Micheál Martin

I will refer the question to the Minister. I know Deputy Shane Moynihan and others have been in touch with him in respect of this issue. We will try to accelerate projects as quickly as possible. There should not be any delay on that. I will get clarity from the Minister about that and ask him to discuss it with the Deputy.

As I said earlier in response to Deputy Lowry, the Government has been working with the Commission on the nitrates derogation. The Commission, including the President of the Commission, has been extremely constructive on that. We have also been working with like-minded countries in terms of Mercosur. About 200,000 tonnes from Mercosur countries already comes into the European Union. There is no qu…

I know that discussions and negotiations are ongoing between the Minister for Health and the pharmaceutical industry in respect of approval of new medicines, in particular new medical technologies. The pharmacovigilance unit in St. James's Hospital does a cost-benefit analysis using various equations and formulas to determine whether a drug should be approved or not. There has to be some framework…

On Monday, I chaired the first meeting of the delivery and monitoring committee for the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030 when we considered the programme plan of action for 2025 and 2026. In the budget that we just had, we recorded a 20% increase in disability funding, strengthening mainstream services and introducing targeted social protection supports for households w…

I will talk to the Minister in respect of that. The previous Government increased it. I make the point that between July 2020 and the end of quarter 2 of this year, 50,684 social houses were added to the social housing stock. That is way ahead of anything that was ever done in the previous 20 years.

It is an important point to acknowledge. Nearly 14,000 homes were brought back into use under the voids programme. We are reaching levels of social housing building and provision now that we had not seen since the 1970s, which is good. We need to continue to do that and we will continue to do it. More than 26,000 social homes are at all stages of design and build in Ireland. That is dealing with t…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together. The Government is committed to the delivery of a national security strategy and work is ongoing in finalising the strategy, co-ordinated by the national security secretariat in my Department and integrating inputs from a range of relevant stakeholders, including the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Department of Defence, t…

It was a summary of Denton.

I thank all Deputies who raised issues in terms of national security and the national security strategy. It reflects a growing awareness and engagement with this House, not before time, in respect of security and defence issues. There has been a wilful ignoring of these issues for far too long in the House. Particular perspectives have been taken on this. Even this morning, there were references t…

Of course the Deputy would. Could I say to Deputy Brabazon-----

The gardaí-----

I will come back to the Deputy.

An Garda Síochána is substantively enhancing and has enhanced its anti-drone capabilities. It has significant capabilities on land, and the navy likewise. The military generally has the capabilities throughout all three strands: air, sea and land. We will continue to enhance that and harness all technology available in the country, both private sector but also on our university campuses that can a…

On the issue he raised in terms of the civil liberties issue within the UK, it is an issue the UK has to challenge and deal with. I noted his comment, "nothing more than property damage". That was interesting. I do not believe people should be-----

No one should be interned and there should be trials. I love the Deputy's casual approach to property damage. It is fine. It is grand. Do not worry about it. Let us continue doing it.

It is what he implied.

Ah, come on.

We discussed this-----

Can I just say to Deputy Murphy that Deputies in this House have had their property damaged. I do not believe that should lead to internment or anything like that.

No, no.

Let us be very clear. In dealing with protest, there are different levels of protest. The right to protest and to free speech is absolutely inviolable. It has to be allowed and facilitated in any true democracy. When protests get too extreme, you then impact on other people's rights to personal safety, life and property. I respectfully suggest that is something the Deputy does not pay much attenti…

In terms of the other issue Deputy O'Meara raised, I have dealt with some of the aspects of what happened on the night and so forth. In terms of the EU Presidency, which people have raised, there is a lot of work under way to prepare for that. An Garda Síochána is central to the security planning and preparation. It has established a dedicated European Union Presidency co-ordination office, led by…

I am not finished yet. No member state yet, bar France in the past 48 hours or so, has attempted to disabled drones or bring them down, for different reasons. That is a matter we have to leave to the operational people in charge. We cannot dictate that sort of a response here.

We have the capacity.

Once again, it is a matter for those on the ground and in the theatre to decide the best and most appropriate response at the time. I have dealt with some of Deputy Tóibín's questions. The national security council has been established. There is a clear structure emanating from that in terms of awareness, being briefed and so forth. I was briefed on this incident. I sought a briefing immediately …