John Lahart

It is not contained in my question but I know one of the things we contribute towards is de-mining. I am throwing the issue at the Minister of State in an unanticipated way and will accept a written response on it. It just came to mind. Can the Minister of State inform the House about what that involves and what the money is expended on?

I ask the Tánaiste the way in which Ireland is supporting the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children, and if he will make a statement on the matter.

One thing this conflict has in common with what is going on in Gaza is that I cannot think of one single thing that would guarantee intergenerational conflict more than the use, abuse and the taking and maiming of children. It almost guarantees that the memory just simply cannot absolve itself of the horrors of it and that the atrocity will live on. In spite of that, the Ukrainian Government, thro…

In the programme for Government, we made a commitment to reduce the cost of childcare for a child to €200 per month under the national childcare scheme. Along with hard-pressed families, I strongly welcomed this. A problem arises when providers pull out of the core funding scheme. In some cases, a provider of multiple facilities pulls one of its facilities out but keep others in for various reason…

That is not true.

First, if I may, I want to mention two constituents of mine, Thomas McHugh and Louise Heaney, at least one of whom has been taken by Israel Defense Forces, following the actions of the IDF against the flotilla. Our minds are very much with them. Their families and a lot of constituents have been in touch with my office this afternoon. I wanted to put their names on the record and say that we will…

6. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation when work will be undertaken to renew the exterior protective finish of Rathfarnham Castle; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39992/25]

I will not take the full time. This question is just in relation to Rathfarnham Castle and to ask the Minister for an update on it. It is a cosmetic-related question on the upgrading of the exterior of the building and the progress on this work.

I thank the Minister of State. He was not in position when I got the last reply, which was this time last year. It repeated exactly what he has said, namely, a weather window would be required to carry out the works and the works would be carried out in 2025, which is this year. The reason I have asked the question is that the weather window has well and truly been with us for the past four or fiv…

I appreciate that. I would like an explanation as to why I was told last year it would be done in 2025 with the exact same reason in relation to the seasonality of the work. It is imperative. The local authority took a decision recently in relation to the land that it controlled, which is in the curtilage of the castle. That was positive news about the development of the outbuildings and the crea…

We had the weather.

That is okay.

6. Deputy John Lahart asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for a report on his engagement with other EU member states with regard to Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38587/25]

I want to ask the Tánaiste about the special tribunal for the crime of aggression against Ukraine, which we hope will be able to investigate and prosecute senior government and military leaders responsible for the crime of aggression up to and including heads of state. He might update the House in that regard.

What is interesting from listening to the debates here in the past week is the criticism of the Government about its stance on the Iranian regime from some of the far left voices in the House and a complete ignorance about who supplies an awful lot of these drones to Russia to continuously attack a part of Europe. I understand the special tribunal I referred to in the question is the first intern…

As Chair of the Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, I met the ambassador recently. I am a little concerned that so much time in the House is spent on Gaza, which I understand, particularly as Chair of the committee, is justified, that Ukraine has slipped down the agenda and we need to keep it up. The continued acceleration of attacks by Russia poses a significant threat to the European U…

I was interested to hear what the Minister of State said, following the conversation we had in the Chamber yesterday. I mentioned the Gates Foundation. He re-emphasised Ireland's commitment to overseas development. That is good news in a world where the cuts in US aid have been described by aid agencies as irreplaceable and having a significant impact. The security piece is important. I want the …

I thank the Minister of State. Our political grouping at EU level, Renew Europe, has some positive ideas. It proposed reinforced provisions to promote democratic resilience, including something that is close to the heart of this Government, which is funding support for independent media, investigative journalism and fact checking. I understand the Estonians are way ahead of the rest of Europe in d…

What does the Tánaiste consider the best response to the comments by the chair of the United States foreign relations committee that the occupied territories Bill is blatantly antisemitic?

I welcome and echo the Tánaiste's remarks. The small Jewish community in my constituency of Dublin South-West feels particularly vulnerable at times of protest. Outside our relationship with the UK and the European Union, we have a unique relationship with the United States. This issue provides an opportunity, not to review it but to move forward with a different kind of dynamic. Some people on t…

I echo the Tánaiste's comments regarding our diplomats. The week of St. Patrick's Day is a particularly important week for Ireland. Is it time to look at mobilising more politicians, outside of just Ministers and Ministers of State, to engage at state House level in the United States, open up a new conversation with American legislators and mobilise our considerable diaspora? There was a time whe…

On the subject of our contributions, we had the Gates Foundation in yesterday. It was about maternal and child health. Ireland remains up there with just the Nordic countries and the Dutch in retaining that level of support. We are beacons in the ocean of development aid funding, but specifically in that area. The Minister of State may want to comment further.

As an aside on the GPO issue, the GPO has always been a hub of business transactions for well over a century. I am really excited by the Government's plans and the cultural and historical aspects. The GPO was always a hub of business and business transactions. My question relates to a serious backlog in HSE dental check-ups for primary school children. Constituents have contacted me about their s…

It is not true.

The waiting times for driving tests are increasing at my two local centres in Tallaght and Deansgrange, which serve constituents in Dublin South-West. I had a call to my office this morning from a constituent whose son has been waiting over nine months for a test. He represents Ireland in athletics and his father, who works in a hospital, has to accompany him or drive him around the country to rac…