I find this totally improper. A couple of months ago, the Minister launched the maritime strategy, a very substantial document. It is the way we should be going. There are a number of issues with it but we should be debating this in the context of a defence amendment Bill. With these amendments, we are amending the Defence Act 1954 in three substantial ways: helping to protect and defend our territorial seas and internal waters and protect the sovereign rights of the State and our exclusive economic zone; making provision for the long-standing role of the Defence Forces in aid of the civil power; and enhancing the protection of military installations. These are substantial things to amend and should be done with proper scrutiny, notwithstanding the EU Presidency. The EU Presidency has not falling upon us by surprise. We have known for years that we were going to have this Presidency. The Russian shadow fleet is also being used as a reason to bring this in. Again, the threat and the activity of the Russian shadow fleet is not something that has fallen on us. The Minister's messaging is mixed. She is saying this is both a pre-EU Presidency measure and is also meant to tackle the Russian shadow fleet. We need scrutiny and debate on both of those things, particularly in relation to how we tackle the Russian shadow fleet and other threats in our seas. I believe that the Minister is serious about tackling those threats. I do not believe that she thinks it is proper to be in the Dáil debating a criminal and civil law Bill with amendments that impact her remit as Minister for Defence. I do not think that this is how she wants to do business. I think that the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has made and is making an absolute mess of his portfolio. An example of that is the element of these amendments relating to the aid to civil powers. On 9 April, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, confirmed it was well established in law that the Defence Forces may assist An Garda Síochána in aid to the civil power. That was on 9 April when he was deploying Defence Forces in relation to the fuel protests. Here we are on 13 May and we are bringing in new law to enable him to request the deployment of the Defence Forces "in aid of the civil power". He said six weeks ago that it was already in law, so why are we bringing in these amendments now? It is because the Minister for justice made an absolute hames of it and acted outside his remit in early April. This deserves huge attention. At a time when the Minister for Defence is transforming our Defence Forces with the amount of funding that is going in and when national security is a huge conversation that is taking place, not just in committee rooms here, but in homes and on doorsteps all over the country, we should be having grown-up and sophisticated debates about national security through our defence committee and in the Dáil properly, not with late, ham-fisted amendments put through in a criminal and civil law amendment Bill. It is totally improper. It is not how we should be doing business on matters of such huge national significance. The people are being asked to come on a journey with us in national security. We have issues in relation to the deployment of troops and the triple lock, which is under threat. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is trying to get the trust of the people and bring them along. I want to see us transformed in terms of our national security. I want to see us in a state where we can defend ourselves and have proper intelligence, proper surveillance and a proper ability to monitor our waters. However, the Minister loses the trust of the people on that journey when she brings in amendments such as this. It looks like it is mission creep and that she is trying to do it under the table and under the radar. That is not how it should be. There is no way a Minister for Defence should be happy that such substantial amendments to our Defence Forces would be brought in in this manner. The Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, has a lot to answer for. He should be here. These amendments should not be on the clár. They should be in a Bill separate from the one in the Minister, Deputy McEntee's name. We find this improper and we cannot support it.

Sentiment score: 0.11