Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire
Cork South-Central · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“That is important and the Minister and I share that view, much as we disagree on how it is not right to get rid of the triple lock. We have made that very clear and we think there is scope to deploy on peacekeeping missions elsewhere.”
“As I probably will not get more questions and it is my last contribution before the recess, I wish to take the opportunity to thank the staff of this institution and the Ceann Comhairle's office, who serve us so well.”
“We have all probably been guilty of the offence of going over time at different stages, I am sure. Despite our disagreements in relation to the triple lock, I think the Minister and I agree that peacekeeping missions are important.”
“In the context of the previous question, I submitted another question that was ruled out of order, which is fair enough. I probably did not word my question as precisely as Deputy Gibney worded hers. I record my concern about legal representation in that regard. It is important to say that. This question relates to another welfare issue.”
“The Minister said that she is not pushing anybody to the courts. I am not a doctor and cannot make a clinical decision, but if people suffered negative health outcomes that they believe have a connection to their clinical exposure, and they have never taken a case, how precisely is the Government going to help them?”
“The Minister talks about the need to ensure that Defence Forces personnel have the ability to deploy internationally and are not prevented from participating in rescue missions. I have no problem at all with head No. 7. Actually, most of the legislation is fine. It is just head No.”
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“It is a crude analogy but it is like saying that we can act on goods because of a provision in primary legislation but not on services because we would have to rely on the Constitution. That is a crude comparison but it is effectively the same thing. There exists in the basic law the basis for a public policy exemption. In any event, the Spanish have done it. The Minister said that the Spanish legislation related to the advertisement of services. Ultimately, Spain is over the line. Infringement proceedings could be taken against Spain in the same way they could be taken against us were we to move on services. That has not happened. It would be ideal if Spain would go the full hog in terms of services but, having acted on the advertisement of services, it is over the line.”
“Professor Panos Koutrakos told the committee that there is a public policy exemption to be found in Article 62 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, read in conjunction with Article 52. He went on to say: It would be very odd if EU law were interpreted to mean that the powers of member states to restrict trade in services with third countries was significantly more curtailed than the power to restrict trade in goods, capital and in trade in services. In our view such a conclusion would be problematic and it would be justified by neither a systematic nor a purposive interpretation of EU law. The reality is that this is a political decision. The public policy exemption exists, albeit in a different place.”
“It talks about making this an offence under section 14 of the Customs Act 2015. I agree there are circumstances where it will be complex to identify a breach of this provision in respect of services but that does not mean it should not be put on the Statute Book. We cannot capture every instance of assault. It is not possible to convict someone in every instance of assault or theft but that does not mean we do not legislate for it. It does not mean we do not provide for people to be prosecuted where proof exists. There is no reason the same attitude should not be adopted here. The issue of goods and services was discussed at length by the Oireachtas joint committee. It is true that there is a specific clause in the import regulation on goods and services that allows for public policy exemptions.”
“The considerations had suddenly changed and we were told that the Government might do something in relation to goods but it was not so sure about services. I am not sure that even this limited Bill would be anywhere were it not for the scenes we have seen in recent weeks. It is a poor reflection on the governments of Europe that it takes scenes of European citizens being abused for them to act in concert even in the imperfect way they are now talking about. The Government should put out what the Attorney General has said to it because that same Attorney General told it a number of years ago that pursuing Senator Black's Bill would be a political choice rather than a legal choice. As far as I am concerned, the arguments are thin. The Minister and other Ministers have talked before about the effectiveness of the Bill.”
“Her family were waiting for assistance as they were trying to flee Gaza. There were all these warnings to flee. She was fleeing when she was left alone, waiting for assistance that never came, while her family were shot and killed. She was ultimately killed as well. There are many other stories and examples. Some 20,000 children have had their whole families wiped out. Whole generations have been wiped out and whole communities erased. The Bill therefore took on all the more urgency and, belatedly, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael went to the Irish people during the last general election campaign saying that they would pass an occupied territories Bill. The votes were counted, a government was formed and we were no longer looking at an occupied territories Bill.”
“That is why people who want to show solidarity with Palestine have taken this Bill to their hearts and believe it is a vitally important statement. At one stage, Fine Gael quite trenchantly opposed the Bill but it took on all the more urgency and ultimately the presence of a genocide, the greatest crime of all, involving some of the most appalling scenes and crimes we have seen in this century, dragged the Government parties to it in advance of the last general election. None of this can be understated. At least 70,000 people have been killed and millions have been displaced. It has been said many times but it needs to be said again that behind each of those numbers is a person and a story. I think of the story of Hind Rajab, a five-year-old girl, just one year older than my own daughter. That story has resonated with people.”
“Since that Bill was published, it has become a clarion call for all who are sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and who want to see justice, respect, human rights and self-determination for the Palestinian people. That is not because they suffer from a delusion that it would transform the situation, although it would have an impact in encouraging other states, but because of the statement that it makes, which is that the law has to apply. The law has to apply to Israel and in the occupied territories just as it should apply everywhere else. The experience we have had time and time again as regards Israel's actions against the Palestinian people, in Lebanon and against European and Irish nationals who were kidnapped on the high seas, is that Israel pays no attention to international law.”
“Tá an Bille seo lag. Is cinnte go bhfuil na fiacla bainte de. Níl sé maith go leor ar chor ar bith. Cuirfimid an Rialtas faoi an-bhrú chun é a fheabhsú mar níl sé maith go leor faoi mar atá. It has been eight years, four months and 12 days since Senator Frances Black and others initiated the occupied territories Bill. What is in this Bill and more should have been on the Statute Book two general elections ago. This should already be Irish law. The Minister talked about showing leadership. My experience and interpretation of the last number of years is that this Government has been dragged kicking and screaming every bit of the way. The initial response to the original occupied territories Bill, the one with substance rather than this watered down toothless affair, was to say that it was impossible and could not be done.”
“We will see that later on tonight with the occupied territories Bill. Two thirds of trade with those occupied territories is the kind of trade the Department of foreign affairs and the Department of enterprise say themselves should not happen and there should be no trade with the occupied territories. Effectively, it will make an exception and permit trade in services with the occupied territories. It effectively legitimises it. In this area, the Government is pulling its punches and in that area, the Government is pulling its punches. The context here is that the Israelis are trying to narrow the ground and effectively destroy the potential for self determination for the Palestinian people to have their own state. It is not that we have to do just one thing. We should take every action possible. The game must not go ahead.”
“The Government has chosen to ignore it but the fact is that previous Irish governments made it clear that they believed the then apartheid South African Government, the Yugoslavian Government and the Russian Government should not have their actions legitimised by allowing their sporting organisations to participate in sporting competitions as if they were a fully respected and accepted member of the international community. That was the position then and it was the right position. Why is that not the position now? I do not think that is simply a matter of sports administration. I believe that is a matter of politics. There are worse governments than the Irish Government in Europe, yes, but when you look at the broader international scene, the Irish Government falls considerably short. It is always pulling its punches.”
“On that, I do not even understand why we are discussing this issue of Hungary and other locations where the match might be played. It is an Irish non-solution to a different problem. It is an answer to a question that nobody asked. This is not about how Israel does in competitions or how this fixture might go. It is not even about policing. It is, I am sure, partially about policing. Unfortunately, the track record of Israeli fans at many fixtures is a problem. Fundamentally, the issue here is that predecessor governments have set the precedent for this Government.”
“This is a fixture against a football association which fully endorses that and fully endorses all the crimes that have happened in recent years. There have been 75,000 people killed in the past number of years, 20,000 of whom were children, and some 733 even since this supposed ceasefire. Children have been directly targeted. Hospitals have been directly targeted. Humanitarian refugee camps have been deliberately targeted. Aid has been refused. Medicines and food have been stopped at the border and even now are being delayed. What is getting through is barely a trickle. This is the same football association that is peopled and staffed by people who fully support and endorse this and wherever this fixture will take place, members of the Israeli Government will attend.”
“Similar rules have excluded Russia from other forms of competition. The UN convention against apartheid in sport includes clear statements in relation to human rights treatment and the manner in which sports organisations should organise. Three hundred sports facilities in Gaza and the West Bank have been destroyed in the past number of years. In terms of what people involved in football in the FAI, in Ireland, are saying, 89% of delegates say that they do not want this game to go ahead. That is the democratic body of the FAI. Two thirds of professional footballers are saying they do not want this to go ahead. Let us be frank. This is not simply a question of sports administration. This is a fixture against a state that is guilty of the greatest crimes of this century.”
“I congratulate Deputy Ennis on his maiden speech and on his election. I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. Listening to the Minister of State's speech, with references to governing bodies, UEFA, regulations, rules, etc., you would imagine this is a mere matter of sports administration and competitions. Let us engage with that for just a minute. Even on that front, this is an open and shut case. This is a football association that is acting completely contrary to every rule, statute and convention of FIFA and of world sporting organisations. Article 64.2 of the FIFA statute states that it is completely prohibited for football clubs from one country to organise themselves in the occupied territory of another country. It is the rule under which Russia was suspended from FIFA.”
“Separately, it is now looking like there will be a loss of special needs assistant, SNA, hours. All of these things are compounding this, but the key injustice here is the fact that the goalposts have shifted and schools were not informed of this in advance. From having effectively three EAL positions it now looks as if the school will have one and ten hours. That is a huge loss, when the same number of children who have those needs are involved. Those children will now be in bigger classes, with access to fewer special education hours. That is a huge problem. I want the Minister of State to take that back to the Department. The goalposts shifted and the school is down because of it significantly.”
“According to the table I have here in front of me from last year and previous years before that, for the bracket 31 to 40 hours, that would have been 35 hours alone, even before we get into the 49 category B. This is a school that is supporting a community that has a high degree of linguistic diversity, that includes a lot of children from direct provision from the Kinsale Road centre and is supporting a community which has mixed needs but certainly pockets of disadvantage. The goalposts have shifted here. That is the bit I would like the Minister of State to take back to the Department. Schools were not informed that there would be a different approach to the calculation in terms of EAL. The policy compounds that with the loss of the two permanent general allocation teachers and the loss of the special education teacher.”
“Some of what I said is to give context to the way that this is being compounded. The key part to focus on is the English as an additional language aspect. The school is disappointed to be down by two mainstream teachers. However, they understand there are criteria regarding numbers. The 455 is by way of illustration that they have hit the bar on another date. Had the key date been another date, they might have been successful in keeping another teacher. However, the key part is the English as an additional language. The permanent position is still there, but they are effectively down by two positions in that area alone. This year they submitted 39 category A.”
“That criteria seems not to have been included this year and does not seem to have been disclosed to schools. For this year, the school had 39 category A and 49 category B pupils, which is much the same as last year in terms of the number of children with English as an additional language requirement for support. Due to the fact that the goalposts seem to have shifted, the school will now go from two full-time posts for English as an additional language to ten hours per week. That is a huge blow in and of itself. When a reduction in special education teaching hours and two full-time general allocation teachers being lost are added to that, it is a huge blow and it will be very difficult for the school to adjust to that.”
“The school has had a permanent English as an additional language post since 2013. For the past three years, the school has successfully applied for and received an additional two English as an additional language fixed-term posts due to the large English as an additional language numbers. The application form or process seems to have changed this year without any engagement, discussion or schools being made aware of it. In September 2025, as was the case in previous years, schools were informed of the situation and a table was provided which outlined the number of new entrant pupils and teaching hours per week. For one to four new entrant pupils there were five teaching hours, for nine to 13 there were 15 teaching hours and for 21 to 30 there were 25 teaching hours.”
“It is on the borderline, in that the school might be able to keep one because it has 455 students on the roll - the key date for enrolment was 30 September. That is a significant blow. The school is asking that consideration be given to that. The special education teacher hours were cut from 205 to 230. When school management considers its allocations, it is trying to understand what it has and how it can meet the needs in different ways. The school serves the Turner's Cross area, as well as a wider area. Many children come in from the Kinsale Road accommodation centre, which is the direct provision centre close to the airport. There is a high degree of diversity, including linguistic diversity, in the school. That has to be supported and resources need to be put in place for that.”
“Is mian liom labhairt faoin chruachás ina bhfuil Bunscoil Chríost Rí. De réir cosúlachta, beidh sí síos cúigear múinteoirí don bhliain atá romhainn. Bunscoil Chríost Rí is a primary school in the Turner's Cross area of Cork city. It is a very well-established school with a high reputation which does exceptionally good work. The Minister of State might be familiar with the school. It is probably the primary school the Taoiseach attended. The school currently faces a worrying situation for the 2026-27 school year. It could be down five teachers for the next year. I want to focus on the English as an additional language allocation. I will go through the manner in which the school could be down five teachers. For enrolment reasons, it appears the school will lose two mainstream teachers.”
“I welcome the question from Deputy McCarthy. This is a vitally important area for us as an island nation. When will the counter-drone technology, the CUAS, be operational? The Minister spoke about the Presidency, which starts within a month. Realistically it is not going to be in place at the start of the Presidency. Is that not the case? What will be the first date on which the anti-drone technology will be in place? When will it be operational from the Defence Forces' point of view? It is far too late. This was meant to be delivered in quarter 3 of last year. That is down to the Minister’s predecessor but it is not good enough.”
“This will constrain them considerably in their ability to participate in the tribunal particularly given that the State obviously is well funded with resources for its representation. The Minister might consider that also.”
“I have said before that sometimes I get a bit worried in that while I am not against local bargaining per se , it worries me when the holy world and all is going to be fixed through local bargaining. It comes up time and again that it will fix this, that and the other. Ultimately, it comes down to 1% of the payroll in an individual pay deal. I believe what cadets want to hear is that the Minister is committed to doing this and that she will address this. The Minister has said that she will try to progress it but we need to see a clearer commitment in that regard. In the time I have left I will briefly raise another issue on the welfare of Defence Forces personnel in the context of the tribunal process. The Women of Honour group has raised the issue of the absence of interim funding for representation.”
“If we are putting in the money and putting in the effort in respect of people who are dedicated and committed and who want to serve their country in the Defence Forces, we should be trying to keep them. Particularly with the current cost of living, this pay is nowhere near adequate. It is below the national minimum wage for the hours they work, which are quite considerable.”
“The Minister is committed to trying to increase those numbers but is she committed to addressing this discrepancy? Is the Minister committed? That is what I want to know. Cadet pay is one of the lowest in the Defence Forces at €503 per week compared with €550 for a recruit, which rises to €627 after 12 weeks. In the first year they earn 40.7% less than their enlisted counterparts. I cannot speak for every category of cadet that is coming through but there have been issues in the past where groups have come out of training in the Defence Forces and a large number of them have ended up in the private sector because the terms and conditions are more attractive.”
“I raised this issue with the Minister a little over a month ago but unfortunately we have seen no progress. It is an issue of enormous concern for cadets and their representative organisation, RACO. It potentially creates problems for our ability to recruit and retain people of quality. We need to see this addressed. The Minister promised to address it. She is seven or eight months in her role now but, as yet, we have seen no progress.”
“The Air Corps chemical abuse survivors have counted up to 130 deaths that they consider to be premature. I am not a clinician. I cannot go through each of those cases and identify that. What I am and have been asking for, and what Deputy Micheál Martin asked for when he was in opposition, is an assessment of those people, with patterns identified. We need to make sure they are looked after and that there is an inquiry into it. None of that is prevented by the court cases. Not a bit of it.”
“What I am interpreting from what the Minister is saying - perhaps she can clarify it because she has not said it explicitly - is that she received advice from her officials, engaged with the Attorney General and the State Claims Agency and effectively, on foot of that, there is no policy solution to this. Ultimately, it is all through the courts. Contrary to what the Minister has said, her strategy or proposal is that the court is the only route here. She is not offering any policy solution. Of course, in terms of the substance of the issue, it is very different from any of the examples I just gave. However, in terms of the principle, the Minister does not have to step into the court cases or interfere with them in order to do right by the whole category.”
“That was not true then and it is not true now. In that instance, commissions of inquiry, redress schemes and things like Caranua were set up. None of those were prevented by the court cases. People continued to retain their entitlement to take court cases. That continued and people did take court cases but the Government was able, separate from the court process, to put in place measures for redress. The same thing should be happening here. The Government should be doing a health audit. None of that is prevented by the court cases. The Government should be looking at forms of redress and at health protections. None of that is prevented by court cases.”
“I have never asked the Minister or her predecessor to do that and I would not do so because it would be a waste of time. I would never ask about ongoing court cases because I know it would be completely pointless. I have never asked about that because I know the Minister cannot say that in this place. The equivalent of what the Minister is saying is that when more and more attention started being brought to bear on abuse in industrial schools or the treatment of women in the Magdalen laundries, the Minister for education or for children, or whoever was responsible for the issue at the time, would come forward and say that he or she could not do anything about that because people have a right to take a court case, that there were a number of court cases and the Minister could do nothing about that.”
“Our last exchange on this issue was one of the most frustrating exchanges I have had on this particular topic since I started raising it about a year and a half ago. Every attempt at diversion was sought. I am asking this question very clearly. There are concerns in relation to the State Claims Agency and so on, and perhaps we can get into that some other time. What I asked the Minister for the last time and am asking for again is an update on the approach the Government proposes to take in relation to the whole category of people affected by chemical exposure in the Air Corps in terms of an examination of health outcomes and medical supports.”
“It does not seem as if this Government has been actively seeking out alternative deployments with existing UN peacekeeping missions. I have seen no evidence of that. I have been asking that question and I ask the Minister the question again.”
“This is one of those pieces that come up in this debate. I deeply regret the end of UNIFIL. It is very worrying for the region. However, there is no UN mission afterwards. It is not that we are not participating in a UN mission. UNIFIL will end. It will be gone. There will be no more UNIFIL. That is a shame, but there is no UN mission to which other countries' troops will be deployed but that Ireland will be prevented from taking part in. There is a question I have been asking for a while now. There is a need for the UN to be reformed. We have brought forward propositions in that regard. There are 11 or 12 existing peacekeeping missions outside of UNIFIL. It is true that we need our peacekeepers to go on peacekeeping missions to ensure their experience is developed.”
“The defence Acts exist in Irish legislation and state clearly the circumstances this Legislature has decided is the threshold that should be met if we are to send Irish personnel - men and women - on peacekeeping missions. That is a decision that was made here and nowhere else. We need to be clear and honest about that. There were a number of key points in the pre-legislative scrutiny report, one of which was that it did not recommend the removal of the triple lock neutrality protection. It called for a number of safeguards. There was a considerable amount of discussion. I am surprised that there seemed to be a Whip on members to try to rush it. I am not sure what the need for it was. We could have gotten a bit more time to scrutinise it. I would like to know if the Minister has taken on board any of the points from that report.”
“I understand the Government's proposal to remove the triple lock neutrality protection was discussed at Cabinet today. I believe a Bill was brought forward. Will this Bill be published in the coming days? When will that come to Second Stage? When will it be debated and what are the plans in that regard?”
“How do we support people who decide at 33, 34 or 35 years of age or whatever age or maybe later that they want to become an electrician when there is clearly a need in that discipline. There are blockages in most of the trades, particularly instructors for electricians and electrical instrumentation. There is a particularly slow take-up of wet trades. When you talk to contractors, that is a big concern for them. We need to look at how to bring more people into apprenticeships and into the wet trades, which are badly needed during this housing crisis. That needs particular examination.”
“We are not going to resolve that without ensuring there is adequate throughput of apprentices on the craft apprenticeship side. There are serious backlogs. Like my colleague, Teachta Mairéad Farrell, I have heard of people who have gone through the different stages of the apprenticeship and waiting for the final stage for a year or two years. What is meant to be a four-year qualification takes six years. That is unacceptable. If we are encouraging people to take up apprenticeships, it should not just be school-leavers. It should be people switching careers. Unfortunately, it is not realistic for somebody in their thirties who might have a mortgage or childcare costs and is leaving a different career. They are not able to survive on first-year and second-year apprentice payments. It is just not sustainable. That needs to be looked at.”
“That would be a fine record. On the research side of things, I back the calls by IFUT. We are talking about taking research seriously, and rightly so, but people undertaking PhDs in crucial areas of research in many instances still receive a stipend that is very low. It needs to be acknowledged that this is not some form of payment towards maintenance; it is their full-time job. They are not meant to be doing anything else. They are meant to be full time at the PhD, whatever discipline it is, whether science, health or whatever. It is meant to be a full-time occupation. Ultimately, the PhD stipend is not sustainable in particular in Dublin and Cork and probably in the other cities as well. That needs to be addressed. On the skills side and apprenticeships, I remain concerned. We have a housing crisis and it continues to escalate.”
“I admire the Minister’s suit. I recall it was a tradition for a while that the summer properly started in Leinster House when former Member Bernard Durkan broke out his cream and grey suit. Perhaps the Minister – another Kildare TD - is now taking up that mantle and is the tribune of summer in Leinster House.”
“The Before We Die campaign is highlighting this, that there is no plan for when people are no longer able to care and that is not acceptable.”
“It should not use a stick to deprive people of payments. Let us figure out what are the additional costs people have and how to meet them, because they can vary depending on whether people are living in urban or rural areas, the nature of the disability and so on. I know it is complex, that it is not necessarily simple, but it has to be addressed and it does not seem as if the Department is pursuing it with enough vigour. Other people have made the point that people with disabilities and their families face struggles all their lives. One of the biggest ones being faced at the moment is that there is no plan for children with intellectual disabilities towards the end of their parents' or carers' lives, when they are in their 70s and 80s.”
“Ultimately, people with disabilities were right at the back of the queue, which is completely unacceptable and it needs to be redressed now. That is why we are calling for an emergency budget. It needs to be addressed. I cannot believe the Government moved an amendment to our motion, withdrawing the call for an emergency budget and emergency payment. We have to return to the cost-of-disability payment. Under the last Government, the then Minister, Heather Humphreys, tried to bring in a system that seemed to be trying to coax and force people into work that would not have been suitable for them, almost on pain of losing their payments. It was completely rejected by disabled people's organisations and people with disabilities generally, but that is not a reason not to deal with the issue. The Government should not do it like that.”
“The simple reality, the simple fact we all know, is that people who have a disability are much more likely to be poor, much more likely to be under incredible pressure at the end of the month and much more likely to have to make decisions about whether to pay a bill or do the shopping or whether they can afford a piece of equipment or to pay for insurance. These are the decisions people with disabilities face on a monthly basis and the reality is that situation has got worse. After the last budget, people with disabilities were €1,400 worse off, according to independent analysis. They were worse off at a time the Government produced a budget with the biggest tax giveaway in the history of the State. It did not benefit ordinary workers, but went to developers, funds and so on.”
“The other issue I want to raise is something in respect of which I am sure the Minister of State will agree. The Cork Luas has tremendous potential to be a huge success, but the NTA has to listen to the public and ensure that the right route is chosen. What it is proposing in relation to Bishopstown is a huge mistake. The Bishopstown GAA club is potentially going to lose a playing pitch on account of what is planned, and there are all the safety issues that exist. The Luas should absolutely serve Bishopstown but the NTA should return to the first option it looked at. There is no reason that it should not go on Wilton Road. In lots of ways, it will serve more people if it goes along Wilton Road and down from there as opposed to through Bishopstown GAA club and Highfield RFC. I do not agree with that. The NTA should go back to plan A.”
“That means a Luas system delivered more quickly than is currently planned and that links north to south in order to bring in areas like Carrigaline and Douglas. There must also be a connection to the airport. We need to ensure that BusConnects is a success. For it to be a success, we need the bus gates to work. For them to work, we have to have remote enforcement. It is a huge missed opportunity that we have a piece of transport legislation before us that does not contemplate doing that, given that it is absolutely central to the success of BusConnects. It can be a success ,but it will not work if people feel there is no advantage to getting the bus and that bus gates are being abused. Unfortunately, at times, the ban on buses and cars on Patrick's Street, or "Pana", is not entirely as effective as it could be.”
“The Dublin Transport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2026 is a bit of a misnomer because in lots of ways the legislation is more consequential for Cork and the three regional cities. It extends significant powers of planning. It is important that those powers are used with considerable care and judiciously. It is also important that the powers being given to the NTA, which is a matter that deserves careful consideration, ensures that public consultation is still a strong feature and that points are still taken on board. I will come back to that. An opportunity is being missed. The Minister of State might consider this and communicate it to the Department. We know that Cork cannot continue to grow in the way that it does while reliant only on cars. We need 21th century public transport.”
“It does not necessarily have to be the case that they are only dealing with the counter stuff. If we have an office and the staff are in a position to deal with the counter stuff, that does not mean they could not do some of the back office stuff as well. We talk about the increase in foreign birth registration cases. Perhaps a team in Belfast could take some of that workload. Could some of that work be redistributed to a different office? There are various other aspects of renewing and advancing the service. I ask the Minister to give it further consideration.”
“That gives the logic itself, if the Minister is making the case for having physical offices at all, then the same case could be made in terms of the North whether Belfast or somewhere else. Since the Good Friday Agreement, one of the primary and practical ways in which people who identify as Irish in the North vindicate that right and identity is to apply for an Irish passport. It is the case that increasing numbers of people apply for an Irish passport. It makes sense for people to be able to access this. It is welcome that a huge percentage of applications are online. It is efficient and it is an excellent service. I pay tribute to the staff in the office. We hear excellent reports about people applying and their passport nearly appearing the next day but it would make sense to have an office in the North.”
“It is a busy time of the year for the Passport Office. We had a very good briefing from its officials yesterday. It was very useful. I thank the team for that. They offer an excellent service. There was a lot in the presentation about their ambition for the future with some positive aspects. Given the increased workload they face and the significant percentage of passport applications that come from the Six Counties, it makes sense to have a passport office in Belfast. That is something we have been continually looking for. The logic for it is very clear.”