Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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All right. We will chase that one up. I apologise that I missed a considerable amount of the early part of the meeting because I was in the Dáil Chamber. As I was leaving I believe Deputy Howlin was dealing with the escalating situation in the Middle East, which obviously had to take up a huge part of the conversation. If there is any repetition, that is okay. The Minister of State does not necessarily have to answer those parts.

We all have positions on what we could do domestically. It is no big shock. On the occupied territories Bill, we could ensure there are no weapons going to Israel overflying in Ireland. We could make sure we have tight use on dual-use commodities, and beyond that we could ensure there is the divestment from any company involved in the illegal settlements. We are talking of hybrid threats. In the past while we have seen the Israelis operate like something that came straight out of a James Bond film.

Whatever international law and rules of operations we may have believed existed are all out the window. Our fear is not what has happened but what could happen. Where is the European Union in this regard? I know the Government said there needs to be movement on the EU-Israel association agreement but we have not seen any. Some of our EU partners deal with the Israelis directly in supplying weapons. Obviously, all of this is unacceptable. Has there been any movement in relation to the fact that this situation is getting a lot worse?

As regards Hungary and the rule of law, I have no doubt this will be difficult to deal with in the near future. A significant part of that will fall to Michael McGrath. The Minister of State spoke about the issues regarding the western Balkans and Georgia. How do we thread that piece where one wants to give a route away from a Russian sphere to the better part of the European Union as regards democracy? How does one welcome people in and provide states with the necessary supports but at the same time ensure there is no deviation from the rule of law? It is not a simple journey.

The Minister of State also spoke about Sudan. It is one of the largest ongoing conflicts. It will have a huge impact on the states around it and on migration. Where lies that conversation? I accept the Minister of State's point on the Baltic states and others regarding their history with Russia over a long period and that the threats are very real. I also welcome that she does not feel there is any pressure concerning our independent foreign policy approach and that we are militarily non-aligned and neutral. I accept there are many rooms which we will not enter and have conversations, which is our choice.

When talking about cyber threats, it concerns energy and cyber infrastructure. Necessary work needs to be done on that but we must also accept that social media has become a huge issue. It involves state and non-state actors and the issue with big tech companies. While there is the Digital Services Act and attempts by Coimisiún na Meán, none of it is where it needs to be in holding those companies to account. We know democracy is almost at stake. There are weaponised systems for state and non-state actors - some organised, some demented. It is a huge issue.

On migration, we have to get our own house in order in processing and removing it from the private sector, where we are enriching a small amount of people. Some are better operators than others. Some of these places are not suitable for people and have a huge impact, sometimes even on those surrounding them. That is a particular issue that needs to be dealt with. We have seen changes across Europe such as in Germany and others - the Minister of State spoke about Hungary. Where is that general conversation at? As much as everyone needs to have their own house in order, there is the wider issue that a huge amount of people are on the move for various reasons across the Middle East and Africa. This obviously relates to us here with hundreds of years of colonisation, as well as unfair trade practices and ongoing conflict. A lot of the major powers still make money from supplying weapons across the board. I accept none of this is straightforward to deal with. I could ask another 14 questions but I will leave it at that.