2025-11-26

1. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [48517/25]

2. Deputy Erin McGreehan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [48520/25]

3. Deputy Cormac Devlin asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [50001/25]

4. Deputy Barry Heneghan asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [63404/25]

5. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [63430/25]

6. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [63464/25]

7. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [63466/25]

8. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65262/25]

9. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65414/25]

10. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65438/25]

11. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65549/25]

12. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65831/25]

13. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65861/25]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 13, inclusive, together. The Cabinet subcommittee on Northern Ireland was created on 18 February 2025 to oversee implementation of relevant programme for Government commitments and ongoing developments in relation to Northern Ireland, Irish-British relations, and the shared island initiative. As well as considering issues relevant to the Government's position as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, including our role in Good Friday Agreement institutions such as the North-South Ministerial Council, the British-Irish Council and the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, topics for discussion also include the annual UK-Ireland summits and their agreed programme of work and the continued roll-out and development of the investment, research and dialogue strands of the shared island initiative. On 17 October, I chaired the 30th plenary meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council in Farmleigh House, Dublin. The Northern Ireland Executive was led by the First Minister, Michelle O'Neill, MLA, and the deputy First Minister, Emma Little-Pengelly, MLA. We had constructive discussions on areas of mutual issues, including business and trade matters, infrastructure and investment co-operation, and tackling gender-based violence. Our discussion also included a new agenda item on emergency planning and preparedness. We also had updates by all Ministers on North-South co-operation under their portfolios, ranging from day-to-day cross-Border engagement to major infrastructural projects. The event was preceded by a dinner at Farmleigh with Government and Northern Ireland Ministers on 16 October. On 18 November, the Government announced allocations of over €50 million from the shared island fund for ten new projects to be delivered as part of the initiative over 2026 to 2030. Among the projects are €14 million for a major new shared island media initiative to be taken forward by Coimisiún na Meán, €5.9 million to develop cross-Border emergency management capacity on flood response and rescue operations, particularly with resources for technology and so forth, and €2 million to enable a new Dublin-Derry PSO air service to start in 2026. Next week, along with the Tánaiste, I will attend a summit meeting of the British-Irish Council in Wales where the focus of our discussions will be on the creative industries across these islands. The Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will continue to meet biannually on these and related matters. We will be meeting again next on 8 December.

I ask Members to please be brief and concise, as the Taoiseach needs to respond.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. As he is aware, there was a general welcome for the legacy framework that was published jointly by the Irish and British Governments in early September. Could he let us know what progress is being made in bringing forward the necessary legislation to enact that framework and to ensure that all of these issues are dealt with through putting the victims first and at the centre of the framework and the modus operandi of dealing with these legacy issues? Another thing I have consistently raised is the Belturbet bombing of December 1972 and the Dublin-Monaghan bombings of 1974. Again, the British Government has not co-operated to the extent necessary to ensure a comprehensive investigation into the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Will the Taoiseach let us know if that will continue to be on the agenda in all discussions at Government level with his British counterparts?

I would like the Taoiseach to outline whether the Cabinet committee discussed the cross-Border economy, particularly in counties such as Louth where these issues are felt most acutely. Will there be specific actions in relation to tax and administrative complications facing cross-Border workers, including the differentiations between the pricing of alcohol and fuel between both jurisdictions and the impact of that in the distortion of local trade and the undermining of businesses and broader communities? I support my colleague Deputy Smith in relation to the bombings. I also highlight that it will have been 50 years this December since the Dundalk bombing where people tragically lost their lives.

Regarding the cross-Border organisation Foras na Gaeilge, if it had the same growth as the Arts Council, Foras na Gaeilge's budget would now be €50 million. Instead of that, níl sé ach €17 milliún. I welcome the raise in the recent budget to Foras na Gaeilge's funding, but how will the Taoiseach ensure that this additional funding is made available, given that 25% of it is from the North?

I have often brought up the positives regarding the shared island unit. I believe the project in relation to DkIT and its partnership with Queen's University Belfast could fit into that. However, a number of other issues arise, whether we are talking about the remote working issues that have an impact on taxation or exam certification. In fairness to Deputy McGreehan, she has brought up the issue of the disparity regarding fuel. I have spoken before about the need for some sort of means of putting these issues on the agenda properly and dealing with them. We have made the call for a long time to get down to the issue of constitutional change and the need for a means - call it a citizens' assembly or a forum - by which this conversation can happen. The State must properly prepare for Irish unity. There has been an abject failure to do so and we cannot just wait until everybody gets on together. We need to prepare now and the onus is on the State to do it.

I thank the Taoiseach for the update on the work of the Cabinet subcommittee. As Cathaoirleach of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we have had good engagements North and South. That is continuing next week with visiting MPs from Westminster. Dialogue is important in terms of the Government's good relationship with London as well as Belfast. May I also raise the case of the 265 students and teachers who were kidnapped in Niger state in Nigeria? It is a very serious case and I would like to know what is happening there.

Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach - I want to do so again because it is important - the fact that, as part of a wider attack by the British Government on those standing in solidarity with the people of Palestine and against Israel's genocide in Gaza, people in the North are being arrested and charged, including one of our councillors, Councillor Shaun Harkin in Derry, for indicating supporting support for Palestine Action. The designation by the Starmer Government of Palestine Action as a terrorist group is outrageous when what the group has been trying to do is stop Israeli terrorism and genocide by trying to disrupt the ability of the British state and Israeli companies to collaborate with Israel in the genocidal assault on the people of Palestine. It is happening in the North. Arrests are taking place. There was a protest this weekend where people declared their support for Palestine Action. It should not be a chargeable offence and the Taoiseach should speak out against it.

For 15 months, an Irish citizen from County Antrim has been held without trial in an English prison and has had his rights denied. Jordan Devlin is being locked inside for 23 and a half hours per day. He is being strip searched twice daily. His mail has been withheld, his visits are blocked and his calls are denied. His sister said, "They put him on public protection so he can't speak to anyone". She also said: They often don’t have vegetarian food so he can't eat. They're x-raying him and strip-searching him twice a day. He's freezing too. He is a Palestine solidarity activist. He is charged with regard to a protest action at Elbit Systems. Elbit is the largest supplier of weapons to the Israeli genocide. He denies all the charges. His trial begins today but his judge was swapped out yesterday with no stated justification. The question is whether the Irish Government has made any representations on his behalf and whether the Taoiseach has sought to ensure that his basic rights as a prisoner and a defendant are defended as opposed to being ridden roughshod over like many other Palestine protesters.

I thank the Taoiseach for the update. I welcome the developments with the shared island fund. It is now clearer than it has ever been that conversations about the constitutional future of the island are picking up steam. I would dispute the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland's recent claim that there was no appetite for constitutional change in Northern Ireland. I see that the leader of the SDLP Claire Hanna and others contested that claim. In the absence of leadership from the British Government and in keeping with the principles in the Good Friday Agreement-Belfast Agreement, it is essential for our Government to take on a role of preparing in earnest for the work necessary to lay the groundwork and foundations for running a referendum on unity. We need a clear timeline to allow for that necessary groundwork to take place, to develop Green and White Papers, to allow for the work of citizens' assemblies to take place and to see progress made building on the work of the shared island unit in advance of the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement-Belfast Agreement. The Taoiseach said that the next meeting of the Cabinet subcommittee would be on 8 December. As we approach 2028, what substantive steps will that Cabinet subcommittee be announcing in terms of bringing the debate further?

At last week's session of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we had a profound contribution from the All-Island Cancer Research Institute and the All-Island Congenital Heart Disease Network. It highlighted once again what we have known for some time, namely, that lives can be saved and healthcare can only be delivered to an optimum level across the island when we have an all-island approach to healthcare for the 7 million people living on the island. It makes zero sense on a small island such as ours financially or otherwise to have two healthcare systems operating simultaneously. Until such time as we have a referendum on Irish unity and an opportunity to design a new and modern all-island, world-class service, I ask the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health to set aside a permanent allocation in the health budget for the delivery of healthcare on an all-island basis, utilising North-South collaboration to improve outcomes for patients in both jurisdictions and maximise the wonderful clinical expertise on the island.

The renewed calls for a border poll on reunification in recent months point to a definite direction of travel on the issue of a united Ireland and on that question moving from the realm of the idealistic to the practical. My party and I would welcome the opportunity to advocate for reunification and believe that a united Ireland achieved by truly informed communities North and South in a process defined by consent and deliberative consensus has the real potential to benefit the people of the entire island. However, I am concerned that as the chances of a border poll in the next ten or 15 years continue to rise to that of political inevitability, we are running out of time to ensure it takes place in such an environment. Will the Government commit to the establishment of citizens' assemblies, work towards cross-Border fora on health, economics and education and set out a positive vision?

The purpose of the British legacy Bill was to grant to amnesty to those who had killed innocent civilians. There appears to be a significant contradiction in the position of the Irish and British Governments in the new joint framework that seeks to replace that. The British Government is briefing that there will be safeguards for British army veterans. I asked Simon Harris this question and he said that was separate from the joint framework and that the British were looking for their own safeguards in their own legislation. Would that separate treatment for British army veterans not undermine a joint framework? Would it not create a lop-sided justice system in the Six Counties? Will that protection for veterans apply to both sides of the conflict? Will the British secretary of state retain a veto over the disclosure of the role of paid British agents in the Troubles and will former RUC officers who played a significant role in the Troubles be part of the investigative system that is put in place?

Tá Coimisinéir Teanga nua ceaptha sna Sé Chontae, Pól Deeds. Is coiscéim chun tosaigh é seo i ndiaidh tréimhse an-fhada ag feitheamh dá leithéid. Tá Gaeilge agus pobal na Gaeilge faoi ionsaí sna Sé Chontae faoi láthair. Conas a dhéanfaidh an Taoiseach cosaint ar an bpobal seo, ar lucht labhartha na Gaeilge ó Thuaidh? While I am on my feet, I want to raise the situation of Jordan Devlin, an Irish citizen from County Antrim who is on remand in Britain awaiting charges relating to pro-Palestinian activism there. I see this in the wider context of a crackdown on political dissent and political protest in Britain. Has the Taoiseach raised, or will he raise, this situation with the British authorities to ensure he is treated fairly in prison and will be afforded a fair trial?

I thank all of the Deputies for raising a variety of issues. Deputy Brendan Smith was first up. In respect of the legacy framework, the measures announced in the joint framework were published in September and provide a pathway to truth and accountability. That is why I went to London to meet Keir Starmer. It was one of those trips. I take it that people accept that we have to go to London every now and again to meet the Prime Minister. It was to make sure we got the legacy Bill over the line because it is an important piece of legislation that is certainly far superior to the previous legacy Act of the last British Government. The British Government published the Bill amending the 2023 legacy Act on 14 October, so that is the progress the Deputy was asking for. The second reading of that Bill took place in the House of Commons on 18 November. To be fair, we believe that represents speed and demonstrates the seriousness with which they are approaching this essential work. The key test for us will be whether it faithfully reflects what is in the joint framework. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, and the UK secretary of state, Hilary Benn, discussed the legacy framework in their introductory call last week. The Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, also discussed this with the secretary of state, Mr. Benn, at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, which took place on 17 November because we, too, have responsibilities in this jurisdiction. While we can only legislate once the UK legislation is enacted, the Minister for justice, Jim O'Callaghan, has said he is hopeful that the general scheme of the Bill will be published in April or May of next year. Enabling reciprocal co-operation between the two jurisdictions is absolutely at the heart of the agreed joint framework on legacy. The Garda Commissioner is also committed to the establishment by the end of this year of a dedicated unit as a central point of contact in relation to Troubles-related investigations undertaken by An Garda Síochána. That is also in the joint framework. An Garda Síochána has also committed, where possible, to answer questions that a family may have in relation to the investigation of a Troubles-related incident and provide a report to the family. In respect of the Belturbet and Dublin-Monaghan bombings, the publication of the Denton report may very well shed light on the Dublin-Monaghan bombings. We have to await the outcome of that. I know it is into the Glenanne Gang and the atrocities they perpetrated, but that will be important. I know that Deputy Smith has been a strong advocate on the Belturbet and Dublin-Monaghan bombings. Deputy McGreehan raised a very important point about the treatment for tax purposes of workers who cross the Border. We do not have that resolved yet. There have been ongoing issues, or attempts to do that, between the respective Departments of finance and I am pushing through the cross-Border bodies and through the Department of Finance to get some progress on that. We are also working with employers and unions through the LEEF process to see can we make progress on it. It is an issue for the seamless transfer of workers North to South and South to North. It is more difficult in terms of harmonisation of prices North and South. Different Governments have different policies. I have not seen today's budget in respect of the UK yet but that could even bring in more taxation. We do not know how that will manifest. I am conscious also that it is 50 years since the Dundalk bombing. Maidir le ceist an Teachta Heneghan, tá deacracht ann toisc an gaol atá ann. Tá dualgas ar an Executive airgead a chur ar fáil d’Fhoras na Gaeilge agus caithfimid an rud céanna a dhéanamh. Is féidir linn níos mó a chur ar fáil. Trí shared island, tá níos mó á dhéanamh againn, maraon leis an méid atá ag teacht go hoifigiúil ón Rialtas, chun gnóthaí trí Ghaeilge a chothú agus tacaíocht a thabhairt. Mar sin beimid ag déanamh sin. I will come back to the shared island initiative later. Deputy Ó Murchú and others raised constitutional issues and so on. I think reconciliation cannot be postponed, Deputy.

I did not say it could be.

The Deputy kind of said we could not wait.

The Taoiseach said waiting on a perfect-----

I know. I am not trying to-----

He said we wait on a perfect-----

Deputy, please. The Taoiseach is answering the questions.

I just think we need to really focus on reconciliation on a constant, constant basis.

That is okay.

It is hard work but it does bear great fruit in terms of the North and South and different traditions and political backgrounds within the North as well.

It is more likely to happen in a united Ireland.

Deputy, this is not a back and forth.

It is very important that we consistently do that. I do not think citizens' assemblies are in any shape or form an appropriate route for discussing the future of Ireland or the constitutional framework into the future.

In a forum.

The New Ireland Forum.

I just do not believe it at all, because anyone who knows anything about the North - and I have been involved all my life politically; I have been involved in discussions about the devolution of justice, for example, and I was in the Government when the Good Friday Agreement was first signed - knows it means people-to-people engagement. It means political parties engaging. It means political traditions as well as independent politicians or people who have a view. Citizens' assemblies can be closed enough in some respects and they can be a percentage of a random percentage of the population. There were some good citizens' assemblies but for something as overarching as a future constitutional framework - I just want to give my view on this - from my experience, it simply would not cut it. You would end up with a report-----

The New Ireland Forum.

Then come up with an alternative.

Sorry, there is a structure on this debate.

What I am always amused by-----

We are just giving suggestions.

It is not allowed.

Fianna Fáil as a party has committed to the North with great substance over the years - Charles Haughey, Albert Reynolds and Bertie Ahern in terms of the Good Friday Agreement. In this Government and the last, we did something that has never been done in the shared island initiative. Some €1 billion from 2020 to 2025 and beyond and another €1 billion in this programme for Government, which is bringing real substance. Instead of all the rhetoric and everything else, we are doing things. Part of that has also been a very important investment in real research into the different systems North and South - into our health systems, into education completion, into energy, into enterprise, and into ecology and climate. Good stuff has been done by the Economic and Social Research Institute. I defy the Deputies to go back over the last 100 years and come up with anything that parallels the level of research we have undertaken to try to understand better the different systems and different approaches. Now, I will put a challenge to Sinn Féin. It has been talking about this for decades but it has not produced a scrap of paper in terms of-----

That is not true.

That is not true.

One second, please. I am just trying to make a point.

Yes, but it is not the truth.

It is not a back and forth.

Do not tell untruths.

In terms of a blueprint, why is Sinn Féin afraid to bring forward a blueprint?

You are the Taoiseach.

There are seven other Deputies, Taoiseach.

You are the leader.

I know.

It is not a back and forth.

We are taking our responses in terms of the Good Friday Agreement.

You lead the Government.

I believe in the unity of the Irish people, okay,-----

Seven other Deputies, Taoiseach.

-----but I would say to the Deputies that with everything Sinn Féin does, the onus is on the Government. The Government will take its responsibilities in relation to this but-----

I have brought forward a plan for healthcare. I will send it on to you.

-----fo a party I would have thought was so committed as Sinn Féin is rhetorically - it keeps going on about it - it has produced very little in terms of what it believes the blueprint should be.

We have done several studies.

Just to remind-----

That is the point I would make-----

And we have engaged.

-----because the party always wants us to produce the blueprint.

That is because we are not in power.

By the way, Fianna Fáil will not be found wanting, nor will other parties, in terms of delivering substance in respect of this issue.

You are the Government.

Taoiseach, just to remind you there are seven other Deputies.

That is covering all the seven really. There are a good few-----

But it is not getting us anywhere.

No, the next seven, including Deputy Boyd Barrett.

Deputy Devlin made a very important point and he has done very good work as Chair of the Good Friday committee. I certainly think he is correct in respect of what has happened in Nigeria. At the European Union-African Union Summit, that was raised in terms of what Boko Haram and various jihadist groups were doing in terms of the persecution and killing of many people, but Christians as well, and the kidnapping of young girls and so on. I appreciate the point the Deputy raised there. To Deputy Boyd Barrett on the issues around Palestine Action, all of our embassies and so on provide whatever consular supports to any Irish citizen who is on remand or in prison. We always provide whatever supports we can or whatever assistance but we do not and obviously cannot interfere in the criminal justice system. I will review the case of Jordan Devlin and I will ask again our ambassador in London for an update in respect of that.

You should speak out against Starmer's policy.

Please, Deputy.

It is a disgraceful policy.

I have no issue with people - obviously, I do not - supporting Palestinians. I do have an issue - I am not saying this happened in these cases at all because I do not know the full detail of them - but I read recently of a case where there was a ramming of building in London, so it is not as black and white as the Deputy has articulated, or even here where people drive through gates and barriers and do criminal damage. TDs' offices have had criminal damage by, I would say, more extreme elements of people who were involved in supporting the Palestinian movement, unfortunately. It is true. My own office was damaged three times. I know other TDs whose offices were damaged.

Hear, hear.

So, is that acceptable? Is that legitimate protest? No, it is not. When there are people working in those offices, they do not think it is legitimate. All I am saying is we all have to be clear on the demarcation line. I am not familiar with the individual cases here in terms of the alleged crimes and so on like that, but let us not try to pretend that everything is just all one way because-----

But in Britain, if you just hold a sign saying "Free Palestine Action", you can be arrested.

Please, Deputy Murphy.

-----one thing I do know-----

That is crazy.

This is orchestrated. I ask you to stop interrupting.

One thing I do know is either on the far right or the far left, people do transgress the lines and let us not pretend they do not. They have in this country in the past. There clearly are other issues in the UK-----

I think you will find the Israelis are the transgressors.

-----and so on like that. Look, some people were trying to stop Dublin Port the other day.

And they got bashed, did they not?

Taoiseach, I do not know if you intend to take any other questions.

They got battered by gardaí, did they not?

Well, they should not be trying to stop-----

Did the Taoiseach support the gardaí battering them?

Some 80% of trade in this country goes through Dublin Port and you guys want to wreck it. That is bread on the table. Workers all over the country depend on trade going through Dublin Port. As far as the Deputies are concerned, that should be stopped in its tracks. There are demarcation lines that we have to be very clear about. The right to protest-----

They were protesting trade with Israel.

-----is a sacred right in this country. We should cherish that and we should never do anything to damage it, nor should others. I think I have dealt with the issue Deputy Bacik raised in my general response. I do not believe a citizens' assembly is the right way to go. Deputy Conway-Walsh spoke about the cancer consortium. I helped to set that up originally. We are supporting it. On congenital heart disease, there was a very good agreement and there are cross-Border health initiatives including, for example, an initiative to treat children's hearts in Crumlin. There is more we can do. There is a cancer centre at Altnagelvin. I do not know if the Deputy has seen that. The Republic provided a lot of funding for that. There are also other services. I am all for that. We are researching whether we can provide better primary care services North and South and whether hospital resources can be combined. Deputy McGreehan made a point to me about two hospitals, one of which was Daisy Hill Hospital, where more stuff could be done. We have been working on that through various initiatives. I am all for that. We will continue to do that in conjunction with the ESRI and NESC. I have given my views on the issue raised by Deputy Eoin Hayes. We have established all-island forums through the shared island initiative. Through that initiative, we have created a climate and biodiversity network, an all-island women's forum and an all-island youth forum where young people get together and talk about the future and about their lives. We have also developed the first all-island music archive, combining music from different traditions in the one archive. That is being funded through the shared island unit. There is a lot happening on the ground. People are just getting together. I was at an event two weeks ago. It was fantastic. People from east Belfast were doing tapestries with people from Inishbofin. Some of them had never been in the Republic before. Some of those from the South had never been in the North. We have a long way to go but we need to do this right and properly. To respond to Deputy Conor McGuinness, is maith an rud é go bhfuil an coimisinéir teanga nua ann sa Tuaisceart. Tá Acht ann anois. Tá reachtaíocht curtha i láthair. Is dócha go bhfuil an-chuid oibre le déanamh ag an gcoimisinéir chun é sin a chur i bhfeidhm. Níl an reachtaíocht sin lán-cosúil leis an reachtaíocht atá againn anseo. Más féidir linn aon tacaíocht a thabhairt dó agus do ghluaiseacht na Gaeilge sa Tuaisceart, beimid sásta é sin a dhéanamh. Tá a lán déanta againn ach táimid sásta i bhfad níos mó a dhéanamh.

Will the Taoiseach address the lopsided protections for veterans?

Again, they were not negotiated by this Government, nor are they part of the joint framework. It is our understanding that the accommodation made for witnesses should apply in the cases of all victims equally, regardless of the perspective being brought to the matter.

It is a problem then.

The Taoiseach has another 15 minutes. Did he answer Deputy McGuinness's question?

I did.

You did. I am sorry; I was distracted. I would like to welcome a member of the Down's syndrome community, Declan Moran, who is here with Deputy Albert Dolan. You are very welcome, Declan.

You are very welcome, Declan.