No, I will not, as we have already had a very extensive process. Let me agree with the Deputy on one thing: the people of Ireland expect this place and the people who show up to do their work to start talking about the issues that matter to them and addressing issues around housing, special needs education and disability. What they certainly do not expect is this sort of immature behaviour whereby, if a democratic vote is held in a committee of this Parliament – a Dáil reform committee – people do not respect its outcome. The only thing that actually subverts democracy is minority rule. We had a general election, and the people sitting behind me, in Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, have every right to have their voices heard and to bring forward proposals. I am going to stand up for their rights on behalf of their constituents.
Sentiment score: 0.09
A Cheann Comhairle, I could do without the cacophony.
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Let the people at home know that, in the next six weeks, there will be 90 priority questions to various Ministers. Sinn Féin will have 47, Labour will have 12, the Social Democrats will have 11 and those on the Government side will have none – zero. How is that fair? How is their democratic mandate lesser than that of Members of the Opposition? So, the reality is this-----
Sentiment score: 0.11
Let us deal with that also.
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They are using my time. There is quite a bit I want to say on this. We have engaged extensively and we have also moved.
Sentiment score: 0.18
Sorry, but we did. The Deputy was not at the meetings; her leader was there. We have moved.
Sentiment score: -0.01
Not with me. We have moved. We had a position and we were willing to change it because, in fairness to the Opposition, it is important to listen. We did not go ahead with the proposal that would have seen Opposition questions during Leaders' Questions eaten into. Under these proposals, the Members opposite all get the exact same amount of time for questions to leaders. That is not their problem; their problem is that they do not want other people to have a right to ask their questions.
Sentiment score: 0.12
We live in a parliamentary democracy in which the mandate of everybody, in government and opposition, counts. In so many parliamentary democracies, including the one just across the water, of course government Members of Parliament can ask the head or deputy head of government questions. That happens in PMQs in the House of Commons every single week. So, enough of the hyperbole.
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We have lots of hyperbole.
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I have answered the question. We have had meetings, for dozens upon dozens of hours. We had a democratic vote in this Parliament of the people's representatives and now we intend to get on with the people's business. Deputy Carthy raised the issues of trade and tariffs. What he has done in opposition today is utterly childish. At a time when it has never been more important for Ministers to go abroad to represent this country in trade talks, in tariff talks, on Ukraine, on the Middle East and on issues the Deputy says he cares about, what has he decided to do? He has decided to block pairing so people cannot travel. Shame on him.
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I will deal with that now in a moment.
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Yes, it does.
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Is that a threat?
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I will do my best. Deputy Carthy talks about the Moriarty tribunal. I fully accept the findings of the Moriarty tribunal and my party voted in favour of setting it up. However, we do not have to look back 20 or 30 years to find issues in respect of fundraising when we look at the Deputy's party. We only had to read the Sunday Independent last week.
Sentiment score: 0.43
Deputy Carthy asked me if I have ever asked somebody a question. Did he ever ask a former councillor in his own constituency,-----
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-----former Sinn Féin Councillor Owen Smyth, what he meant when he talked about Billy Hampton, the man who left a rural cottage to Sinn Féin? Does the Deputy remember the €99,000 for the derelict cottage from the reclusive English millionaire? The former councillor in Deputy Carthy's constituency said that the money bequeathed to Sinn Féin by Hampton-----
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-----was "a lot sweeter" than the Northern Bank robbery money.
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When you put it in context, it is "a lot sweeter" than something like the Northern Bank-----
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It was legitimate, it was straightforward and it was handled properly. There was no comeback. I am being shouted down in this democratic Parliament by people who are engaging in-----
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I am being shouted down. I know the Deputy is a bit sensitive this week. He must be the first justice spokesperson-----
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-----to ever stand by the graveside of somebody who was involved in the murder of an Irish soldier and a recruit member of the Garda Síochána.
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That is someone you call a patriot. Shame on you.
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Well-----
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I thank the Deputy. First, the Deputy referred to "ramming through". A lot of phrases are being used here. The Opposition has been spending more time talking about speaking rights than any other issue in this Dáil. Anybody watching in at home does not believe this is being rammed through. There have been dozens upon dozens upon dozens of hours of meetings in relation to this. Now it is time to make a decision and move on, get this place working and get the committees set up so we can get down to the granular detail of the occupied territories Bill in committee. That is where that granular level of detail happens. It happens at committee hearings. We need to move and establish those committees. I really believe that. The second word that cannot just be thrown around is "undemocratic". It is an absolute act of democracy that the people's representatives-----
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-----come in here and exercise their vote "Tá" or "Níl".
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Sorry, the arrogance of the Deputy on this issue.
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The Deputy says we have no mandate but these people have a mandate. The Deputy has just shouted across the floor of the Dáil, in case people at home missed it, "No mandate". Ceann Comhairle, everybody has a mandate.
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As the Ceann Comhairle said in her letter yesterday, which I read-----
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As the Ceann Comhairle said in her letter yesterday, it is up to the Members of this House, the democratically elected people of this Dáil, to decide the Standing Orders. It is absolutely in line with democracy after an election for Government and Opposition to put forward amendments and then have a vote on the floor of the Dáil. That is what we intend to do. We are going to do it next week. We are going to respect the outcome of the Dáil reform committee meeting yesterday, have a vote next week and move this place forward in terms of delivering for the people. On the issue of the triple lock, I genuinely want to engage constructively because we need to get this right. Even though I accept that we do not share a view, I had a good engagement with Deputy Gibney on this issue yesterday. I look forward to more good engagements across the House. I believe that we need to amend the triple lock. We in the previous Government made that clear. We made it clear during the election campaign. We have also made it very clear in the programme for Government. There have already been a number of times where the veto of the UN Security Council - and people such as Vladimir Putin sit on the council - has stopped Irish people, the men and women of Óglaigh na hÉireann of whom I am so proud, participating. I gave examples yesterday. For example, the possibility of a veto emerged in 2022 in respect of UN authorisation for Operation Althea, the European Union Force Bosnia and Herzegovina, EUFOR. In 1999, a permanent member of the UN Security Council vetoed the renewal of the United Nations Preventive Deployment Force. As a result, we were unable to participate in the mission in the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia. More recently, in 2015, the EU established a security mission in the Mediterranean to help refugees. It was know as Operation Sophia. This mission did not have a UN mandate until 2016 and we could not participate. There are organisations that we, and I think the Deputy, passionately believe in, such as the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre on narcotics, an international maritime intelligence centre supported by the EU. It requested a Naval Service ship and Ireland wanted to go. There was political consensus around that but we could not do it because there was no UN mandate.
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The Deputy asked about missions.
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I will do my best. I was asked a question as to what missions we could not participate in.
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Let us check the transcript. I heard the Deputy ask clearly where-----
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-----I would like to send people on missions. It is almost impossible. I am just trying to answer the question. I am allowed to answer. Am I allowed to speak? Is that okay? I know the Opposition does not want the backbenchers to speak but am I allowed to speak?
Sentiment score: 0.08
Thank you. I would really like to speak. I have given the Deputy four examples and nothing to do with 25 years ago. Last time I checked, 2022 was three years ago; 2017 was not long ago and nor were 2015 or 1999. Let the people at home know the following. This Government and I are in favour of military neutrality. What we are not in favour of is Vladimir Putin having a veto over where our peacekeepers can go. We will bring the legislation to Cabinet. When it is brought to Cabinet, it will be published and will go to pre-legislative scrutiny. If this place can get on with its job, we will set up a committee, bring in experts and engage as a committee.
Sentiment score: 0.16
First, on the issue of speaking rights, my numbers may be off so correct me if they are, a Cheann Comhairle, but in a Leaders' Questions slot a speaker gets three minutes to ask the question, there are three minutes to respond, there is one minute to ask a follow-up question and then another minute to respond. We are having a row here for about eight minutes twice a week. That is eight minutes twice a week where we believe Government backbench TDs and Independent TDs who are not Ministers and are unaligned should be allowed ask a question on behalf of their constituents. That is it. That is what the Opposition is having the row about. Then, when it comes to priority questions-----
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-----the Opposition does not lose a minute.
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To all these people who are at home-----
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People at home watching this, who are busy with their actual lives and the real issues that matter to them, are wondering what this row is about in the Dáil.
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What it is not about-----
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What it is not about, a Cheann Comhairle-----
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In my experience the Opposition does not seem to have any challenge speaking, including speaking over me. What this is actually about is not taking a minute of speaking time off Sinn Féin, People Before Profit, Labour, the Social Democrats, Independent Ireland or anybody I have left out but saying that, twice a week for eight minutes, we will allow people who got democratically elected with thousands of votes to stand up on behalf of their constituents and ask a couple of questions. I think that is perfectly reasonable.
Sentiment score: 0.41
That is the truth. We see here during Leaders' Questions that the Opposition does not want any of us over here to be able to speak. There is a new tactic since the Dáil came back. It is studs up, shout them down, put up the video on Twitter and misrepresent the position.
Sentiment score: 0.07
We are not going to take it anymore. I am going to speak on behalf of my democratic mandate as well.
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I love the fact Deputy Louise O'Reilly thinks everything is so hilarious. I do not think it is hilarious that the Opposition is continuing to misrepresent people in here having a chance to ask a question. People who got elected in the Deputy's constituency who support the Government-----
Sentiment score: 0.60
-----have every right as well-----
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On the second part of Deputy Boyd Barrett's question, on section 39 workers, I agree that these individuals do incredibly important work in our health, disability and social care services. I also agree that we need to address the issue of pay with urgency. That is why, this week, my Cabinet colleagues, the Minister, Deputy Foley, and the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, updated the Cabinet on this matter. The next step is to get people back into the WRC. I want workers to know talks are scheduled to resume on Monday, 3 March. I want to see them brought to a successful conclusion because it is absolutely in the interests of workers, as articulately put forward by Charlotte, but it is also in the interests of service users. These are people with a disability and we need to make sure we can properly staff these organisations. The Government is fully committed to making progress on this.
Sentiment score: 0.35
There is the arrogance.
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The Deputy must be exhausted from all that shouting at me. There is no need to shout at me. I am listening to him very clearly here.
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I am hearing and listening. Please listen back.
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I have said very clearly we are going to go to the WRC, and yes I am going to say "WRC" because, as the Deputy's constituent would know and as everybody around the country knows, that is where we sort out pay issues.
Sentiment score: 0.65
We do not sort them by shouting and roaring at each other. We sort them through the established industrial relations mechanism of this country.
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The Government sets the mandate for that. I have already told the Deputy and, much more important, people at home that the Cabinet was updated on this matter this week and the talks are going to progress at the WRC on Monday.
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No, sorry, that is a commitment. It is a very clear commitment.
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It is a very clear commitment to make progress.
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Deputy Boyd Barrett let the mask slip here. He believes his question and the ferocity of his question are better than all their questions-----
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-----and more valuable. It is not. The Deputy is definitely a passionate contributor, but everybody in government and opposition-----
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This a parliamentary democracy and everyone has a right to put their question-----
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-----and I am going to vindicate the right of my party colleagues.
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This is the Dáil.
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That is a bit unfair.
Sentiment score: -0.48
I thank Deputy O'Donoghue for the question. I also thank him for meeting me and the Minister of State, Deputy Canney and for bringing some of his constituents to see me about this issue. The stress, anxiety and worry of the people the Deputy brought to meet me are experiencing was very clear. I acknowledge that. Before we get into science, guidelines and everything else, I accept the bona fides of the people concerned and the worry and stress they have experienced. They spoke to me about the impact this was having on them. This is one of the reasons why we have explicitly stated in the programme for Government that there is a need to make progress regarding updated guidelines. I accept that this has gone on for far too long. It has been talked about for a long number of years. I will reply in writing to each of the specific questions the Deputy asked. I thank him for suggesting I do that. The idea of the HSE being a notifiable organisation is common sense. That would certainly assist in closing the loop in terms of some of the issues that people have raised regarding the guidelines. The factual position is that the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage is progressing a focused review of the wind energy development guidelines. The review is examining a number of key aspects, including noise, setback distances, shadow flicker, community obligation and dividend and grid connections. It is working in conjunction with the Department of Climate, Environment and Communications, which has primary responsibility for environmental noise matters. Both Departments have been working to advance guidance on the noise aspect of the guidelines, which, I am informed, is highly technical in nature. The Departments have also been engaging on proposals regarding the measurement and assessment of noise from wind turbines to ensure they are robust and fit for purpose, having regard to various targets that have been set. Further to this engagement, I am informed that the Department of Climate, Environment and Communication appointed noise consultants in May 2023 to work on amendments to those aspects of the guidelines. I am also informed that this work is now substantially complete. The Department of housing, in conjunction with the Department of communications, will make any further changes to the draft guidelines that are deemed necessary. Once they are published, there will be an opportunity for people to engage in respect of the guidelines. This is fair, because we have had new planning legislation, including the new Planning and Development Act and the national planning framework. We need to make sure that the finalised guidelines are in line with that legislation and the new national planning framework. While the current guidelines remain in force, the work on new wind guidelines is under way and being accelerated. I will provide the Deputy with written answers to each of the specific matters he raised.
Sentiment score: 0.18
I have acknowledged that this has gone on for a very long time. That is true, and there is no getting away from it. I have also tried to provide, which I accept may be cold comfort to some of the Deputy's constituents and people he has interacted with, some of the rationale behind that, including the evolving planning legislation, the national planning framework and, more crucially perhaps, the bringing in of experts to examine the issue of noise from a technical point of view to get the guidelines right. I take on board the seriousness of this matter. It became very apparent to me when I saw the people who have experienced the stresses and strains of dealing with this.
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I will ask the new Minister, Deputy Browne, to provide the Deputy with a timeline and to write to him regarding this matter.
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