Results 81-100 of 6,465 for speaker:Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Why does Mr. Andrews not believe it will?
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (3 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will not be around for the second round.
- Middle East: Statements (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Like most political representatives, one of the first things I do when I get up in the morning is to check the news headlines. It is a grim reality that on any given day for the past year and a half it is almost a certainty that we will wake up to fresh horrors from Gaza and Palestine. One could nearly set one's watch by it, it is that deplorably consistent in terms of the horrors we are...
- All-Island Strategic Rail Review: Statements (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I support my colleague. I well understand why Waterford people might want to come to Cork. I do not think we should deprive them of that opportunity at all. Any time there is a debate on rail infrastructure, there is a fair bit of interest right across the country. That reflects a significant shift in people's mentality in the last 20 or 30 years. If we go back 50 or 60 years or even...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the witnesses for being here and I thank them very much for their work on this over many years. We are all very keen to work through the detail of this. The purpose of these committee meetings is to try to flesh out that debate on goods and services. It might be no harm to maybe draw back for a second. Why does Senator Black believe the occupied territories Bill is important? Why...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank the Senator. That is absolutely right. For me it is about Ireland using what levers it has, and this legislation in one. It is also about representing consequences for actions because there is just impunity on a grand scale. I will direct my next question to Mr. O'Neill, but also for any other speaker. In concrete terms at this moment in time what kinds of goods and services...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: For those companies trading currently, or those individuals who are trading, between Ireland and the settlements and vice versa, are there risks already? Do they potentially face criminal sanction from existing legislation? Does the Department of enterprise provide any advice on it?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will pick up on the points Mr. Liston made about the International Criminal Court Act and the Criminal Justice (Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing) Act. Under those Acts, as I understand it, a person or company based in Ireland could currently be prosecuted for trading with the occupied territories. Is that correct?
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: People can take cases in all sorts of ways. Could it be argued that someone who was subject to such a prosecution could seek to take a case of infringement proceedings against EU legislation on that basis? It is a difficult question to phrase. Could someone take a case or infringement proceedings to the European Court of Justice that it is a legitimate or wrongful interference with trade...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is precisely-----
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: That is precisely the point. The Irish Government would presumably adopt the same defence it might to infringement proceedings, if someone were to take a case on the basis of services under this legislation. Would it be fair to say that the defence of the Irish Government would be precisely the same if it were defending this legislation, if it were to include services, that is arguing there...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will be as quick as I can. The infrastructure of the previous legislation in regard to applying to occupied territories generally was preferable. It is not a reason to stand in the way of this legislation, but these are not the only areas that are occupied contrary to international law. It would be right not to permit trade with or to have sanctions against trade from Russian-occupied...
- Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade: General Scheme of Israeli Settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (Prohibition of Importation of Goods) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (2 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Yes, I will follow up on the question I asked Mr. Liston a short time ago before we ran out of time. The application of international law is binding on Ireland as a member state. There was some attempt to confuse the matter by talking about how European countries pool their obligations and so on. The Department also spoke about "empowering legislation", I think that was the phrase used. I...
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Go raibh maith agaibh. First, I thank the witnesses for their service over many years. While I do not agree with everything contained in their statements their contributions were very considerable and quite remarkable. They have clearly led very distinguished careers and the committee is very grateful. There is a bit of a talking point, more generally, about whether the triple lock is...
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am conscious of my time. We are not guaranteed to always have a mature government. I make that point and we have to think of that when we make legislation. Does Mr. Brennan have any reservations, even if he favours the removal of the triple lock? Some people have expressed concerns about the lack of safeguards.
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I will come to Ms O'Brien in a second. I would also say the people who would be the arbiters of that are the self-same people who will be proposing to deploy troops.
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: Yes.
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Ms O'Brien.
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I thank Mr. Doyle. It is great to see our former colleague, Cathal Berry. Does he have anything to add?
- Committee on Defence and National Security: General Scheme of the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2025: Discussion (Resumed) (1 Jul 2025)
Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire: I am not sure what I will do for the 40 seconds. I have a question for Ms O'Brien. Heads 6 and 7 of the Bill are quite different. It is interesting in that head 6 relates to deployment as part of an international force but it is actually head 7 that relates to some of the issues that have caused the most frustration and they are ones that I am very sympathetic to. There is probably...