Micheál Martin

-----in reflecting on this period will see 7 October as a disastrous catalyst-----

-----for the uncertainty and instability of the world.

First of all, I am very clear. I am a multilateralist. I believe in peace and the pacific resolution of all conflict. I believe this conflict should be de-escalated as quickly as possible and those involved should get back to the negotiating table and resolve this through diplomacy. As I said, that is the only sustainable way forward. The Deputy can put whatever spin she likes on my contribution b…

-----but was responsible for the deaths of many innocent people across not just the Middle East but globally. It has sponsored terrorists. Sinn Féin has looked the other way for years on that.

The Deputy is accusing me of a lack of clarity. Her organisation has supported the Republican party in the United States for decades in terms of financial contributions to Republican and MAGA candidates across the United States.

We are very clear on upholding the international rule of law. This bombing campaign is not in accordance with a UN mandate. I totally accept the Deputy's bona fides. She has been consistent on Iran, but the international rules-based order has been powerless to do anything about Iran, if we are honest, over a long period. That does raise questions. It is not a new question; it is a decades-old ques…

St. Patrick's Day will come and go. It is the more enduring sustainable relationship between the US and Ireland that is important, but park that for a moment. St. Patrick's Day will come and go. There will be many of those, but the relationship is much deeper and much more substantial than that. Let us be honest about that too. The Deputy referenced the UN Security Council. By virtue of the compo…

Please. The alternative is a much broader UN Security Council without the veto of these three powers. That is the obvious way. Africa should be represented.

South America should be represented. People who can make a contribution-----

Vast populations of the world are not represented on the Security Council and all we are getting is veto after veto after veto. We cannot get peacekeeping missions approved by the UN Security Council. One of the most sustainable peacekeeping missions that we have been involved in is Lebanon and, at the behest of the US, the Security Council has put a deadline on that for next year. Those are the r…

Ireland believes fundamentally in international rule of law. We are a multilateral nation and all our work over the past number of years has been dedicated to those principles in every single form that we attend under the auspices of the United Nations, the European Union or, indeed, other international organisations. International law is not being adhered to and has not been for quite some time b…

In terms of the energy situation, from anecdotal accounts, it would appear there is a degree of price-gouging is going on. In our view, both the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, CRU, and Competition and Consumer Protection Commission should closely monitor what is happening and people who have complaints should immediately complain to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and t…

In terms of the overall energy situation, the Deputy is correct in saying that there is no necessity for home heating oil to increase, given that many people will have had that oil in stock and, indeed, much of that oil comes via Britain and Norway, not from the Middle East. That has been the source for quite a long time. The Deputy has conflated a lot of issues. General revenue - all revenues, f…

-----because around €553 million of the carbon tax is going towards retrofitting.

Retrofitting helps people to reduce their bills on a sustainable basis into the future. Third, that would be pulling the rug from under farmers who will benefit this year to the tune of €173 million from the carbon tax revenue in the form of agri-environmental schemes in terms of the ACRES programme. I argued for a carbon tax at the beginning of the 2020 Government on the basis that it would provi…

Actually, the Deputy asked me in the first iteration – he can check it – to scrap it. That is what he said, so it is not a temporary limitation. He opposed it anyway.

Then why is he trying to pretend? He has opposed it from the beginning. He is just duplicitous in terms of his approach.

The Deputy will say whatever matters on the day to advance his position. He thinks electorally and politically. That is just what he does.

Could I just make the point that we did reduce VAT on electricity and gas bills from 13% to 9%-----

-----and we have extended that out to 2030. As I said, we have extended fuel allowance to 26% of the population. As I said, as this situation unfolds, we will keep this under review. We have always responded to people’s needs, as we did during the Ukrainian war crisis. We have to do so in a sustainable basis. That is our commitment - we will do it on a sustainable basis.

It is a matter of very serious concern that a landlord would behave in this manner. The reports were raised over the weekend with regard to the serving of 36 notices of termination by that landlord. The Minister, Deputy Browne, asked the Residential Tenancies Board to engage with the affected tenants and with Wexford County Council to ensure the impacted tenants' rights are protected. He has also …

Of course, these eviction notices came before the new rules came into place-----

I should not have to explain that to the Deputy. She should know that and she did not acknowledge that.

The new laws provide far greater and stronger protection to tenants than the old system did and Deputy Bacik was the very person who alleged that we ignored the Housing Commission. The Housing Commission said that the rent protection zones, RPZs-----

-----could not stay as they were and that we needed to reform them. We bought in the Housing Agency to come up with proposals. It did so and we have taken the decisions to reform. The Deputy will always sit on the fence on this one because electorally nothing else will suit her or suffice. That is the truth.