Helen McEntee

From what I have seen, it looks like half of the island has left without a ticket but I am sure they will enjoy the match either way. I wish best of luck to our team, of course. The Government Action Plan on Market Diversification was developed jointly by my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, with input from other Departments and agencies. It was developed with i…

I too will take this opportunity on the floor to welcome the agreement of the EU-Australia trade deal this week. This is something that will open up Irish markets to a substantial economy and one where we are very much aligned. We see Australia as trusted trading partners. There is further exploration happening and we are looking at other trade deals across the globe. Of course, we hope to ratify …

It is connected to what I was saying about the work we are doing in the EU, such as focusing on competitiveness and simplification so we can reduce some of the barriers, being honest, that we have imposed on ourselves that are adding cost to business. We are still focusing on the main trading partners we have. The EU is one of them and the US is a critical one. A huge amount of our focus and my ti…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 77, 90, 119, 132 and 144 together. In the 2025 programme for Government, the Government very clearly committed to working with like-minded EU countries to respond to the very real concerns of Irish farmers and to defend our interests as regards the Mercosur trade deal. On 9 January 2026, EU member states voted on the EU-Mercosur agreement. This vote was carried by…

We have been clear in our objection to this for the reasons the Deputy has outlined, and for many other reasons also. It is very clear that this Government, our farmers and consumers have real concerns about the type of product that may be entering into the EU. It is for that reason that we opposed this. As I have said, as a country we are in the economic position we are in because we are an open …

I cannot respond in respect of who the Deputy might have engaged with. I do not know who the Deputy has engaged with. There are certainly many different channels available, even through Sinn Féin’s own MEPs, at European level where questions can be asked and responded to.

While there has been a practice in terms of the Parliament voting for and consenting to a treaty, the EU treaties do not require European Parliament consent before the application of a trade agreement. Whether that has been the case in the past, the decision was taken in this instance, given the size of the deal itself, to move forward with a provisional application of the trade agreement. Again, …

I can check that.

I hope it will not be just our constituents who will be able to get away. Maybe we might all get a break during the summer as well. The Deputy is right that this is the time of year when we need to highlight the need for, and encourage, people to get their applications in if their passports are out of date or if they need time on their passports for wherever they are travelling. This is particular…

Ten working days is not the experience I and many others have had. It is 15 working days for complex or child online renewals. Again, the time taken tends to be somewhat shorter but these are the average lengths of time. It is 20 working days for first-time online applications and eight weeks for passport assist applications. We have seen many of the challenges where first-time applications for c…

I thank the Deputy. I fully agree. Some of the challenges have been around the paperwork, where certain things have not been signed or where there have been follow-ups and it has not been possible to engage with certain people. If people are going to a Garda station or to get a signature from anybody, it is important they know they will be in a position to be able to follow up with the Passport Of…

We do not mind at all. That is what we are here for. I agree and urge all Deputies to advise on their social media channels or in whatever way they can to encourage people to check their passports to make sure they are in date and to give enough time for a new infant or child getting a passport for the first time. I mentioned some of the changes which are going to take place this year. We are look…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. For many people it has been a huge concern over the past number of weeks and has added to the significant instability in the region, not just in Gaza and Palestine and the conflict with Israel and Lebanon, but also the wider region itself. Responding to the crisis caused by this ongoing conflict following the military action by Israel and the United State…

In relation to the situation in Lebanon, it is not acceptable what is happening. It is essentially a ground invasion. The Israeli defence forces and army are trying to annex the south part of the region. Unfortunately, that is where many of our troops are, though not all. What I can assure the Deputy is that I am in regular daily contact with the Chief of the Defence Forces who provides me with up…

We have been absolutely clear as a Government that de-escalation is the only way forward. The longer this conflict goes on the more lives are lost, the more innocent civilians are caught up in this, the more impact it has on the region itself and destabilising the region and the wider the impact for all of us. We know the impact we are seeing already, whether at the petrol pumps, in heating our ho…

We can agree that in an increasingly volatile environment it is really important that we focus on what we can predict and what we can work on, not just within the EU market but with our international partners such as the US, the UK and beyond. There are a number of things I am doing, working closely with colleagues in government. At home we are meeting with companies to understand what the impacts…

Everything we do is interconnected. Any of us who travelled in the past week or so, or indeed anyone who has been on any of the visits we make as parliamentarians, will have seen that our economic interests are supported by our cultural ties and what is happening in other regions and other parts of the world. All of this can have a significant impact on the quality of life citizens have here. Whil…

I believe the EU Presidency is an opportunity to make sure we can make further progress on our relationship with the UK. It is still one of our most important trading partners and closest neighbours. The relationship with the UK now, with Keir Starmer as Prime Minister, has changed and transformed. We can see that happening with the EU as well and we all benefit when that relationship gets stronge…

We meet at a critical moment for the Gulf and the wider Middle East. We are all deeply concerned by the outbreak of conflict since Saturday, the scenes of death and destruction we are witnessing, the impact on our citizens across the Gulf caught up in this conflict, the consequences for some of our closest partners in the region, the situation facing our peacekeepers serving in UNIFIL and by the p…

Like my colleagues, I am pleased to have the time to contribute to this State apology. I acknowledge the words of the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and many of my colleagues in apologising for the great harm that was done to so many young people and families over a prolonged period of time at the hands of the State. The Taoiseach's apology today rightly built on the 1999 apology on behalf of the State …

I welcome the opportunity to outline and discuss the recently published detailed implementation plan of the report of the Commission on the Defence Forces and the new strategic framework I launched and brought to Cabinet last week. The plans set out the ambitious timelines I intend to set over the next year to make sure we can expand, enhance and grow our overall Defence Forces capabilities. Of c…

The new strategic infrastructure plan and the new strategic framework clearly set out how we can be more ambitious when it comes to increasing our overall Defence Forces numbers. Our numbers increased by 200 last year. I appreciate that this is a smaller number than we would like, but I am determined that we will continue on that trajectory right across our Defence Forces. To that effect, I am wor…

I am the first to say that we need to be more ambitious, but that is not to suggest that nothing has been done. In terms of human resources, recruitment and retention, we have increased the maximum ages for recruitment and retirement. We have extended the private secondary healthcare to all personnel. We have applied the working time directive across the Defence Forces, subject to certain exemptio…

I want to take this opportunity to thank the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann for their commitment and professionalism in carrying out their essential duties in defending our State, serving in vital peacekeeping missions abroad and assisting our civil bodies. I had the opportunity to have my first meeting with the representative organisations, RACO and PDFORRA, in January where this issue was …

That statement was merely stating the fact that the reports were not legally binding, but it is essential that we respond to the findings and work in accordance with the ECSR. That is something we are committed to. We have responded to many of the issues raised since that complaint was made. Members of the Defence Forces are compensated for additional or irregular hours through allowances and str…