Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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"It was crazy. People sitting on the floor. A long queue winding its way up to reception. People lying across chairs. This was Tuesday morning. Some had been there since Sunday. Staff under huge pressure, stressed with their workload. No time to think. It was just panic. At one point, I thought I'm going to die". Those are the words of Niamh, who presented at the accident and emergency in Galway University Hospital at 6 a.m. on Tuesday, 9 April after a night of intense stomach pain.

Despite being unable to walk or sit with the pain, Niamh was not triaged until after 7 a.m. She felt the nurse had no time to ask proper questions and she was rushed out. When her bloods were taken more than an hour later, Niamh was in a bad way and could barely move with the pain. Other patients looked on with worry but she had to ask for pain medication. It was then that a nurse finally asked whether she could be pregnant. Niamh never saw that nurse again. Niamh had an ectopic pregnancy that would not be spotted until much later.

Five hours after she presented at reception, Niamh finally saw a doctor. She had to walk to the other side of the emergency department in pain described as eight out of ten. She was not even offered a wheelchair. She felt the doctor was so rushed that he was not taking in what she was saying. Niamh was returned to the waiting area, which she described as being like a warzone. She provided a urine sample, which she was asked to leave on a cart for collection. Two hours later, she noticed that it was still lying there and she broke down crying. She asked a nurse why her sample was still sitting there and what was happening with her blood tests but her questions were met with confusion. One blood test result came back showing elevated levels of white cells and a suspected infection. She was prescribed an antibiotic and a pain drug, Keral. As the Keral was being administered, a nurse came rushing back in panic shouted: "You are pregnant. You can't be on this painkiller while pregnant." Panic then ensued as to how much she had been given.

Niamh was finally referred to a gynaecologist at 12.45 p.m. and it was only then that the possibility of an ectopic pregnancy was raised. It was determined that Niamh needed an emergency scan, which she did not get until 2.30 p.m., eight and a half hours after coming in. The scan showed nothing but blood in her uterus. Niamh's emergency surgery would not happen until 6.45 p.m., 12 hours after she first presented. Niamh's partner was told the operation would take 1.5 hours but it took more than three hours due to significant internal bleeding.

Sometimes Niamh cannot believe she survived. She kept thinking: "What's going to happen to my baby son if I don't survive?" It was deeply traumatising for her and her family. Niamh told me:

I don't blame anyone. There was too much pressure on them. They weren't even able to handle the amount of people at 6 a.m. I’m lucky I went in early in the morning, if I had gone later, I don’t know if I’d still be here.

The chaos Niamh experienced in UHG is not unique. In the past three years, the overcrowding alert was activated more times there than in any other hospital. The hospital was clearly understaffed and the workers were run off their feet. There clearly were not enough beds. Stories like Niamh's are why the Government's recruitment embargo is so dangerous. It should lift the embargo, fund the 1,500 beds our hospitals need, deliver an elective centre in the west and invest in our local health services. This is the only way to tackle overcrowding. I could ask the Tánaiste plenty of questions about the health service but I will leave that to Niamh, who wanted me to ask him a question:

People are dying needlessly in our emergency departments. I could have been one of them. We need change. What’s it going to take?

What is it going take for change to happen?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I dtús báire, déanaim comhbhrón le Niamh. Is olc an scéal atá luaite agus soiléirithe ag an Teachta inniu. Níl a fhios agam féin faoi chás pearsanta Niamh ach níl aon amhras ach gur scéal uafásach ar fad atá ann. The Deputy's description and presentation of Niamh's horrific and traumatic journey through the emergency department in Galway is shocking. I do not have details of the individual case but, clearly, Niamh went through an extraordinarily traumatic and horrific journey from arrival at the emergency department through subsequent developments and treatment.

On emergency departments more generally, I am not going to go through all of the statistics, although I have plenty of them. I will make two points. The organisation of trauma and emergency departments is fundamental to this issue. All-of-hospital buy-in with a multidisciplinary presence in emergency departments is key, as is the proper rostering of emergency departments to ensure consultant presence in our emergency departments over extended times. The public-only consultant contract we have supported and financed is making a difference in that respect.

People talk about the embargo. I have to say to the HSE and everybody else that I am mystified by the embargo because 28,000 extra people have been recruited into our health service since 2020. There comes a time when you have to look at other factors. What is happening on the ground? What is happening in the organisation of the hospital? Parallel to that is the need to enhance community-based interventions and care, which is happening. The enhanced community care programme has been expanded quite dramatically. It is quite significant. It is the same with the primary care sector. What I am saying is the emergency department issue is about more than just recruitment. A multifactorial approach has to be taken to dealing with the issues in emergency departments. The numbers of consultant and nursing and midwifery appointments and the numbers more generally in emergency departments have increased. The Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, is also involved because the quality of treatment is a key component of this as well.

I accept the story the Deputy has told in respect of Niamh but it raises more issues than just resources and the embargo because the numbers recruited have increased substantially. That is a fact. No one can dispute the fact that, in every individual hospital in this country, numbers have increased. There is no embargo on recruiting consultants and, within that employment control procedure, there is room for the recruitment of nurses and other clinicians. Of the 28,000 staff I mentioned, 9,614 are nurses and midwives, 4,240 are health and care professionals and 3,000 are doctors and dentists. These are all additional to what we had in 2020. It is about reducing the numbers on trolleys and the pressure on emergency departments and hospitals but it also has to be about reform of how we manage patients from the beginning of primary care, through to the community and the acute hospital setting.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Ní hé comhbhrón atá ag teastáil ó Niamh. Tá athruithe ag teastáil uaithi. Tá sé sin soiléir ón méid atá ráite aici liomsa. Is féidir leis an Tánaiste labhairt faoi athruithe atá déanta cheana ach teastaíonn athruithe láithreach. The hospital was clearly understaffed. Clinical professionals have been forced to take to the media to speak out against the embargo. The Tánaiste can say the reasons are multifactorial but the main factor is lack of staff. This happened to Niamh only a month ago. She was told by numerous medical staff that she was very lucky but she has been very clear that she should not had to have been lucky. Nobody should have to be lucky. Luck should not come into it. She has said that she is not asking for tea and sympathy; she is asking for change. She is saying very clearly that she does not want this to happen to anybody else. That is why she has come forward. The Government needs to lift the recruitment embargo, to invest in the 1,500 beds and to deliver the elective hospital in Galway.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I dtús báire, tá athrú ag tarlú.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Níl.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Tá bunathrú ag tarlú sna hionaid éigeandála.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Níl.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Tá níos mó daoine ag obair sna hionaid éigeandála anois ná mar a bhí bliain ó shin nó sa bhliain roimhe sin.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Níl sé ag oibriú.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is é sin fírinne an scéil.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Níl sé ag oibriú.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is é sin fírinne an scéil. Safe staffing in emergency departments has happened.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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It has not.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Penpushers.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy knows that. It has been rolled out in every emergency department. There is also an obligation on everybody in this House. I have watched health budgets increase exponentially.

In the past three to four years, the health budget has increased dramatically. I think it is up to €8 billion additional or whatever. That is no comfort to Niamh or to other patients but it places an obligation on everybody focused on health policy in terms of the allocation and reforms. Are we really getting outcomes and productivity from that investment?

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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No.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That means in terms of hospital organisation-----

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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Mismanagement.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----in terms of primary care, community care and acute setting, it needs a more rigorous analysis than simply saying more numbers will change things and resolve the issue; not necessarily is the point I am making.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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We do not want this to happen again and it will happen again.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Absolutely I do not.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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It will happen again-----

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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The Residential Tenancies Board, RTB, rent index makes grim reading for renters and is yet another confirmation of what we already know: rents are out of control and there are no upper limits. Someone looking to rent will have to pay €369 per month more than when the Government took office. Last year, rents in existing tenancies rose by 4.5% in Dublin city, 5% in Cork city, 5.4% in Waterford city, 5.5% in Limerick city and 6.1% in Galway city. These increases are taking place in rent pressure zones, RPZs. In rent pressure zones, rents on existing tenancies are not allowed by law to go up by more than 2% per year. Despite this, there is no evidence the Government is doing anything to enforce the laws that are supposed to protect renters. Rents are at their highest ever level and have almost doubled in the past decade. There are record numbers of people homeless, record house prices and record numbers of adults living in their childhood bedrooms, yet I know the Tánaiste will stand up in a few minutes and tell me the Government's housing plan is working. He will tell us commencements are up and will not mention house completions - the figure that really matters - are down 12% in the first quarter of this year.

The spin is not working. Actually, it is just antagonising people and making them angry because they are the ones paying the price for the Government's failure. Renters are paying extortionate sums to landlords. People on average incomes are finding it extremely difficult to get by. Once rent, bills and food are paid for, there is almost nothing left. It is impossible to save for a deposit or to see a way out of an endless cycle of rent increases and housing insecurity. Every part of the country is in the grip of a rental crisis. We have hard data that clearly shows the Government's rent regulation measures are not working. They are not being enforced; they are being flouted blatantly. There is nowhere in the country where the 2% rent cap is being adhered to. Given this clear and persistent breach of rent regulation law, what exactly is the Government doing to ensure it is enforced? Why is there impunity for landlords breaking this law?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I do not doubt the Deputy's commitment to the housing issue, but he presented a narrative that is almost wholly negative, as if nothing was happening in housing or house building. He omitted to say that in quarter 4 last year, rents had not just stabilised but very modestly came down. He is looking at the annualised figures, which may indicate the increased supply of last year and the year before is beginning to have an impact. The answer is supply.

I have watched the Deputy's policies for quite a while and there is no doubt his policies for the rental sector would depress supply, reduce the number of houses available for rent and continue the worrying exodus from the market by landlords, particularly those with one house in addition to their own home, using it for a potential pension in the future or whatever. The vast majority of landlords are small and many are getting out of the rental market. The uncertainty, the general commentary around it and specific policy proposals, they argue, have led to a decline in the number of rental properties available. We have to do everything we can to ensure more supply comes into the rental market and, in addition, to build more houses.

It is not spin but factual to say that since the Government came into office 110,000 houses have been built. That is a fact, notwithstanding the two lockdowns for the construction sector as a result of Covid. We had 33,000 new house completions in 2023, the highest in 15 years, and exceeded our target by 13%. Some 33,000 homes were commenced in 2023, with 4,900 housing starts in March 2024, an increase of 51% on March of last year, which the Deputy did not refer to. That is the highest number of homes commenced in any March since records began. Meanwhile, planning permission was granted for over 41,000 new homes in 2023, an increase of 21%. The volume of purchases by all households increased to 50,000 in the year to February 2024 with more than one third of those first-time buyers. Nearly 38,000-----

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Is the Tánaiste going to answer the question?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----social homes were added to the social housing stock in quarter 4 2023. Last year also saw the highest level of new-build social homes since 1975: 8,100 homes, or 12,000 social homes delivered in total if leasing and acquisition and so forth are taken into account. There is a strong pipeline of 22,500 social homes. That is the way to deal with the rental issue. We simply have to increase supply and build more homes - social homes, affordable homes, cost-rental homes and so forth. There is significant regulation of the rental market. The Deputy knows that. Some 77% of the country is covered by rent pressure zones as we speak.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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I asked the Tánaiste two simple questions about the rent regulation law being broken and he did not reply. I ask him to reply to those. The countries in Europe with the largest rental sectors also have strict rent regulation that is enforced and very good security of tenure for renters. In contrast, Ireland has some of the highest rents in Europe, very poor security of tenure for renters and the rent regulation law, limited as it is, is being flouted and not enforced. Will the Tánaiste answer the question on that? Given there is hard data and clear evidence of the law being breached, what exactly is the Government doing to ensure it is enforced? Is it doing anything at all? Is that why the Tánaiste is not answering the question? Is the Government not doing anything about it? What will it do about it? Why is there impunity for landlords on this? Why is the law not being applied effectively on this and enforced?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is no impunity. That is a wrong assertion.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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The figures show it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The law is being applied and we have legislated for tenancies of unlimited duration, restricted the level of upfront payments required of tenants and legislated to increase the notice-to-quit period for tenancies of three years' duration or less. The minimum notice a landlord must give a tenant of less than three years' duration has been increased from 28 days to three months. Changes to the housing assistance payment will secure and expand tenancies.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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What about the rent regulation law being flouted?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In terms of non-compliance, the RTB has enhanced powers of investigation and sanctioning, and additional resources to ensure-----

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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It is clearly not using them

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----that the full protection against unlawful rents in RPZs can be enforced. As a result of investigations conducted by the RTB, 180 sanctions have been imposed on landlords for improper conduct and they have been published on the board's website, which the Deputy did not reference.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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A total of 180 when the entire country is being breached.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As I said, 77% of published sanctions for improper conduct are for breaches of rent pressure zones. There can be breaches on all sides, which the Deputy never articulates.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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Renters are not breaking rent regulation law.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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As to one of the factors in people exiting, the Deputy should perhaps inquire into that also.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Tenants are putting up their own rent, Cian.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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In terms of the proposals the Deputy has put forward, I do not see any outcome from them other than further depression of supply in the rental market.

Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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The Government keeps voting down our proposals.

Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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We know the result of the Government's proposals.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is an issue Deputy O'Callaghan needs to address because if we depress supply we will increase prices even more.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Gabh mo leithscéal, tá tinneas sa scornach agam agus tá mo ghuth lag. I will read from Fianna Fáil's manifesto in 2020 to the electorate in order to sit where they are sitting now.

All of its members signed up to this. Ireland will, "Fully maintain neutrality and the Triple Lock ... Fianna Fáil reaffirms its commitment to the retention of the triple lock of UN mandate or authorisation, Government and Dáil approval, prior to committing Defence Forces personnel on overseas service". It concludes: "We will fully maintain neutrality and the triple lock mechanism." Within the programme for Government that was then entered into, I assume with the insistence of Fianna Fáil and the Green Party, states with regard to overseas operations and international co-operation the Government will "ensure that all overseas operations will be conducted in line with our position of military neutrality and will be subject to a triple lock of UN, Government and Dáil Éireann approval". Now the Government wants to change that.

The Tánaiste should talk to us a bit about the Bill the Government will bring before the House soon but he also needs to explain to people what exactly it is the Government wants to do that it cannot already do with our Defence Forces inside the triple lock. Does the Government want to operate outside the UN Charter? It would appear this is exactly what the Government wants to do when the Tánaiste talks about needing to free our foreign policy from a commitment that insists the UN must pass a motion to allow us do that. The Tánaiste has said in the House previously and he will say the same thing again that Ireland will not be hamstrung by Russia, China or the UK, or for that matter the USA. However, we need to know if this is the case, where does he want to send Irish troops that he cannot send them under the direction of the UN Charter? Where does the Tánaiste actually want to send them?

Is it the case that the Government is falling in line with others across Europe who are giving us worrying signs that the war clouds are gathering? The Polish Prime Minister, Mr. Donald Tusk, has claimed that we are in a pre-war era. Admiral Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO's military committee, said: "We are preparing for war with Russia." The President of France, Mr. Emmanuel Macron believes that NATO should be sending troops into Ukraine. Will the Tánaiste please clarify for the public if he wants the sons and daughters of Irish - mostly working-class - people to be sent out to fight wars on behalf of the new colonial powers that are dominating the world now? For what exactly does the Government need to lift the triple lock? The Tánaiste should not tell me it is to pick up people who are stranded in Kabul or Somalia and cannot get out. That is not the case. When has the UN ever stopped Ireland being able to rescue its own citizens?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I was 12 years of age when the referendum to join the European Union was passed overwhelmingly by the Irish people. What was interesting about that debate and every other debate about the European Union since then and every other referendum is that people from the Deputy's side of the House predicted conscription-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We did not predict conscription.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----membership of NATO, NATO tanks on O'Connell Street-----

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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We fought it.

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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We did not.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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No. We fought it.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That has been a consistent line adopted and I have heard it-----

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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No.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That is not true.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not interrupt the Deputies-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That is not true. You are telling lies.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No, I am not.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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Yes, you are-----

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputies-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We did not predict troops on O'Connell Street.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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No interruptions please or the Deputy will be out of order.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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We did not predict conscription. That is a lie.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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Deputy Murphy will be out of order. Let the Tánaiste respond.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The old trope of conscription-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That is your trope.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and of joining a European army has been in every referendum.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I did not mention "conscription"-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy just asked if I was going to send Irish troops out to fight in colonial wars-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I asked where the Tánaiste would want to send them. Where does the Government want to send them after they lift the triple lock?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I did not interrupt. I am entitled, through the Chair, to argue and make points to the House and to answer the questions the Deputy has raised. My point is a valid point and I will not be browbeaten by the Deputy just as she tried to browbeat me last year when I had a consultative forum, which is a basic act of participative democracy. She tried everything to denigrate the chair and tried everything to stop debate because she do not even think we have the right to discuss these issues-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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The Tánaiste cancelled the citizen's assembly.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----and we can only discuss them on her terms. That is the only basis on which she thinks we can discuss issues of neutrality and the triple lock. I believe in military neutrality and we are militarily neutral. The triple lock has nothing to do with military neutrality-----

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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That is not true.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----but it has everything to do with the incapacity and the paralysis on the Security Council around peacekeeping missions. We have a proud peacekeeping record in this country. We are in UNIFIL in Lebanon. There are examples where we were not in a position to help. In 1999, a permanent member of UN Security Council vetoed the renewal of the United Nations preventive deployment force and as the subsequent EU peace operation in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia did not have a Security Council mandate, Ireland was also unable to participate in that mission.

More recently in 2015, the EU established a security mission in the Mediterranean Sea known as Operation Sophia. This mission did not have a UN mandate until 2016 and Ireland could not consider contributing to this mission until after the mandate was in place. In 2017, the Maritime Analysis and Operations Centre (Narcotics), which is an international maritime intelligence centre supported by the European Union, requested a Naval Service ship to assist with maritime drug interdiction operations. Although Ireland is a strong supporter of the centre and was in fact one of the founding members, a ship could not be sent given that there would be no UN mandate for such an operation. So there are examples. There has not been a UN peacekeeping mission mandated by the Security Council since 2014. Despite the misleading assertions by Deputy Smith, we are basically proposing the removal of the UN Security Council sanction but we have made it crystal clear that anything we do will be within the UN Charter.

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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It does not make sense.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Deputy Smith knows that I said that time and again yet it is disappointing that she deliberately distorts the truth with her assertions. Anything we do, including the legislative proposals we will bring forward, will be absolutely within the framework of the UN Charter. That has always been our esprit de corps as a country.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Deputy Murphy is correct. It does not make any sense. It is totally illogical to say that we will operate within the UN Charter and, at the same time, we want to break free of the UN Security Council. They are part and parcel of the same package.

The Tánaiste has gone back to when he was aged 12 and how he remembers the campaign and how we threatened that there was going to be troops on the street and conscription. I am probably a bit older than the Tánaiste but I certainly would not have been talking about conscription. The Tánaiste has a great memory. In 2013 - when he was not 12 - he was on the opposition benches and he said the triple lock was at "the core of our neutrality" and he explicitly rejected the argument that it gives the veto to Russia or China over our peacekeeping activities. Now the Tánaiste is saying the opposite and what he really means is that everything changed with the brutal invasion of Ukraine by Putin, we are now facing a new, splintered new-style colonial world where wars are on the brink, we want to be able to engage with other countries and possibly with NATO eventually, but definitely with the European Union which has the Government's ear all the time, and we want to engage in military activity with them. I want the Tánaiste to tell us where he wants to send troops. Will it be the sons and daughters of Irish working-class people who will be sent abroad to lose their lives? I do not believe it will be the sons and daughters of the people on the benches opposite me. The Tánaiste needs to tell the people that. He could make this a general election issue. If the Government does not want to have a referendum on neutrality, it should at least wait until the general election and change the Fianna Fáil manifesto from what it gave to people in 2020 to one that says, "I want to get rid of the triple lock and I do not believe in our neutrality."

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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That is a monstrous lie and assertion to suggest that removing the triple lock will facilitate, will be a factor in, or result in young Irish people fighting in wars. The European Union is not a colonial power. This exactly proves my point. The Deputy is denying past campaigns and she has just reiterated the entire campaign-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I would describe it as a colonial power.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is not a colonial power. It has no colonies. It is not Russia. The real imperialism of today is Russia.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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It has a colony called "Israel".

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy just does pro forma. She will articulate a formulation in this Chamber.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Tánaiste does not answer the questions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I have never seen the Deputy march on behalf of the people of Ukraine and she never will----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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The Tánaiste is wrong about that. He doesn't answer the questions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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-----because she has presented the Ukraine war and Russia's invasion as somehow a western European neocolonial project.

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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No, we did not. The Tánaiste has not answered the question-----

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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She has always attempted to do that

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Where does the Tánaiste want to send troops?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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It is a false dichotomy between the colonialism of the past and the sovereignty we have achieved as members of the Europe Union, which has always respected-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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I have caught the Tánaiste contradicting himself so many times. He will not answer the questions.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I will answer the question. As I have said, it will be completely within the UN Charter. We only want to be involved in peacekeeping missions. We will have to be involved in evacuating Irish citizens and we need to change the frame-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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Do not give me that.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Do not give the Deputy that. Do not give the Deputy that about Afghanistan. What about the people in Afghanistan who were rescued when the Army rangers were participants? What about Sudan?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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And we did it. Did we not do that?

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputies are so dismissive of the reality of what is happening in many parts of this world.

We had to get Irish citizens out of Sudan and Afghanistan and that is going to increase. Unfortunately, there will be more war situations so we will have evacuation-----

Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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So the Tánaiste acknowledges that there are going to be more war situations but he wants to be free to send troops to those wars.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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No - to evacuate Irish citizens safely.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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The time is up. Can I ask that the questions and responses be directed through the Chair? This across-the-Chamber argy-bargy is doing nothing for anything.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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In the past week, the perception of the EU just transition fund and its capacity to act as a catalyst for economic revival in County Offaly suffered a fatal blow. Of the €18 million available in the latest round, Offaly, the county that without doubt has been hit the hardest and which has borne the brunt of job losses, at 53% of the job losses, got the paltry sum of €500,000 under just transition. As one can imagine, this has been greeted with great disappointment, frustration and anger. Only yesterday, Offaly County Council arranged a special meeting with all county councillors and Oireachtas Members. I attended the meeting via Zoom. I concur with what every councillor from all parties and none said, which is that County Offaly is not being treated fairly regarding what I call an unjust transition. I have always found it very difficult to buy into the concept of a just transition because I saw the damage that would happen when the Bord na Móna jobs went with no alternatives in place and a process that was flawed from the beginning because it was accelerated with no forward vision and no plan for the county. We now find ourselves in a situation where many viable projects were deemed to be unsuccessful . The applications were worked on by Offaly County Council chief executive Anna Marie Delaney and her staff. We spoke about this yesterday. It is not good enough that €500,000 has been offered to the county considering the damage that has been done to its economy. We need intervention, which is why I am raising the issue here. I am also bringing the views of the many county councillors from the Tánaiste's party, all parties and none who were present at the meeting. I am calling for the Government to intervene.

From the beginning, I have highlighted that I was very concerned about the just transition and I called for special recognition to be given to Offaly given that we were expected to carry the burden of 53% of job losses, which is massive. I have repeatedly argued that there is a clear and unanswerable case for County Offaly to receive the highest proportion of the funding from the just transition fund. Unfortunately, perhaps we should have seen the €500,000 allocation coming because in 2022, a spokesperson for the Minister of State, Senator Hackett, who represents the constituency, confirmed that Offaly had not been designated by the Government as the county most disadvantaged by the decarbonisation process. The Tánaiste only needs to speak to his county councillors and Bord na Móna workers to confirm that, unfortunately, Offaly is the most affected county and needs urgent intervention. I call on him to make a commitment that he will intervene in this matter because it is of the utmost concern and urgency.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I am not quite clear as to the Deputy's doubts about the just transition programme but it is an important programme. It is an essential programme to deal with what has been a decarbonisation agenda across the country but obviously with a particular focus on the midlands and Offaly, which have been at the frontier of transformation in terms of energy generation and the transformation of Bord na Móna, which has been very significant and will benefit Offaly in terms of the investment in Bord na Móna, which is quite substantial.

I think the Deputy mentioned the EU allocation. As she is aware, there has been far wider investment. I do not have a breakdown of the totality of investments around the area of decarbonisation in terms of investment in the community more generally in Offaly. There has been quite a significant degree of investment in Offaly and across the midlands under a range of Government investment programmes. Up to €22 million was available under the national fund by the end of 2024 while the EU fund will provide up to €169 million until 2027, so that is a longer-term transition for the region. That arises from the end of commercial peat extraction and peat-fired power generation.

I will certainly examine and reflect on what the Deputy has said. Just transition has to become just transformation because it is not just about the ending of certain types of economic activity. It has to be the creation of new very powerful alternative industries that can create alternative employment. I attended the offshore wind energy conference this morning. This country's performance when it comes to onshore wind energy - notwithstanding all of the objections - has resulted in thousands of jobs but also, critically, has resulted in Ireland being one of the most effective renewable countries with up to 35% of electricity at any one time being provided by renewables and so forth, so there is an economic agenda. I accept the Deputy's point that there is an economic need and those areas that are affected the most need the greatest levels of support and intervention. I agree with that and that has to be through a combination of national and EU funds. I do not have to hand the specifics of the applications made by Offaly County Council. I know Deputy Cowen has been a long-standing and very committed activist in respect of Offaly and the midlands more generally regarding this agenda. I will engage with the Deputies and the councillors from the area to examine this situation further.

Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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I reiterate that there has been no proper sustainable job creation as a result of what happened. This process will not be seen as just by me and many others in the county until we can actually see jobs being created. Job creation will be highly dependent on the investment that comes in and the fact that we have only received €500,000 out of an €18 million pot is scandalous. It is a national scandal and it has to be looked at. We need this type of money to be able to create jobs. The applications that went in from Offaly County Council related to towns like Tullamore and areas like Shannonbridge and Rhode in north Offaly where there were projects that would create jobs. We are trying to work our way out of this mess while trying to move forward and create the jobs we so badly need in Offaly but if we are only given 3% of a funding pot, it is not acceptable. We need urgent intervention. I accept the Tánaiste's constructive response and thank him for agreeing to look into the matter but we need some urgency as well.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There is a national fund. I do not have the breakdown of the national fund in terms of its allocation to Offaly and other counties. I think Deputy Nolan is talking specifically about the €18 million that was available from the EU. There are obviously further allocations to be made from the EU fund because that fund will provide up to €169 million. The Deputy said €18 million has been allocated to date but there is €169 million, apparently, until 2027. Maybe some of the projects may not be ready for this particular allocation and may be funded through further allocations. I will examine the situation and revert to the Deputies from the region. I will talk to fellow Ministers about the issue because we want just transition to be effective and successful. We need to transform the counties that were affected the most by the removal of peat-fired power stations and so on. Most people in the region agree that they were never going to be the future but the area does require and deserve replacement investment and industries.