Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire

I agree with all that has been said by Deputy Smith. I will also flag the issue of cadets. We spoke about cadets and subsequently officers in the Defence Forces as a whole a short time ago, where serious challenges exist. In the 63rd naval cadet class, six cadets commenced training but only two were commissioned. The remaining four withdrew before commissioning, citing the extended service commitm…

The approach of this Government and the previous one to migration, and international protection in particular, has been a failure. It has failed to ensure a fair system that works. It has failed communities, which have felt ignored and not properly engaged with. While there are some good people in the system, there are nowhere near enough and the system as a whole is set up badly in terms of engag…

The Minister of State will be aware that, in October 2023, the MV Matthew was intercepted and seized. There was €157 million worth of cocaine on board. It was an extraordinary Garda operation and great credit is due to all the gardaí and others involved. However, the people of Passage West have had to put up with the very large vessel ever since. It is about 200 m in length and has been docked in …

People will be frustrated by that response. People have been patient enough already about this. As I read it, we have a preferred bidder who remains interested and who is continuing to engage with the Revenue Commissioners. The issue with flagging has been resolved. Significant progress has been made in that regard. The Minister of State said certain regulatory and port state control matters had …

Tá an ghéarchéim daoine gan dídean imithe thar fóir go hiomlán. The Taoiseach might have seen the launch of Cork Simon's annual report. He insists to us that the Government's housing strategy is working, whether it is Homes for All or Rebuilding Ireland, yet everything keeps going up in terms of homelessness. Cork Simon has been operating since the early 1970s. In its 55 years, it has never had a …

That is not the case at all.

That is not what happened.

Fáiltím go bhfuil na ráitis seo ar siúl inniu. Is gné d'ár gcóras sláinte é nach bhfuair an méid airde thar na blianta is ar cóir go bhfaigheadh sé. Is léir go bhfuil difríocht mhór ann ó thaobh na ngalar a tholgann fir agus cé chomh tinn a éiríonn siad, go mór mór ó thaobh na meabhairshláinte ach freisin ó thaobh go leor ábhar eile. Tá an dá ghné thábhachtach ó thaobh na mban agus na hábhair slái…

Go raibh maith agat. Tá súil agam go bhfaighidh mé an t-am ar ais. It is over 100 years since partition. Partition was profoundly wrong and had huge negative impacts for Ireland, North and South. It divided communities. It separated institutions and cultural movements and organisations. It had a negative effect on politics, North and South, with the sectarian orange state that existed for a long t…

86. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade his views on the situation in Sudan, and the Government's position on same, in particular the need to ensure access to aid in El Fasher, and the flow of weapons to the conflict. [57183/25]

Baineann an chéad cheist leis an tSúdáin, that is, the humanitarian situation in Sudan which has been going on for two years now. There are many millions of people displaced and many millions facing severe malnutrition, even famine, particularly in the city of El Fasher in Darfur. This has been laid siege to by the RSF armed group and the Janjaweed. We discussed this in the past, but I am asking t…

The Minister of State is likely aware that in the English-speaking world, one of the most prominent journalists drawing attention to this situation is Declan Walsh, a journalist from The New York Times. Mr. Walsh, an Irishman who has written extensively on this conflict, wrote a piece at the start of the month describing the situation in El Fasher. He interviewed a gentleman, Dr. Omar Selik, who c…

I appreciate the Minister of State's comments and agree with him. It is an extraordinarily severe humanitarian situation. People are facing starvation and dying for lack of food and medicine, while the conflict carries on unabated. This is being exacerbated by the flow of weapons. It has been alleged that certain countries are continuing to supply a significant amount of weapons both to the Sudane…

Have we raised it directly with the governments in question?

That would be appropriate.

88. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the current progress of the drafting of the Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025. [57184/25]

Like many others in the House, I welcome the fact that a peace plan has taken some form. I am very concerned about the fragility of it. Dozens of people have been killed even since the ceasefire. As the Tánaiste noted, extra-judicial killings are to be condemned as well, so undoubtedly the peace is very fragile. As with any peace, a ceasefire is only part of it. A political solution needs to be a …

What is planned is perhaps not crystal clear to those of us on this side of the House at this point. I think many people would have been concerned by the Taoiseach's comments last week that seemed to suggest that it was simply not practical to ban services. A number of questions arise in relation to that. The Tánaiste has said in the past that there is no difference between the Government and the …

That does not necessarily make it any clearer as to what exactly will be in this Bill. Ireland is not a major country in the grand scheme of these things. It is about using what levers are at our disposal. There have been a number of levers and recognition was important. This is important. Had we not had this debate over the past number of years about this, it would not have ended up being discuss…

90. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade for an update on his Department’s recent engagements with the Government of Ukraine in relation to the ongoing conflict, and efforts made to reach a ceasefire. [57185/25]

We had a beneficial engagement with the Ukrainian ambassador, H.E. Ms Larysa Gerasko, last week. She provided an update on the considerable challenges facing the Ukrainian people in their fight with the Russian Federation. The war of aggression has been going on for a number of years. There are a number of upsetting elements to it, in particular the abducted children. Will the Tánaiste give an upd…

Exploration of such matters is important and a lot of what Ireland is in a position to do is at a European level. As a lot of actions are being blocked by particular member states, such as Hungary and perhaps others in other circumstances, it is important that we continue to examine what actions Ireland can take by itself. The Tánaiste has had communication and some work has been done on dual-use…

We have discussed Ireland and the EU. If anything can be assessed from the past few years, it is that the United States still carries a huge amount of influence. Who deserves credit for various ceasefires can be debated. A peace deal in Gaza is welcome, but it is clear that where the US wishes to exert influence and pressure, it achieves results in many instances. What is the Tánaiste's assessment…

My Topical Issue concerns the shortage of SNAs and access to respite in respect of special schools in Cork. I have two specific schools in mind and the Minister of State will be familiar with the issues regarding them. I initially tabled this in the context of the news that had just broken to parents of children in St. Gabriel's Special School, Bishopstown, which caused enormous alarm. I spoke to …

I have the written part of the Minister of State's statement and some of that is useful as well. I am glad he is here today because I appreciate that he is up to date on the issues. It is important that the Department takes this seriously. The NCSE and the Department are taking it seriously but, clearly, we need solutions. While the potential reduced hours did not proceed in St. Gabriel's Special …