Micheál Martin

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11, inclusive, together. The Programme for Government 2025: Securing Ireland’s Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government. The Cabinet committee on the European Union and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 February 2025. Its role is to oversee implementation of …

I thank all the Deputies for raising a range of questions. Deputy Bacik first raised the issue of tariffs and Deputy Lawless concluded on that. Fundamentally, a 30% tariff is untenable and unsustainable. It would have to be met with a very strong European Union response if it were to be maintained. That would have the effect of creating a reaction in the markets, in my view, and would in itself c…

Could we-----

-----eat into the next question?

Maybe we could take off-----

That is what I am saying.

On letting them play, I am perplexed about this. Deputy Paul Murphy raised this as well. I am slightly worried that there is a campaign under way to try to blame the Government or create this narrative, as Deputy Murphy did, that the Government is anti-Palestinian or is not facilitating Palestinians coming to Ireland. The bottom line is 700 visas have been granted to Palestinian nationals since th…

There is no delay in medical evacuations whatsoever. A false narrative has developed around medical evacuation of children from Palestine. I do not know where that is coming from or why people would even want to create that false narrative to undermine the Government..

No, it is not.

The doctor should maybe contact the Minister. We work with the World Health Organization. Some doctors wanted to do it by another route through Jordan. We can look at that but let us do it properly, through the proper channels, because these are serious matters. These are children with serious injuries. We have to make sure their parents are on board. Family unification is there and we have done t…

I am dealing with it now but it is an important point. This is a serious matter. You cannot have a group forming in any locality and simply say, "Ignore all your normal regulatory procedures for visa applications". That is not possible. You have to get the documentation right. We have to know who is coming in with the children. We have to know the passports are proper. A lot of that was open to qu…

Just hear me out, please. For the children, additional documents must be verified, including birth certificates and letters of consent to establish the relationship between the child and the adult they are travelling with. Most of the children would not have been travelling with a parent. Then there are all sorts of issues about employment, other ties and indicating that a person has obligations t…

I will come to that. The basic thing that should have happened is that an appeal should have been entered.

That was today, at 1 o'clock?

It does not sound right to me that an appeal would come in in that manner given that a week or more has passed since the original decision. The whole thing is somewhat perplexing. That is all I am saying.

I do not know whether GAA Palestine is affiliated to the GAA. Normally what would happen is a sporting organisation would come to the Government of the day and say "We want to organise X, Y and Z" well in advance.

I do not know who is behind the whole thing.

Sorry, look that is-----

Whose campaign is it? Is it the Deputy's campaign or whose campaign is it? What is going on?

So would I.

Sorry, but I do not understand the way the Deputy is dealing with it. It seems to be more about the campaign than the children. I hate saying that.

I am asking legitimate questions. There was no notification that anyone was coming. You do not just rock up to the Department of justice, ad hoc, and say "Minister, come down here". He might not even have been in the building.

All of it suggests that something is not right, in my view. I am not saying anything was done wrong by the organisers but the whole thing seems haphazardly organised. That is all I can say.

It is strange; that is all I can say.

We are talking about children here. I think there should be a greater sense of organisation behind this and-----