Yesterday, we read in the Irish Examiner that defence spending is still at 0.2% of our GDP, the lowest in the entire European Union. The tiny island of Malta spends 3% on defence. We also note that the Garda has been awarded an additional €165 million for the Presidency of the EU. There is no word whatsoever as to what will be provided to the Defence Forces for the Presidency of the EU. In light of the constituency she lives in, the Deputy Leader will have some understanding of where I am coming from. She is probably one of the few in the Oireachtas who fully understands what goes on within defence. Given that the current central focus of the EU is defence and security, how can we take on the Presidency when we are spending 0.2% of GDP or 0.3% of GNP, which is more or less the same as GNI? How can we credibly take on the European Presidency and guarantee the safety of the senior government leaders who will be coming to this country?

I ask the Deputy Leader to use her own influence to have the Minister for Defence come in here to discuss the security of the State over the period of the EU Presidency. The public has the right to know how we will behave as a sovereign nation to defend not just ourselves, but our colleagues and friends from Europe who will come to this country. At this point in time, I see nothing to reassure me. It is almost certain that we will suffer massive cyberattacks and that we will have other issues to contend with. Sadly, as a result of the Zelenskyy visit, we cannot run around the place clapping ourselves on the back and saying how prepared we are. We are ill prepared. I ask the Deputy Leader not just to use her offices here today to call for a debate, but to use her influence within her own parliamentary party to raise the matter and put more focus on it.