Duncan Smith

2. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide a detailed timeline for introducing the Israeli settlements (prohibition of importation of goods) Bill 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38523/26]

I ask for the Government to follow what it did in the Autumn in relation to the flotilla. We have 12 Irish citizens kidnapped, including the President's sister and Luke McMenamin, from my own constituency. This Government provided time in the past to have a debate on the flotilla. We need to do it again. Some 12 citizens and maybe three more, have been kidnapped by the Israeli state. That is not a…

I am sorry but I do not believe that the Minister is committed to progressing the occupied territories Bill; I just do not. She said, quite rightly, that it was June 2025 when it went through pre-legislative scrutiny. It is now May 2026 and there is no sign of it. Deputy Boyd Barrett, Deputy Gibney and I, and others, ask every Thursday at the Oireachtas Business Committee about the occupied territ…

No, I am sorry.

I am sorry but until I see the Minister standing there delivering a Second Stage speech on that Bill, I will believe in my heart that it has been abandoned because that is how it feels.

I find this totally improper. A couple of months ago, the Minister launched the maritime strategy, a very substantial document. It is the way we should be going. There are a number of issues with it but we should be debating this in the context of a defence amendment Bill. With these amendments, we are amending the Defence Act 1954 in three substantial ways: helping to protect and defend our terri…

We have had three Leaders' Questions in relation to the National Ambulance Service strike. Given the gravity of this industrial relations dispute, we need to have a debate in the Dáil on this matter.

A couple of weeks ago, I raised with the Taoiseach the need to repair the swimming pool at Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club, PSLC. The PSLC is a vital piece of local infrastructure across Fingal and 90% of its users are not-for-profit community pool or non-members of the leisure centre. Fingal County Council has stepped up to the tune of €500,000 towards the overall cost of repair, which is ap…

Yes.

Portmarnock Sports and Leisure Club. We have spoken about it before. It is the pool there.

I thank the Taoiseach.

38. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [32860/26]

We await with bated breath the occupied territories Bill being progressed. Will the Taoiseach make it a primary objective of our Presidency of the EU for this country to advocate on behalf of the Palestinian state? Will he place that front and centre with our EU partners? Does the Taoiseach think our underinvestment in Garda resources is going to come back to bite the Government during the course…

66. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the timeline for the increase of cadet pay in the Defence Forces; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33427/26]

The world is changing, and national defence is becoming more important by the day. The Government is slow-walking change, though, to the pay and conditions of our Defence Forces, particularly for our cadets. It is simply unacceptable. The question I want to ask the Minister today is about the timeline for the increase of cadet pay in the Defence Forces.

Those improvements in accommodation and other physical places, such as barracks, etc., are welcome. I and Deputy Ó Laoghaire have just come from the Joint Committee on Defence and National Security, and that came up and was complimented. It simply is not enough to talk about action when it comes to pay. I accept the Minister's bona fides in terms of wanting to improve this but it is worth putting …

Certainly, we are trending away from the recruitment and retention crisis that we have seen in the Defence Forces. We are not quite there yet and still have a bit to go. In terms of cadet pay, the long-term impacts of it and why it needs to be resolved, it can become financially illogical to become a cadet. Under the single pension scheme, earnings are averaged across an entire career meaning tha…

72. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence her views on the release of figures that show that Ireland continues to languish at the bottom of the EU table for defence expenditure; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33417/26]

I ask the Minister to comment on the fact that Ireland remains stubbornly at the bottom of the EU table for defence and security expenditure, and what plans she has to ensure that Ireland does not remain at the bottom and continues to improve its investment in this area.

Successive Governments, for decades, have underinvested in our Defence Forces. Beyond that, wider politics needs to take some responsibility. We have used our commitment to military neutrality as a reason not to invest in our Defence Forces and our national security. We do need, at this time, a greater degree of sophistication in terms of how we discuss this. I hold our military neutrality very de…

Defence and security experts are clear that we are not at a major risk of a kinetic attack but that our infrastructure is under constant threat. It is important to ensure that the debate is taking place in that space. Last week, Dr. Paul Davis from the DCU Business School appeared before the defence committee on the topic of defence procurement and raised how defence procurement needs to be looked…

78. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence the reason the conciliation and arbitration scheme for the permanent Defence Force has been without an adjudicator since June 2025; when an adjudicator will be appointed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33416/26]

Why has the conciliation and arbitration scheme for the Permanent Defence Force has been without an adjudicator since June last year? This is the only place Defence Forces members can have grievances addressed. This process is being held up because of the lack of an appointment. I would like an update please.

The continued delays and the recurring nature of this issue risks undermining the integrity of the C and A scheme in general. Given the unique restrictions places on the Defence Forces personnel, I have to say in the strongest terms, it is absolutely essential that this mechanism operates without interruption and with the confidence of all parties. I will bring this up at every Oral Question sess…

I will be sharing time with Deputy O’Donoghue and we will have five minutes each. I will pick up on one of the final points the Minister of State made. He said that 76 years on, Robert Schuman would probably recognise the instability that exists now. I agree with him in that regard. If we look to the east, we can say that what is happening now represents the realisation of the worst fears from bac…