I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 12, inclusive, together. The Cabinet committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness last met on 14 July and the next meeting is scheduled for 27 November. The membership comprises the Taoiseach; Tánaiste; Minister for Finance; Minister Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation; Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment, and for Transport; Minister for Agriculture, Food, Fisheries and the Marine; Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport; and Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Other Ministers and Ministers of State are invited to attend when requested. The committee oversees the implementation of the programme for Government commitments related to sustainable economic and employment growth; trade; competitiveness and productivity; innovation; the national digital strategy and pensions. Despite many external challenges we continue to see strong economic performance with record numbers of people in work, low unemployment and real wage growth. The economy continues to demonstrate its resilience and ability to adapt to changing global circumstances. As evidenced by last week's budget we will continue to advance an economic model founded on a well-established and successful pro-enterprise policy framework, a stable and sustainable regulatory and tax environment with sound management of the public finances and significant investment in the infrastructure, energy and skills required to ensure our future competitiveness and productivity. In an increasingly unpredictable global economy a proactive approach to market diversification will promote Ireland's economic resilience, foster competitiveness and productivity and strengthen and support our trade and investment model ensuring sustainable growth. For example, last month I met with Prime Minister Carney. While in Ottawa I launched a comprehensive Ireland-Canada economic report. The report highlights that Ireland is now the tenth-largest investor in Canada, with inward investment flows of more than €14 billion. Trade agreements are essential to our efforts to strengthen our economy, increase market diversification, protect jobs and positively benefit enterprises and consumers alike through increasing their options, reducing tariffs and costs and maintaining standards. Irish and European Union exports to the world facilitated by trade agreements support more than 750,000 jobs here, which is approximately one in three jobs. This trade supports real livelihoods. I ask the Opposition parties why they continually oppose the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, CETA, when it has worked both ways and enhanced jobs in Ireland, created more jobs in Ireland and protected jobs. Yet the Opposition parties opposed it all the way. That is completely out of touch with and disconnected from what puts bread on the table in Ireland. We will continue as a Government to invest in the future of Ireland while preserving the jobs, stability and prosperity of today. As with all policy areas, issues relating to the economy are regularly discussed also at full Cabinet meetings where all formal decisions are made.
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I thank all the Deputies who contributed. Deputy Malcolm Byrne was first out of the traps about the 11% of recommendations, which is quite low, implemented from the Draghi report. Ireland is already identifying the Single Market and some of the reforms in the Draghi and Letta reports for our Presidency of the European Union in the latter half of next year. We would like to see an acceleration of the implementation of the recommendations of the Draghi report because they are essential to European Union competitiveness. Draghi pointed out that barriers that exist are much more costly than any tariff imposed by the US, by three times in some cases. The publication of the digital strategy and of an updated AI strategy is imminent. Aontaím leis an Teachta Shane Moynihan go bhfuil cúrsaí trádála ríthábhachtach ó thaobh cúrsaí geilleagair na tíre. On employee metrics, I fully agree we need to scale up indigenous companies. Looking strategically at the country into the future, there is an inextricable link between multinational investment and our own SMEs or indigenous enterprises. Many of them are part of the supply chain. Many have grown in expertise because of their relationships with multinational companies but there has been in issue with scaling and growing multinationals in such areas as life sciences or technology. The one area in which we have grown multinationals is food- and agriculture-based industries with such examples as Glanbia, Kerry Group and so on. There is certainly an issue in regard to employee share options and so forth. Enterprise Ireland manages a leadership for growth programme for companies. In the past, they went to Harvard. I met representatives of 35 companies in New York recently. When I was at the UN , we did a bit of work with our companies and 35 are availing of the leadership for growth programme. They are SMEs. I have met many people who have been on that programme over the years and they all say it had a beneficial impact on their mindset, their ambitions as CEOs and how they had been organising their companies up to that point. Mentorship is extremely important and we work with many companies in the US and the larger Irish companies that help us to mentor emerging Irish companies. However, strategically, the future has to be to increase the scaling up of Irish-owned companies for long-term competitiveness. Deputy Shay Brennan is on a similar mission, with a specific application to Sandyford. I met the owner of Station F recently. He is an innovative medical person. He is one of the first people I have met in Europe who I can say is a real business leader. We generally interact with US behemoths, such as the digital giants Google, Amazon and so on, but here is a French person, a European, who has a clear vision of the enterprise side and the digital side in particular, including incubation and so on. In terms of Sandyford and how to progress, engaging with Enterprise Ireland is critical in the whole area of incubation and supports available from that unit. Linking up with third level institutions is important in that area because it can give added heft and companies can draw on talent, ability and brains on the campus and link them to the business campus. I recommend those two options and if I can be of any help in talking to Enterprise Ireland and going out to see it, I will because the future is in creating hubs like that to enable entrepreneurship to flourish. We can do more, if I am honest, on budgetary and fiscal policy, but we can only do so much in any one budget. Very often when we do things for entrepreneurship, they get attacked politically as looking after the wealthy or businesses and so on, whereas we are trying to enable an environment where jobs will be created in the future and they are good high-quality jobs. Deputy Ó Cearúil's suggestion on the national AI office was excellent. I will talk to the Minister in respect of oifig náisiúnta na h-intleachta saorga. The tuiseal ginideach was spot on. That was the old de Valera policy - name it in Irish and people will cop on and learn a bit of Irish along the way. It is good news. We made rapid progress on the proposals. Many Deputies recommended the creation and establishment of a national AI office. It is only some months ago it was aired at Leaders’ Questions. We have moved to progressing that and putting it on a statutory basis. I think the AI issue is huge. We have a lot of catching up to do in Europe and in Ireland in respect of AI. There is also the relationship with energy use and AI, which is going to be very challenging, which means we will definitively need offshore wind from 2030 onwards to enable us to avail of the AI revolution. Okay, people will question it. Some are saying now it could be like dot.com, but it is here to stay long term. We need to make sure we can get our heads around it and be part of that agenda into the future. The general view worldwide is that Europe is way behind the United States and China in respect of this. On Deputy McCormack’s point, because of their previous history Offaly and the midlands is well positioned to become an energy hub using Bord na Móna. I pay tribute to Bord na Móna. As a state company it has transformed very effectively from being a fossil fuel-based company with many climate issues to transforming it to almost the opposite agenda very quickly. It is a very good example of a state company aligning itself with state policy very quickly; not resisting it but going with it. I have been down there quite a lot with Bord na Móna which has enlisted third-party companies which are investing in energy projects in the midlands. The transition programme funding we have received from Europe and, indeed, the national transition funding should help to underpin the continuation of the midlands and Offaly as an energy hub into the future. Deputy Coppinger spoke about not-for-profit. Someone has to pay in the end. You just cannot magic the grid or investment in it. There is an onus on the Deputy to identify the massive state investment that would be required in addition to what we are investing already to get to a not-for-profit electricity or energy system in Ireland. She referenced the 1970s and 1980s. I was a student in the early 1980s. The 1980s was not a good decade economically.
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I would not be sentimentally returning to the 1980s as a model for the future. I just would not do that.
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The population was much lower. There have been dramatic changes in Irish society in terms of population growth, economic growth, the challenge of climate and all of that. It is not as simple as presented. We cannot keep doing one-off budget packages forever. That seems to be the suggestion from the Opposition-----
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-----that we should have a one-off package this year, a one-off package next year and so on. We just cannot continue to do that. Deputy O’Rourke raised an important issue. The qualifications issue pertains to some of the regulatory bodies in specific areas, namely the Medical Council, the Teaching Council – it may not like me saying this but I think it can be quite conservative – and some of the other bodies such as Coru. I have been in touch with the Minister for Health and the Department is moving on Coru. It says it is moving on therapists, for example. It is interesting. It has taken too long to register people who are clearly well qualified and have good international qualifications in speech and language, physio or occupational therapy and it could be a year or a year and a half before they are recognised here. We must be much more nimble. Then there are things like driving licences and all of that. There is a very legitimate issue in terms of people returning to live in Ireland from overseas and how we can reduce the barriers to them reintegrating into society and facilitating that. Deputy Murphy spoke about education. If a school is four pupils short, he knows it can appeal on the basis of developing school status to retain a teacher. That system has been there for a long time for retaining teachers. Over the last number of years, we have significantly reduced the pupil teacher ratio. I am not saying that is in this case but sometimes it depends on how a principal or the management of a school will deploy teachers. They may have other priorities and they may do it in different ways. That also happens. In this case the Deputy is saying the school is down a teacher and due to lose again next year. I do not know if that is because of population demographics in the area or not but we are investing a lot in education in recent years and we will continue to do that. Deputy Currie mentioned the exit tax rate in terms of funds and so on. I think the Finance Bill might be an opportunity for her to press that case with the Minister, Deputy Donohoe. That allows for more detailed examination of issues of that kind. I accept the basic principle that sustainable investment and good practice is what we should be encouraging and facilitating. To Deputy Conway-Walsh I would say renewable energy is the key. Deputy Conway-Walsh is gone. I am kind of alarmed - there were terrible protests about having Leaders' Questions once a week and so on but the leaders of all the parties are not here at all. There we go. Deputy Conway-Walsh has left after asking her question. She will be back, I think, to be fair.
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I am sorry, Deputy Conway-Walsh. I was just saying that renewable energy is the key and the green transition is the key. I accept her point. One of the issues we have is the over-reliance on fossil fuel important on a number of fronts. Energy security is the key one, by the way. Everybody here is complaining about the decision to have a LNG facility. It would be utterly irresponsible if we do not develop that. My concern is the time line to develop it because we have no back up if anything was to happen to the interconnectors. That is a big security vulnerability.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 13 to 24, inclusive, together. The programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland's Future, recognises the importance of Cabinet committees to the policy development and oversight work of Government. The Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs was established by the Government on 18 February 2025. Its role is to oversee implementation of programme for Government commitments in relation to the European Union, including preparation of Ireland's Presidency in the second half of 2026, and international issues. The Cabinet committee last met on Monday, 16 June when it considered items on the agenda of the meeting of the European Council that took place on 26 June, the situation in the Middle East and the EU's future budget for the period beyond 2027. As I reported to the House in my statement on 9 July, at its June meeting, the European Council discussed developments in Ukraine; the Middle East, including the humanitarian situation in Gaza; European defence and security; global economic developments; competitiveness; migration; preparedness; and the EU's internal security. Leaders also exchanged views on EU-US trade relations. The next meeting of the Cabinet committee is scheduled for 16 October when it will discuss items on the agenda of the European Council meeting that will take place on 23 and 24 October. It will also take stock of ongoing preparations for Ireland's Presidency of the EU Council in the second half of 2026.
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I thank all the Deputies who have raised a variety of questions. Deputy Malcolm Byrne raised an important issue in terms of Russia's aggression against Europe. I attended an event in the United Nations, chaired by Prime Minister Carney and President Zelensky and their respective spouses, in respect of the 20,000 abducted children. Ireland will continue to provide support. I would like to be in a position to support certain research in respect of those children to get them back. It is an appalling crime. The Deputy referenced the violation of airspace in Estonia, Romania, Poland and other countries, and, most recently, Denmark. This is where all European leaders were gathering at an informal gathering and the European Political Community was gathering. As was said at that meeting, there was one accident, two accidents, but there is a pattern. There is a pattern of behaviour from the Russian Government and President Putin over the last year and a half or more, which is aggressive and poses a risk to European security and defence, particularly vital sub-sea critical infrastructure, and many of our utilities through cyberattacks and hybrid attacks - drones or other type of attacks. The Baltic states, Poland and others have experienced these on their territory. It is very serious. There is no sense in this House at all about how grave the situation is. At best, you could say it is reckless. It is also happening in the United Kingdom. These hybrid-type attacks are reckless. We need a debate in the Dáil to increase the level of awareness in the House of what actually is happening and what Russia is up to. I repeat that critical subsea infrastructure is at risk from these types of activities. Our utilities are at risk. We had the HSE attack some years ago. We have to improve capability. Deputy Shay Brennan added to this. I will come back to Deputy Shane Moynihan's earlier point. I believe we have to co-ordinate with fellow member states in Europe to protect against these cyberattacks and to share knowledge and information on where some of the shadow fleet is loitering and where the shadow fleet is turning up. We have to work with like-minded member states in order to make sure that we know what is going on, that others know what is going on and that it is co-ordinated. We will continue to co-ordinate and to work with others to gain knowledge. Cyberattacks cannot be defended against without working with others. It is about sharing knowledge, expertise and information. This is why we have an individually tailored plan with NATO in terms of the issue of cybersecurity, subsea cables, knowledge, expertise, mentoring and training. It is needed. We need to get over any squeamishness about this in the world we live in today. If people do not believe this stuff, their heads are in the sand in terms of the threats that are out there now. Deputies Malcolm Byrne and Shay Brennan have outlined them in no uncertain terms. This is what I have to say right now. We are taking all of it very seriously. We had a discussion on energy security earlier and there is no question that ships have been loitering. Russia is gathering information all of the time in respect of the critical economic infrastructure that everyone in Europe depends on and the world depends on. Deputy Shane Moynihan raised the issue of Sudan. He is one of the few Deputies who has raised it. Sudan is the worst humanitarian crisis in the world. I spoke with the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, about Sudan. What is very disquieting about Sudan is the behaviour of other countries in the region, which are supporting one side or the other and using both sides as proxies in this war. These are countries that would have a different perspective on Gaza. The two do not match that easily. There is an inconsistency in approach, to say the least. Millions are starving and up to 12 million or 15 million people have been displaced in Sudan. South Sudan is in a challenging position as well. We constantly raise it at European Union forums and at the UN to see what can be done to bring this to a resolution. On Gaza, Deputy Ó Cearúil is correct. I would pay tribute to President Trump for getting a ceasefire. It should have happened earlier. I thank the Deputy for paying tribute to our diplomatic corps. People wanted us to break diplomatic relations and call back our ambassadors from Israel and other places. Our ambassador in Israel has worked hard under a lot of pressure to represent Ireland and Irish citizens well in Gaza, on the flotilla or wherever. Our ambassador in Israel has been to the fore in providing consular services and doing her best to make sure our people do not come to any harm. Our ambassador in Cairo has been superb throughout this entire period in facilitating people to leave Gaza. Our ambassadors in Jordan and the UAE have all worked together. Do not ever underestimate the importance of diplomatic relationships in terms of doing the basic necessities and being there to keep the channels of communication open. I am glad we did not break off diplomatic relations for this reason, among others. I also pay tribute to the medics in Gaza. Deputy Martin Daly, who is a doctor, has raised this with me. He suggested to me in writing that they should get the Nobel Peace Prize for what they have done in the most extraordinary of circumstances, under huge threat to their lives. Many did die. The work they did is quite exceptional and should be recalled or acknowledged.
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Deputy Coppinger has a tendency to distort. There is nothing wrong with saying that young music followers who were abducted for no reason at all-----
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I just want to make the point. Everything gets qualified and has a caveat. I make no apology for saying it is a good day that those hostages were released.
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I did. I spoke about an end to the slaughter.
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I have been saying this consistently. Check all of my remarks on social media. I am very strong on the genocide against civilians in Gaza and the slaughter of innocent children. Yes, there have been a lot of detainees without any trials or without any evidence. Others who were detained had history. Deputy Coppinger will never condemn Hamas for some reason. I have never heard her condemn Hamas in this room. I have never heard her condemn what Hamas did on 7 October.
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Deputy Murphy has never condemned Hamas.
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That is shocking and it deserves debate. You are attacking me for not having precision in terms of posts I put up.
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I find it extraordinary that we do not have unanimity in the House in terms of condemnation of Hamas's appalling attack on-----
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By the way, I have never moved on from Gaza and I do not intend to move on from Gaza. I visited Gaza in 2009 after that war. We have always been consistent as a country. The party I lead was the first party in Europe and in government to recognise the right of Palestinians to a homeland. It matters to our party. Let us not try to out-virtue each other here.
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We will say what we feel.
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We will say it in the context of our informed perspective and our evidence-based approach to these issues. To respond to Deputy Murphy on the occupied territories Bill, it is in committee. I have always repeatedly said in terms of services that we need to assess that. The Attorney General is coming back to us on a number of fronts - one is implementability, by the way. The feedback I am getting is it is not just implementable but, second, are you putting companies based here in a very difficult position through no fault of their own in respect of how that would be treated in the United States? These are ongoing matters and we are waiting for reports back. I will have to talk to the Tánaiste in respect of one specific-----
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I apologise.
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