Commission clear, although that was quite a number of days ago. I am not clear on what is happening from the Government in terms of the diplomatic efforts the Minister referenced. It would be helpful for us to know more about what exactly the Minister is urging people to do. I appreciate the jurisdictional issues, in that the Government does not have jurisdiction, but it has a huge diplomatic role to play in Dublin in respect of what is hap…

Much of the daily lives of our citizens, from farmers to researchers, small businesses and community organisations, is shaped by what is in the EU budget. We have seen calls across Europe, including from the likes of Chancellor Merz, for a slashing of social cohesion funding and a focus on a wartime economy. What are the Department's priorities for this multi-annual financial framework, MFF, and how is the Government advocating for Irish interests in negotiations?

Voices in that letter did call for a cut in funding. That is just the reality of the reporting.

The letter states, "The funding should be focused on common investment in security and defence, competitiveness, innovation and the fight against irregular migration". While I appreciate the Minister of State's description of the process he is engaged in, I would like to understand how he is representing the interests of Irish people. I am extremely concerned with the development of the next MFF based on the direction of travel at EU level. The EU cohesion funding, horizon funding, the Common Agricultural Policy, C…

When I look to small Irish businesses, to our domestic productivity and to our communities on the ground, I do not see the benefits of the competitiveness agenda. No matter what the Minister of State says, his Government absolutely supports and champions that competitiveness agenda. I see redundancies from multinational tech companies and indigenous businesses struggling to survive. I also see a Government working in lockstep with whatever is the prevailing wind at EU level instead of standing up for what is most i…

I thank the Minister for being here for the debate and for attending for as long as he did. I thank Deputy Hearne for bringing forward the Bill. We are proud to put it forward as a party and of all the work Deputy Hearne put into it. The first thing I want to speak to is the constitutional element of this because for me the Constitution is where law meets the population. The Constitution should reflect the values of the population. It is not just an instrument of law. It is an expression of who we are as a society,…

It is disappointing to see again how little the Government has engaged with our reasoned, evidence-based and solidly worked motion, which Deputy Whitmore and the Social Democrats have put a lot of work into. Once again, it proposes to "delete all words after Dáil Éireann". It is important that people at home know that this is how the Government approaches most Private Members' motions tabled by the Opposition. It proposes to delete all words after "Dáil Éireann", completely ignore the reasoned and evidence-based so…

Some 100,000 public sector workers begin work to rule today. Next week, they will be joined by their colleagues in the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland, ASTI, and the Irish National Teachers Organisation, INTO. On 14 October, we are facing a public sector strike. The Social Democrats and I stand in solidarity with all of those workers. Those commencing work to rule are nurses, hospital workers, local authority workers - people who are on the front line of public services. They help us when we are sick. The…

I welcome today's opportunity to discuss migration and citizenship because although this is an issue that dominated public discourse in 2024 when we were all engaged in the election, it has receded somewhat given the geopolitical tensions that are abounding and the energy and cost-of-living crises. I just do not think we are simply talking about it enough, particularly in light of the actions of this Government since it came in. I feel very strongly that we have seen a series of cruel, performative measures which a…

I have to echo some of Deputy Boyd Barrett's sentiments, particularly around the disguising of a massive policy shift in our neutrality under the guise of industrial development legislation. In recent discussions with the Minister, Deputy McEntee, around this, I quoted the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, who spoke about the changing face of warfare. We know it is not just about building bullets that kill people now. It is much more complex and huge technological innovation is playing into the arms industry. It is …

The Minister of State accused us of being disingenuous and conflating issues. I would push back and say that it is the Government that is being disingenuous in putting this forward. Deputy Boyd Barrett makes a perfectly valid point. If the Government does not have an issue and this is not about military spending, then it should accept our amendments. Everything in the public eye tells us that we are seeing a shift in spending in Europe. This measure seems to me to be clearly jumping on that bandwagon and taking adv…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 5, between lines 32 and 33, to insert the following: “(3) No grant under this section will be made for consultancy services which relate to military or defence activities.”.

I move amendment No. 5: In page 7, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following: “(8) No loans, investments or disposals of land shall be made by the IDA under this section to any company which engages in activities of military relevance, including defence manufacturing or providing military goods or services. (9) Enterprise Ireland and the IDA shall not cause a company to be formed and registered under this section if the purpose of that company is to engage in activities of military relevance, including defen…

I want to speak first to some of the comments that have been made. It is so crazy to think that this legislation has nothing to do with dual-use goods, which is essentially the premise that has been put forward so far by the Minister of State. This is literally money for dual-use and it goes even further and allows Ireland to invest money in single-use. That is what the Government is doing. He also spoke about how it is easier for these institutions and State agencies to meet their objectives but if we are allowing…

I will also keep my comments short. I will cut through what I would describe as a word salad in the Minister of State's answer. I call it for what it is, namely, deregulation. It is across Government policy but in this case, it is deregulation to open up Irish investment and Irish companies to manufacturing arms and dual-use goods. That is what the Government is doing. The Minister of State talks about the ambiguity, which is just insane to me. There is no evidence behind it. The Minister of State is not telling us…

I welcome the opportunity to comment on today's Bill. I have three key points to deal with: first, fragmentation of services; then the suitability of the people making assessments; and, finally, the root causes of these issues. First, accessing services is fragmented, difficult and plagued with delays. This Bill and this Government, instead of ensuring that children are not waiting ten years for primary care psychology or speech and language therapy, are simply moving the goalposts and creating a new system which f…

The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have recognised that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide but the Department of justice does not seem to think it has ever happened because it is asking people to access documents when most of the buildings in Gaza have been razed to the ground and more than 70,000 people are now dead. What the Department is asking of these students who are trying to study here is the impossible when they have already overcome impossible barriers. It was impossible to continue in education when you…

Student visas.