Duncan Smith

It is just the investor courts.

We are approaching the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resilience of the Ukrainian people in the face of that aggression has been a sight to behold. They have managed to hold off the imperialist, criminal advances of the Russian forces and keep going through four long, cold winters as their towns and cities are bombarded. Their bravery and dedication in the face …

Unfortunately, the Government does not have high ambitions. There has been an attempt by the rest of the Opposition and the Government to misrepresent or misunderstand our Bill, our motion and our campaign. We carried out a survey in which 850 workers took part. They were not from Dublin, and it was not a Dublin-based survey. In fact, 840 of those who took part in the survey were from outside Dubl…

To pick up on what Deputy Crowe said, even naming these statements seemed quite difficult. Statements on international development does not quite do it justice. Statements on international conflict would probably be closer to the mark. What or who has motivated these statements today? We know the answer. It is the change in the world that has been brought predominantly and almost exclusively by Do…

I made a number of points in last week's debate, which I will not repeat except for one. Once again I want to raise the issue of the connection of newly built homes in Knocksedan in Swords. These are not homes that are planned, in the pipeline or which might come. These are homes that have been built. I first spoke to Irish Water about this issue on 21 March 2025. I received a full answer to that …

The Government has not protected the most vulnerable. In the last hour, the consumer price index came out and it shows families had to pay more for basics like clothing, footwear and education costs over the past year. Inflation may be slowing but prices are still rising. The Minister knows this because under his Government's watch, the price of beef has increased by 44% in the last five years. It…

Has the Minister dealt with anyone who has tried to apply for hardship funds for a utility company? It is an absolute nightmare. None of these measures, unfortunately, are working enough. Why are people stopping me in JC's supermarket asking why I cannot reduce the price of groceries? Why are people turning up to my clinic, Deputy Wall's clinics and my colleagues' clinics with utility bills that t…

In the week when special school classes were announced for 2026, I need to raise with the Minister the case of River Valley Community National School in Swords. It is not looking for a class in 2026; it is looking for a class now. This is in agreement with the NCSE. The school is a developing school in good but interim accommodation. It is being refused by the Department of education the provision…

I thank Deputy Collins for initiating this debate. He has pushed hard for it over the past number of weeks in the Business Committee. A number of things about Uisce Éireann need to change and change utterly. One is the culture of the organisation, which has shifted hugely in the past four years, and I will outline two examples to illustrate that. One relates to my constituency and the Swords wast…

One of the areas we are quite concerned about is our reputation for being coherent and trusted within the European Union. To be clear, the Labour Party has been consistently opposed to the Mercosur deal on the basis of its impact on climate and the potential impact on workers' rights. The European Trade Union Confederation has been very strong on this for a number of years. Unfortunately, our Gove…

I have been ringing alarm bells for several years in relation to coastal erosion in Portrane. Last week during Storm Bram, some families lost 5 m of garden in just a four-hour period. They simply cannot wait around any longer for the planning process, working groups or task forces. They are at risk of losing their homes and they need help. We are looking at potentially hundreds of families being h…

We have deep concerns about the response to the flu outbreak. Accidents and emergency departments are under pressure. We have run out of nasal flu vaccines for infants. We would like to get a response from the Government before we go into the Christmas break, which we expect to be peak flu season.

86. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Defence to provide an update on the drone activity during the visit of President Zelenskyy; to give clarity on the decision to not intercept these drones; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [72153/25]

A lot of this has been well aired over the past couple of weeks but I have a number of questions. Will the Minister clarify if this is being treated as an act of hybrid warfare? Was air traffic control in Dublin Airport made aware in real time, or as close to real time, of the incident, and if not, why not? When was it made aware and what protocols underpin engagement with air traffic control in D…

If the Minister does not have the answer now, I would like her to come back on the question relating to when air traffic control in Dublin Airport was informed about this. According to my sources, I understand it was not informed about this and has led to some disquiet about different organisations talking to each other. We have fixed rules regarding drone activity and no-fly zones and for the maj…

11. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if the Government will commit to a reinstatement of the supplementary pension facility for uniformed services, to ensure that retention and recruitment can increase; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [60495/25]

I am glad to have the opportunity to speak. It beggars belief that we did not have pre-legislative scrutiny on this Bill, considering that it arose out of a Supreme Court judgment, which essentially struck down the investor court element of the CETA agreement. I do not think we need pre-legislative scrutiny of every Bill that comes before the House, although we should have it for most, but we cert…

I am not but I am very close to finishing.

Every vote in support of this Bill will bring ultimately bring potential harm on the State and it does not have to be that way. We do not need an independent investment court or arbitration system. I ask the Minister to look again and withdraw this, to go about it a different way and to trust our court system. We can have good and growing trade with Canada. We can be good partners and improve thin…

We had that regular Thursday pantomime at the end of the first part of Leaders' Questions. I want to focus on an issue that is important to the Labour Party, which is Garda resources and Garda recruitment. Specifically, I want to raise with the Tánaiste the lack of new Garda stations and the Government's continued lack of meeting Garda recruitment figures. According to a reply to a parliamentary q…

The capital plan that has been drafted does not seem to be rooted in the reality of how towns are growing. My colleague Deputy Conor Sheehan talked about the Garda station and Garda needs in Castletroy. Every Member in this House will say the same. There needs to be a commitment to the reality. I did not mention investment, because we have had no shortage of money; it is a shortage of delivery. Th…

I am delighted that we are able to bring this motion to the House today. As the Labour Party health spokesperson in the last Dáil, I was privileged to receive a number of briefings and to speak to members of the trans community, a community that is so often talked about but never listened to and a community that is attacked by presidents, authors, writers and other privileged people in this world.…

Hear, hear.

Give us a break. You-----

Will the Deputy be voting for the fox-hunting Bill?