Thomas Byrne

I thank the Labour Party and Deputies Nash and Bacik for bringing forward this Bill. Before I was ever a politician, competition law was my thing when I qualified as a solicitor so I am very interested in it and generally support what the Deputies are trying to do. The Government is not opposing this. The purpose of the Bill is to confer additional powers on the Competition and Consumer Protectio…

I think they are totally separate functions but we are all responsible for that. We may have proposed it, and it may have happened then after 2011. I cannot quite remember but consumer protection law is one thing. Competition law, of course, is related to it but they are very different roles. I would love to hear more on the competition law side, to be honest. The mandate of the CCPC has been ext…

As much as anybody, I appreciate the need for really strong competition law, policy and legislation. The Deputy brought me back to my college days when he spoke about defining the market because that was one of the big questions we got in the exam every year. It is also one of the big challenges the competition authority has.

No, she was on the criminal law side, although it is criminal law - it is as simple as that - because you can be jailed or fined and the EU has very significant powers as well for bigger businesses. We all want to see, because if prices go up, and I know tariffs were mentioned being used as an excuse and all of that and some of these are issues, but the reality is, as Deputy Donnelly said, that pr…

-----of abuse of market dominance. We support this Bill in the sense of letting it pass to the next Stage and wish it success for the future.

I thank everybody for contributing today. All of their contributions have been genuinely heartfelt and reflect the established opinion in Ireland for quite some time, which is the opinion of the Irish Government, too. It is a year ago to the day that the Government took a very important decision to recognise the State of Palestine. The decision was taken in the spirit of peace, in the spirit of k…

He said it was a war crime.

No, no.

That is exactly what the Israeli Government accuses us of.

I thank everyone for their contributions. I will be clear from the outset, the attacks by Israel, which have all been detailed in this debate, are a further erosion of the principles of international humanitarian law that Israel is bound to comply with. People have been clear, as I am, in our condemnation of Hamas for its terror attack, for keeping people in captivity today and for the death and d…

Yes, I think the word came through during this debate. I only heard about it when I came into the Chamber. As I say, we have taken leadership on the EU-Israel Association Agreement. The Taoiseach was very strong again in calling for that agreement to be suspended while the review takes place. The EU must use all the levers at its disposal with the urgency that the situation demands. We in Ireland…

I am glad that Europe is still as popular as ever. I am sure the Members who are due to arrive will arrive very soon. I suppose, given the order of the Dáil, I must go ahead. I am glad to join the Ceann Comhairle and the people of Ireland to mark Europe Day 2025. This year, we mark not only Europe Day, but also a remarkable milestone in our shared history, that is, the 75th anniversary of the Schu…

Yes, I smiled when Deputy Ó Laoghaire said that. It does not mean anything.

No, the Deputy should go ahead.

I will continue to speak if Deputy Ó Laoghaire wants. I will tell him all about Sinn Féin's European policy.

We are not doing that.

Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

I thank all the Members for their interesting contributions. It is fitting in this House, as we represent the sovereign will of the Irish people, that we pause to reflect on the past, present and future of the European Union and Ireland's unique and valued place within it. We must never forget when we talk about the European Union that we are the European Union. The European Union is not a foreign…

This is exactly my point again. We get criticised by the Opposition and the Government of Israel.

The actions the Irish Government has taken have been very much appreciated by the people of Palestine, not only in the context of our practical, financial and humanitarian support, but also by our recognition of their country as well. We are very much an outlier in the European Union in that regard. While we will keep talking to our European colleagues on this issue, there are different views arou…

I move amendment No. 2: To delete all words after "Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following: "notes that the United States (US) has implemented tariffs on all of its trading partners, with the European Union (EU) and Ireland facing tariffs of: — 25 per cent on steel, aluminium and derivatives since 12th March; — 25 per cent on the automotive sector since 3rd April; and — 10 per cent on rema…

He absolutely would not say it to any investor.

From this Government's perspective, investors are welcome to Ireland. We have one of the most educated countries in the world-----

-----and one of the best workforces in the world-----