We are working at an EU level because that is how sanctions are introduced. I do not disagree with the Deputy's analysis of the situation, but Ireland is taking practical actions and doing everything we possibly can.
TDs / Simon Harris
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Members of the Government answer questions rather than ask them
566,209
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140
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Debates they spoke in most
Plus 2,685 contributions in the regular slots, such as Leaders' Questions and Priority Questions. Speech from the chair is not counted.
Party, constituency and offices
- constituency Wicklow 29 November 2024 to now
- office Taoiseach 29 November 2024 to 22 January 2025
- party Fine Gael 29 November 2024 to now
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- office Minister for Finance 18 November 2025 to now
We are doing everything we can do.
I thank Deputy McAuliffe. He raises an interesting and fair point, and it is one that comes up quite a lot. I will certainly commit to engaging with the Minister for Justice on this. We are going through a period of reform in the passport service. Many challenges that used to exist, including delays in getting passports, are, thankfully, gone. Many people are pleasantly shocked at how quickly their passport arrives. …
I thank Deputy Neville for raising this matter. He is right that it is a major priority for us in government. In the programme for Government we have outlined 21 specific commitments on childcare. My constituency in Wicklow it is not too dissimilar to Deputy Neville's constituency in Kildare in terms of a very fast-growing population of people. They are pleased to see the reduction we have made in childcare fees but …
I thank Deputy Carthy for raising this matter, and for providing me with the figures, which do seem quite extraordinary in terms of the amount of plastic being collected under the scheme that then has to be shipped out of the country. I do not profess to be an expert on the detail of this but I will ask the Minister for the environment to look at the specific issue raised by Deputy Carthy to see whether we can do mor…
I know but I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, to come back to Deputy Carthy on it.
I thank Deputy Lawless for raising what is clearly is a very important issue. I am pleased to tell him there is a proposed public health nicotine inhaling products Bill which will contain a range of measures to reduce youth use of nicotine inhaling products such as vapes, a ban on point-of-sale displays and advertising, a ban on devices resembling toys and games, restrictions on flavours for sale, requirements for on…
I thank Deputy McGrath. I did indeed meet Mrs. O'Dwyer and others in Clonmel and I share Deputy McGrath's view of meeting good decent people. I do not have the information available to me here but I will ask either the Minister of State, Deputy Brophy, or the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to come back to Deputy McGrath directly on this issue in Dundrum.
We gather for these statements today with warnings ringing in our ears that thousands of children are at risk of death in the coming days. According to UNICEF, more than 15,000 children in Gaza have been killed, more than 34,000 injured and nearly 1 million displaced. Gaza has the highest number of child amputees per capita in the world and 17,000 children are unaccompanied or separated from their parents. Beyond thi…
It was a smear against the Taoiseach.
Yes.
I will begin where the Deputy began on trade, tariffs and the all-island all-Ireland economy. This morning, I spoke to the Deputy's colleague, my counterpart, the Minister for the Economy in the Northern Ireland Executive, Dr. Caoimhe Archibald. I thank her for ongoing engagement with me and for the way she is going about her business. We have agreed to meet by way of video conference either tomorrow or Monday once w…
If we get to a place where countermeasures have to be introduced by the European Union, this will not be good for the European Union and it will not be good for the US. It will not be good for the economies in Europe or in the US because it is almost impossible to publish a list that does not have an impact in every single member state. The list will be broad, and it will include industrial products and a whole varie…
I am not dragging my feet. Regardless of our political persuasion or whichever party we are in, or whether the people watching from home support Government parties, Opposition parties or neither, people in this country are sickened, appalled and disgusted by what we are seeing in what Israel has done in Gaza and what the Israeli Government, as the Deputy rightly said, is very openly and blatantly proposing to do in r…
It is not a matter of reneging on anything. I do not mind saying in this House, and I would be very happy to engage and share this more fully, but the legal advice available to me is that there is a narrow pathway - and it is a narrow pathway - under the ICJ advisory opinion for member states to seek to move ahead unilaterally, for want of a better phrase. We have not yet been able to identify the narrow pathway on s…
That is what it is.
I think this is probably the only Parliament in the world where Members of the Parliament stand up and suggest that the Irish Government's position is anything other than supportive of the people of Palestine. It is usually quite the opposite, in fact. Any of us who attend international meetings and forums will know that Ireland is usually seen as almost an outlier - worryingly, perhaps - in terms of our level of sup…
I know-----
I thank Deputy Murphy for shouting me down again. I know his party is having difficulty this week as they will not take questions from some journalists if they do not like the questions. When he comes to the House, he asks me a question and will not allow me to answer it. He does not take questions from some and does not accept answers from others. Do not shout me down, please, on an important issue.
With regard to …
I will wait until the Deputy is finished. I thank him.
He is coming over to me. I thank the Deputy for that but, obviously, the process through which the Government will go is examining the allegations. The Department of Transport is examining them. I agree that any breaches of Irish law must of course have a consequence. Irish law matters. I am very clear on that, as is the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport. If there have been breaches of Irish sovereign law, dec…
Deputy Gogarty is right in pretty much every word he said. This is an area that requires a lot more action and, as we have said before, and we mean it by our actions at both an EU and a domestic level, the era of self-regulation is over. We were talking about trade and tariffs a few moments ago; let us talk about another thing - values. Our values in this country and our values as Europeans matter too. Regulating soc…
Deputy Gogarty is not doing this, but sometimes we can blame the European Union. The European Union has given us pretty decent legislative infrastructure here. It is now up to member states, including Ireland, to decide how we wish to utilise that. The era of self-regulation is over beyond my just saying it in the sense that there are now codes in place and there is now an ability to fine companies that do not comply…
I thank Deputy Doherty very much. I note with interest the debate that took place in the Northern Ireland Assembly this week and the outcome of it. I will engage with my Government colleagues, including the Taoiseach, in relation to this matter. I am supportive of the principle. I think there is logic in it in terms of a Government timeline and the likes. I will need to discuss that with Government colleagues and rev…
He is behind you.