Micheál Martin

I am sorry. The Deputy asked me a question about my trip to the US and if I thought it was this, that and the other. I just wish to make a very fundamental point. Hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country depend on that economic relationship. Many workers out there are working in multinational companies and so on.

Well, the Deputy did.

The Deputy did ask me about that.

I did. I publicly stated my position on Conor McGregor, but the Deputy asked me how did the trip go and did I think it was a success and so on.

Sure, I am not getting a chance-----

The Deputy also twisted it a lot to suit her own agenda.

In my view, she did not ask it in an honest, upfront or truthful manner either.

I have no truck with the-----

-----masculine toxicity of Mr. McGregor, but he is not a Member of this House.

I do not want to give him any-----

I just want to say on the peace front, I genuinely believe that we need an end to both wars. I have said this repeatedly. It is a fact of record that President Trump's envoy did act very effectively in terms of getting the ceasefire in the first instance. That is documented, along with the work of President Biden's envoy. On Ukraine, it is-----

Now, I am disappointed with what happened yesterday. It is not sufficient at all what happened yesterday in terms of a ceasefire, but Europe needs an end to the Ukrainian war on a sustainable and fair basis and all of us in Europe are pursuing that end.

The Deputy has raised a fair point, although some planning permissions do get through in west Cork, as the Deputy acknowledges. I think the guidelines do need some review, especially concerning people on farms and the children of farming communities, to maintain a sustainable community in certain areas. This is particularly the case with the improvements in technology, wastewater and so on. Again,…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. I appreciate the concerns of and pressures on the parents in his constituency. At the moment, the school transport scheme sees about 172,000 children transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes. It is a very complex scheme. It includes over 143,800 pupils travelling on primary and post-primary services. There are also the special…

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue. There will be a decision made before the end of the month and clarity and certainty brought to this topic. I think it needs to be said, though, that it has been a very generously resourced scheme by the Government. It has played a very significant role in accommodating Ukrainians fleeing from war. Originally, it started out at €400. It went up to €800. Th…

I pay tribute to the Minister of State, Deputy Michael Moynihan, who has spent a lot of time over the past number of days meeting parents and schools-----

The Deputy asked a question.

People need to learn.

All I want to say is the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, met schools, the ETB and parents. He is fully on top of this issue. He realises the challenges. He is fully determined, along with me and the Government, to get this issue resolved for parents before September.

The technology is one thing. The use of the technology and who uses is the issue.

That technology, I understand, was used to solve a murder case. It is very positive-----

-----that the person was found out by proper utilisation of this technology.

I think it is a Japanese-owned company now but my understanding is that the technology is Israeli. In respect of any State agency, the Garda or the Defence Forces, there is a legislative basis by which there has to be a request to the Ministers and there is a judicial overview of how any surveillance-----

On behalf of the State, in terms of national security. That is well known. It is documented before the House.

Yes. It is well known. There is a set procedure. The Deputy knows that, in terms of national security. That is the only area where the State comes in. Obviously, the Garda tries to solve crimes and we have to trust in-----