I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 10, inclusive, together. On 24 February, I attended an online meeting of the coalition of the willing to mark the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The meeting was co-chaired by British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, and the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and was joined also by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, as well as other leaders, some of whom were attending commemoration events in Kyiv. The meeting reaffirmed the coalition’s resolve to continue to support Ukraine until a peace agreement is achieved, including protecting and repairing its energy infrastructure, and through increasing pressure on Russia to encourage it to engage in meaningful negotiation through imposing further sanctions and disrupting its shadow fleet. The meeting was an opportunity to take stock of negotiations involving the US, Russia and Ukraine, and President Zelenskyy offered us Ukraine’s perspective on progress. During the meeting, we discussed how the coalition of the willing can support these efforts to secure peace, and how the coalition can ensure that Ukraine is in the strongest possible position in those talks. I conveyed Ireland’s strong commitment to supporting efforts to achieve a just and lasting peace and security for Ukraine, as I did directly to President Zelenskyy during his visit to Ireland last December. I also underlined Ireland’s consistent position that it is for the people and Government of Ukraine to determine their future and to agree to the terms of any peace agreement. I reiterated Ireland’s strong support for Ukraine’s path towards EU membership and said that the accession negotiations should be accelerated, emphasising that EU membership is an important security guarantee for Ukraine and fulfils the objectives of the vast majority of the Ukrainian people. I joined other leaders in strongly condemning the continued attacks on civilians and critical energy infrastructure. These attacks have left millions without electricity during the harsh winter months and have forced Ukraine to declare a state of emergency in the energy sector. Over the past six months, Ireland has contributed €27 million to provide support for Ukraine’s critical energy infrastructure and to help alleviate the humanitarian crisis inflicted by Russia’s aggression. Ireland continues to consider opportunities to bolster Ukraine’s energy security. Work will continue within the coalition to ensure that, in the event of a peace agreement, Ukraine has the security guarantees it needs. Such measures would be in accordance with respective legal and constitutional arrangements of participating countries. Ireland' s consistent position has been that it is for the Government and people of Ukraine to determine their future and to agree to the terms of any peace agreement. It is crucial that it is a just and lasting peace, respecting the principles of the UN Charter. The fundamental principle that borders cannot be changed by force must be upheld. Any agreement must also protect Ukraine and Europe’s security. That means strong, credible guarantees that ensure Ukraine can defend itself going forward to avoid a repetition of the past. Ireland will continue to support these efforts as part of the European Union and through participation in the coalition of the willing.
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It is the wrong area to ask about. We are on the coalition of the willing here.
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The question relates to my attendance at the meeting of the coalition of the willing. It is striking that quite a number of Members just avoided any reference to my attendance at that meeting, which is illustrative, and not really good enough. If specific questions are tabled, we should concentrate on those during Taoiseach's Questions because we have the Order of Business for half an hour or 40 minutes on general issues like ETBs, education, health or whatever. We also have the Leaders' Questions for a range of other issues. Deputy Ó Murchú referred to the restrictions on the sale of Russian oil. We were seeking to impose a further round of sanctions last week. Hungary is objecting. The Hungarian position is outrageous in terms of both stopping any new round of sanctions and the €90 billion package for Ukraine. The Deputy's party opposed it as well. It is in good company with Viktor Orbán in opposing-----
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That is not obtuse. That is a fact. Sinn Féin has opposed the €90 billion.
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I want to finish my point. There is a view abroad-----
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Hungary has a view. Orbán has a view. Sinn Féin has a view. It is basically saying that Ukraine should surrender because if the Ukrainians do not get that budgetary package and a package to support them defend themselves, it is surrender. There is no other option for Ukraine-----
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-----but to surrender if we do not get that €90 billion package across. I am shocked at Sinn Féin's position on it-----
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-----but it is reflected in its questions. When I talk about the coalition of the willing, it is about Ukraine. All Sinn Féin can offer is one question on that and another on the ETB in Athlone, which has nothing at all to do with it. It just suggests that as far as Sinn Féin is concerned, Ukraine really does not matter and that has been its position----
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-----since 2014.
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We want more sanctions and there could be challenges down the line if the global crisis continues. Deputy Byrne raised the issue of cybersecurity. It is a huge issue, and many private sector organisations are under fairly regular attack. A lot of them are occurring from within Russia. There could be third country backers that back certain hackers or people involved in cyberwarfare, or there can be criminal entities, but that are known to the authorities in Russia. The Conti group is believed to have caused the attack on our health services during Covid-19. It is inconceivable that it would be allowed operate with the freedom that it does in Russia without some tacit acknowledgement or support from the administration or the government there. The Deputy also referenced the Courts Service. It is a very significant source of concern for us. We have to build up. We discussed this with the United Kingdom Government the week before last when we met with Keir Starmer and the ministers. It is a big concern for them. We want to co-operate more with them on knowledge around technology and how best we can resist cyber-attacks. Collaboration is the name of the game in countering cybersecurity attacks, which is about learning from the experiences of others that have had them and about trying to pool our best brains to counter such attacks into the future. With regard to the shadow fleet, legislation is being passed that will enable Naval Service personnel to board them or our naval vessels to intercept them. They will also be able to put queries to the operators of these ships regarding their legality and a whole range of other issues. There are a lot of environmental concerns around the shadow fleet. Many of them are potential maritime disasters if there were leakages of oil and so on, which would have devastating impacts on the marine environment. They have been disrupted by a number of EU member states. They have been boarded and so on. The idea was to try to disrupt the modus operandi of the shadow fleet and to make it less efficient in terms of its service to Russia during these times. Deputies Ó Cearúil and Whitmore raised Aughinish Alumina. It is a very significant employer in the mid-west and it supports hundreds of jobs directly and indirectly. It also has a connection to the supply chain within Europe in terms of steel and its products. That is why there has been a general principle at European level that we should not damage ourselves disproportionately, particularly given that it is an industry that is under attack anyway from broader issues around how the global economy operates today in terms of some countries giving more protections, subsidies and so on. However, I am concerned about the report because that was never on the agenda. The report states that it supplies to intermediaries who are then supplying it on to Russia to be used for armaments. That is a concern, and we will examine it to try to get the background to it. It is not just about Ireland. It has a relevance to other EU member states in terms of its production. In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, I made it clear in my speech at the White House about Ireland's adherence to UN nations, the need for a UN mandate and its adherence to the international rules-based order. I articulated that strongly, as I did about the need for the war to end and for a peaceful resolution. We are dealing with a very repressive regime in Iran that has been conducting a surrogate war for years on an ongoing basis against many countries. In the Middle East, it is particularly-----
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Yes, I would argue that Iran is much more repressive than Saudi Arabia. We do not have a precise number, but thousands of their citizens who went on the street to protest were mowed down. I am not defending any other regime but this is a particularly-----
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The contrast with Ukraine is very different, but the Deputy will never acknowledge that.
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Deputies Boyd Barrett, Murphy and others will never acknowledge that point. President Zelenskyy executed nobody before Ukraine was invaded. I believe in dialogue. I believe in the international rules-based order and a UN mandate, although the UN is paralysed. The reason we are doing the triple lock is the UN Security Council is paralysed. It is going to be very hard to get a peacekeeping mission going and because of the Security Council, UNIFIL will end at the end of this year. The opportunities for Irish peacekeepers, which is something we have been doing uninterrupted since 1958, is very much in the balance, but no one seems to care about that on the Opposition side in terms of our future role in peacekeeping. Cuba should be resolved by dialogue. It is another regime that has a certain glorified narrative around it here but it has been quite a repressive regime as well and it has oppressed its people for far too long. It needs to get with it in the modern era and engage in a sensible dialogue to try to get a resolution. It does not need any external interventions. I have been to Cuba. When I was the Minister for Foreign Affairs, I was one of two or three European ministers in the 2007 to 2010 period who visited Cuba in the hope of getting a more liberal view of things, but, even then, it did not release the political prisons that we had sought the release of. President Castro and his brother, who was his successor, ruled with an iron fist. That was wrong and the consequences for its citizens have been fairly dire. Hence many left and went to the United States or elsewhere. No one case is simple. There is a complexity and history to a lot of these issues that defies simplistic sloganeering. I dealt with the questions about the triple lock and UN mandate. I dealt with Deputy Whitmore's question. That is our take on it and we will examine it. In response to Deputy O'Hara's question about the ETB-----
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No, not at all. In response to Deputy O'Hara, that is a matter for the Minister for education. There are plenty of routes to try to source an answer to that question. I will reference that the Deputy raised it, but it is not appropriate to raise it in the context of the coalition of the willing.
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I know, but this is a different set of questions. In response to Deputy Conway-Walsh, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is aware of this issue. I will talk to the Minister and come back to her. There have been challenges all around. Because of the war in Ukraine, there are lots of issues and public services that have come under pressure.
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 11 to 23, inclusive, together. The Department of the Taoiseach's statement of strategy 2025-28 was approved by the Government on 7 October 2025 and laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on 10 December 2025. The statement of strategy outlines the Department’s vision, mission, values, core responsibilities, key activities and policy priorities over the period from 2025 to 2028. The Department's mission is to support the Taoiseach and the Government, including in the implementation of the programme for Government, through principled leadership and joined-up governance; by co-ordinating Government activity to ensure effective, inclusive and timely decision-making; by providing impartial, high-quality policy advice in the national interest; by upholding democratic integrity, Civil Service values and public trust at the centre of government; and by promoting a strategic, sustainable and long-term perspective that safeguards Ireland’s future prosperity, cohesion and resilience. The core responsibilities and key activities of the Department encompass executive leadership and Government co-ordination; legislative, parliamentary and constitutional duties; policy coherence and whole-of-government perspective; State protocol and commemorations; public communications and information, emergency management and civic engagement; and Civil Service and public service leadership and renewal. Supporting implementation of the programme for Government is at the core of the Department's mission. The policy priorities outlined in the statement of strategy, which align with the commitments contained in the programme for Government, include housing; infrastructure; disability; children and education; economy, trade and competitiveness; climate action, environment and energy; health; justice, migration and social affairs; EU and international affairs; Northern Ireland; national security; and water quality. In 2025, the Department provided the secretariat for 46 Government meetings, which dealt with 1,233 memos to the Government. It supported me as Taoiseach with nine meetings of the European Council, ten meetings of the coalition of the willing on Ukraine and a significant programme of inward and outward visits, including the AI summit in February, the EU-Africa summit in Angola in November and the visit of President Zelenskyy in December 2025. The strategy sets out how the Department will progress work in all the areas I have mentioned, including through the Cabinet committee structure and its related senior officials' groups. The Department's annual reports over the period from 2025 to 2028 provide a mechanism to report progress made on the policy priorities outlined in the statement of strategy. The statement of strategy is published as Gaeilge agus as Béarla.
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I thank all the Deputies who raised questions. Deputy Cathal Crowe raised the CRIS centre in University of Limerick, which I have visited. I saw at first hand the excellent technology in respect of underwater remotely controlled drones which can observe critical undersea infrastructure, such as subsea cables, gas interconnectors and eventually offshore windmills. Such key infrastructure is vital to our economy and society. When I came away, I said that we need to build on this. I think we need a national centre that can develop this technology. We can see all over the world how advanced drone technology has become and how effective it is in many different manifestations and uses. The entire area of monitoring subsea cables with others and monitoring gas infrastructure or indeed other interconnectors – we will shortly have one with France which will be live next year – is very critical for our economy. I have spoken to the Minister, Deputy Lawless, about it, as well as other Ministers. I have alerted them to the potential of this centre. We will do some more work on that. Part of the role of An Taoiseach is to co-ordinate and drive certain initiatives. I commend the Deputy for visiting it and raising the issue. It is one I intend to pursue with colleagues to see how we can advance the investment in that centre. The buildings and so on are fairly rudimentary, if I may say so. As the Deputy said, there is huge potential there and a cross-government approach is required to support it. Deputy Ó Murchú raised a specific case in highlighting the role of community nurses in the context of rising fuel prices. Community nurses have an essential role in community-based healthcare and providing services to people on the ground. We are three weeks into this war and we are continuing to keep everything under review, in particular the cost issues for people. We have announced a package of measures which is probably larger than most other packages of measures across Europe but it is very much targeted and temporary. We will keep monitoring the situation to see how this unfolds. We need to keep resources in reserve for any potential worsening of this situation. We need to keep an eye on impacts on the economy. It is now March and we have some distance to go to the end of the year, so we are being cautious and retaining flexibility. We are very conscious of the pressures many people are under. I hope the package will help to alleviate some of those pressures for people across the board. Deputy Dolan raised accessibility and he referenced Athenry, Gort, Tuam and Loughrea. I agree 100%. I have set up a disability unit within the Department to make sure every single Department is seized of the importance of disability services and in particular the implementation of the human rights-based disabled persons strategy, which we launched last year. We had a very good meeting with many of the groups on the action plan and its implementation. We need to work with local authorities, TII, the NTA and others to ensure comprehensive accessibility for people with disabilities along with other measures we are contemplating, particularly the replacement of the existing mobility transport schemes in a way that will benefit people and make them more flexible and accessible as grant schemes for people who want to adjust their cars. Maybe it will not be at the same level as the older scheme, but there will be a tiered approach. I hope we will be in a position to launch it next year. We will bring proposals to the Government shortly on it and then get it worked up. Deputy Whitmore did not outline, or even whisper, what the alternative is to the LNG floating reserve infrastructure we have decided to provide. The advice is very strong. There is enormous vulnerability to our energy security if anything was to happen to the interconnectors. We know that the Yantar and other parts of the Russian shadow fleet have traversed over those pipelines. Our own undersea divers had to go down with British undersea divers to check and make sure there was nothing untoward happening. These are very real threats. In other seas there has been disruption of pipelines. I am very worried about it. It is a significant vulnerability and hence the decision to proceed with the LNG floating infrastructure reserve. It would never in itself have a sufficiency in terms of meeting the wider economic needs. It is not going to in any way stop us from driving forward with the renewable agenda. I outlined earlier in the House the degree to which we have made a lot of progress in terms onshore in this country and the degree of electricity generation that is caused by renewables now. If the Deputy has an alternative, we are always open to alternatives and ideas. Certainly, we look forward to the Deputy submitting that to us. Deputy Quaide raised specialist multidisciplinary posts in respect of senior citizens. Again, we are in favour of providing multidisciplinary supports across the board. It is the most optimal way of providing healthcare at all levels, be it primary, community, or indeed, inpatient services. I will talk to the Minister for Health and the Minister of State with responsibility for mental health in relation to these issues. There has been a lot of progress made on some fronts, such as dementia on a range of community-based supports that were not there five years ago that are there now. That said, however, the need is there. We will certainly see how we can progress that even further. Deputy Boyd Barrett raised the very high house prices in Dún Laoghaire in his constituency. I acknowledge that. It is a very significant issue. In an unprecedented way, we have provided a lot of State investment in housing, particularly in certain schemes not just in the first home scheme but in terms of the help-to-buy scheme, which has helped a lot of people to be able to buy homes, and cost rental. We need to do more. Shanganagh was the first major development by the Land Development Agency, LDA, which had a broad mix of housing from social to affordable. The LDA is accelerating its work. Only yesterday it was announced that 550-odd houses will be provided on the Naas Road. Again, it is a mix of housing which will be affordable to people and involves cost rental also. However, the most important way to deal with housing overall is to get supply up. That means both public sector investment at unprecedented levels, which we are doing, but it also means substantial private sector investment to get to the levels of house building that are required to deal with population growth and the needs of the young people to be able to get houses they can afford. Deputy O'Callaghan raised school places. I do not have the answer to every specific request at every specific location in respect of special classes. The allocation to special education will be significantly up on last year. The Minister will be responding to requests for special classes. The numbers are way ahead of last year because of the early date. It seems to have opened up a level of applications that was not anticipated. There is a lot of work needed and required to drill into that to make sure we have appropriate placements for children. The Minister, Deputy Naughton, and the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, will be doing everything they possibly can to secure places for all children. They have the resources to do that. Deputy O'Rourke raised the shortage of mainstream junior infant classes. I did not get the location.
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Again, I will speak to the Minister in respect of that. There was a commitment there to provide school places. I am sure that will be realised and fulfilled. Particularly in areas of high population growth, there is a need to have interim measures to make sure children get access to the places that they are entitled to and that they need. Deputy O'Hara raised Gaelscoil Riada. Admhaím go bhfuil deacrachtaí agus dúshláin an-mhór ann ó thaobh bhainistíocht na scoile. Níl an struchtúr oiriúnach agus tá an-chuid le déanamh. There is sewage and flooding and there are a lot of issues with the building. Again, I will talk to the Minister in terms of clarity around that particular project. Deputy Conway-Walsh raised the national security framework. This was the first Dáil where we have a committee covering security and national security. I want to see democratic oversight. It has to protect sensitive information. If we are honest, there is a big question mark over the capacity of the Oireachtas to do that. Most committees can be fairly loose with documents but that is the nature of modern democracy. Some of the forces and services can let information out as well. There is a review on the way about the committee's remit.
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There is a review of the-----
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I have discussed it with the Chief Whip.
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We will come back to the Deputy. I accept the basis principle of democratic oversight of national security measures.
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