I have a specific question on the external review into spinal care in Temple Street hospital which began in September 2023, nearly two years. I understand it is still at phase 1. That report was on top of all the reports we know about, such as the Boston review on spinal surgery for patients with spina bifida; the HIQA review on the use of surgical implants in September 2023; and the Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip published in 2025. This is the fourth report, not to mention all the internal reports. Where is th…

That is the one I am interested in.

Is it part of the report already?

Go raibh míle maith agat.

Over seven years ago, the Government made a very good decision to bring in a policy for sustainable fishing in the 6-mile nautical zone. The policy was to prohibit big boats, over 18 m, from fishing in that zone. Unfortunately, that decision was held invalid by the Court of Appeal on a very narrow ground. The Government went back to basics and had a consultation process to bring in another policy. It was announced in July that the Government intended to implement the new policy from 1 October. I cannot see where th…

It was to be eased in, but it is not-----

I welcome any strategy that has human rights in it. I, therefore, welcome the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People. However, if I go to the back of it, I see that there is a fundamental misunderstanding. On the last page, it states that their message is clear: people with disabilities want to be treated the same as everyone else. That is not accurate. They do not want to be treated the same as everyone else because that would not be treating them as people with a disability who need carefully planned …

I am conscious this is the last day of term. The revised national development plan is going to be published within two weeks. On many occasions, I have drawn the Tánaiste's attention to the lack of infrastructure in Galway and I do so again. This is a major obstacle to development. Galway is one of the cities to be developed in a sustainable way. On the east side of the city, there is no wastewater treatment plant and there are serious problems with the network and infrastructure. For about the tenth time, I mentio…

Go raibh maith agat.

In Senator Frances Black's occupied territories Bill in 2018, she set out four categories of trade: the import of goods; the import of services; the export of goods; and the export of services. Inexplicably, the Government's Bill has left out three of those categories. This is despite the unequivocal advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that Israel's continued occupation of the occupied territories is unlawful and must be ended as soon as possible. The violation of international law places an obli…

Fórsa, on behalf of caretakers and secretaries in schools, has served formal notice on 2,000 schools of indefinite strike action at the end of August. They have been forced into this position due to the lack of action from the Government in relation to parity and equality for caretakers and secretaries, as are given to SNAs, teachers and principals. It has long been recognised that schools cannot function without secretaries or caretakers. They are top of the list in terms of keeping schools going. The then Tánaist…

In my four minutes, I will make some general comments rather than going into the terms of reference, although I share the difficulties. I would have preferred if the terms had come before the Dáil so we could have looked at them and discussed them. We should have learned from previous debacles, but that has not happened. I welcome the Minister’s work but we are now left with a fait accompli in relation to the terms of reference. We are looking at the period from 1927 to 2013. Incidentally, 2013 was the year the Mag…

I am following up on an issue I have raised more than once in respect of the State investment through ISIF in Israel war bonds. I ask the Minister to be very specific. I got the figure for 2023 in a written reply. We had to wait for the 2024 figure. What was that figure? What is the figure for 2025? Will the Minister explain why we are investing in war bonds when genocide is taking place?

I am glad ISIF has divested of its investment. I received a written reply to a query, which stated that in 2023, the investment was worth €2.62 million. That was the year Hamas crossed the border and Israel started on this genocide. In 2024, as the genocide continued and worsened, this State invested more money in the bonds. It was not an awful lot more, but there was an increase to €3.62 million. The Minister seemed to be unaware of that when a Sinn Féin motion was debated in the House on how the prospectus works.…

I will use the time the Minister has not used. I accept he has nothing to do with those decisions and that ISIF is an independent body. However, he has an opinion and is a part of a Government that says genocide is taking place. He stood over a situation whereby through either a lack of knowledge or otherwise, he could not tell me how much money was being invested. Suddenly we have the information. When I received the written reply, I was not told the relevant figure for 2024. I am now being told, and welcome the f…

The Secretary General of the UN has told us: What we are witnessing in Gaza is a level of death and destruction that has no parallel in recent times. And it is something that undermines, I would say, undermines the most basic conditions of human dignity for the population of Gaza, independently of the enormous suffering that they are having. We are investing in that genocide.

The Minister's Government plays a role in doublespeak.

I raise the Health Service Executive report from yesterday on the care of some women in Portiuncula hospital. The results are shocking enough that this could be replicated in other hospitals. Equally shocking and perhaps more is that we utterly failed to learn from the Walker report in 2018 and the same mistakes have been repeated. I am particularly aware of the national maternity strategy. We clearly need a debate on the topic. For today, my question relates to the decision to move high-risk pregnancies to Galway …

I thank the Minister for his detailed speech. Let me recognise the progress made in terms of legislation. We are on our third national strategy. We have an action plan. The Minister is promising three pieces of very important legislation in regard to the removal of guardianship rights for a person who has been convicted of killing, the issue of counselling records which has already been referred to and needs more detail and teasing out, and Jennie's law. I welcome all of that. I welcome the extra money for Cuan and…

I am glad in a sense that the Minister of State is responding to this because he took a hands-on approach to another matter and he might have some influence here. I am standing here seven years after the Government introduced a wonderful policy. None of us had a problem with it. It was a policy to ensure the sustainability of fishing within the six-nautical-mile zone by banning trawlers measuring more than 18 m. None of us had a problem with that. It was to be rolled out with a transition phase, which was practical…