I thank everybody for their good wishes. It is nice to be back. The surroundings are a lot nicer than I have been used to for the last month or so. On 1 October, Israel kidnapped citizens of 44 nations from international waters. They were on a humanitarian mission, a non-violent peaceful mission. Despite kidnapping 44 citizens from 44 nations, Israel faces no consequences. It is remarkable that it has been allowed to act with impunity in committing countless war crimes, genocide and man-made famine. It has also dis…

The Dublin City Taskforce should really be renamed the "north inner city Dublin task force" because it will not actually impact the south inner city. For instance, Pearse Street and Kevin Street are very important parts of the city and the task force will have no impact there. Dublin City Council has been appointed to head up this new task force and to regenerate the inner city. It is supposed to be doing that anyway. The reason Dublin City Council is not doing it is because it is not getting the funding. This task…

There seems to be one law for Palestinians who are applying for visas in Ireland and one law for Israelis applying for visas in Ireland. There are no restrictions on Israelis applying for visas here. Looking at the recent example of GAA Palestine trying to bring 33 children here to Ireland to play GAA - Gaelic football and hurling - it would be a huge opportunity for the children and mentors. We are all aware that the Minister for Justice rejected their initial application, and they now have an appeal in. I ask tha…

I am sharing my time with Senator Collins.

Sport is the bedrock of many communities across Ireland. It is so important for physical and mental health. GAA, soccer, rowing, cricket, boxing and many other sports clubs are vital outlets for youth and social participation helping not only individual physical and mental health but building social bonds that can last a lifetime, tying together and supporting people of all ages. We should be proud of our sporting achievements. Last weekend, Katie Taylor proved that she is the GOAT, greatest of all time and that sh…

Likewise, we can only be proud of our record-breaking Olympic team last summer and the continued success and positivity of our Gaelic games. It is worth recognising the popularity of our domestic sports. Football, hurling and camogie are essentially unrivalled in Europe where globalised sports such as soccer, cricket and rugby are the only games in town. Where else in Europe can indigenous sports attract many tens of thousands of supporters in the same way that the ongoing All-Ireland football and hurling champions…

Before I call up the next speaker, I welcome visitors from Teach Oscail Family Resource Centre, Cavan, who are guests of Senator Pauline Tully. If they were with a school we would give them homework off for the rest of the week, but they are not. They are very welcome. I call Senator Joe Flaherty.

Bring her back to fight at Croke Park.

Israeli citizens can enter Ireland without a visa, yet yesterday 33 children and 14 mentors from Palestine GAA had their dreams of visiting Ireland in a couple weeks pulled from under them when their visa applications were denied by the Irish immigration service. It is a painful double standard that those living under apartheid are burdened with yet another layer of exclusion and discrimination while those enforcing it are welcomed with no restrictions. Clearly, the Government’s so-called claim of solidarity with t…

Public transport is a very important issue for everyone in the city and throughout the country, with thousands relying on buses and trains to get to and from work and to go about their daily lives. However, our transport network has been let down by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, which have promised much and delivered little. Nowhere has this been clearer than with regard to the metro in Dublin, which seems to have been going on forever. Since 2002, the project has been delayed multiple times, wi…

I have not met the Minister of State in here before so I will congratulate him on his new role. I welcome this opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2025. Sinn Féin is not opposing this Bill but we do have serious concerns with some parts of the legislation and with the manner in which it is being rushed through these Houses. Planning legislation is inherently complex and technical. Waiving pre-legislative scrutiny for a Bill of this nature is not good practice and…

I support the comments of my colleague, Senator Boyhan, with regard to abuse. Tomorrow in the European Parliament, there will be a vote of no confidence in European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Sinn Féin has absolutely no faith in Ursula von der Leyen to act in the interest of Ireland or working people across Europe, or to respect human rights and dignity abroad. Von der Leyen's Commission has stood shoulder to shoulder with Israel as it commits genocide in Gaza, trampling over the EU's self-professed…

I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I have previously raised the issue of the Rathmines post office being sold off and moved to a Centra. The building that houses the post office in Rathmines was built in 1934. It is a purpose built, art deco post office. It is an absolutely incredible building. It is vital that services and infrastructure like this are maintained, and they should be maintained and not sold off to a private developer or private owner. It is honestly incredible that the Government will allo…

I congratulate my colleagues from Cork. The team played fantastically. It is a great team and I wish it well in the final. On a more serious issue, it is deeply concerning that the Government has stalled the evacuation of desperately sick children from Gaza due to bureaucratic visa delays. There have been almost two years of genocide in Gaza. For nearly two years, Israel has been massacring men, women and children across Palestine without consequence from the Irish Government and without any action from the Europea…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House to discuss the matter of XL bullies. Despite recent changes, XL bully legislation continues to fall short in several key areas, particularly in fairness, due process and clarity. The introduction of a review process for private owners of dogs to seek a certificate of exemption is welcome and important, but the legislation still lacks several important amendments causing concern for rescue organisations, dog owners and advocates. Currently, a private owner of an …

I do not believe for a second that dog bans work for a variety of reasons. I do not have the time to go into it now. The key point is that the appeal process afforded to private dog owners should be afforded to rescues and pounds. However, because of the vague language in the legislation proposed, such as the use of the word "type", it encompasses all bully breeds and that is going to have a really negative impact because many of the dog wardens do not have the training that is required to identify a dog. They have…

Last week, it was announced that Penneys was making 100 of its Dublin staff redundant as part of a plan to outsource many of its roles to India. This decision was taken not out of necessity but out of a desire to maximise profits for the bosses and shareholders. Penneys is not a company that is struggling and it has been expanding rapidly across Europe, North America and Asia. Penneys made record profits last year as a result of the hard work of the underpaid staff and now many of these workers will find themselves…

I wish to acknowledge Mason in the Gallery and wish him well when he is running for President in the future. He would make a very fine President. Dublin is rightfully proud of our republican history, with the Easter Rising utterly changing the course of Irish history. More than any other place, the GPO is the iconic symbol of this revolutionary struggle. It was at the GPO that Pádraig Pearse proclaimed the Irish Republic, and it served as the headquarters of the Irish rebels when they struck for Irish freedom. I fi…

Rathmines post office is being sold off. It is a beautiful art deco building in the heart of Rathmines. It is shameful to see it go. Post offices are essential services. They are the social infrastructure of the community. The post office in Rathmines is moving to the local Centra shop close by. This is no criticism of the owner of Centra. If it was not for him, there would not be any postal services at all in Rathmines. The problem is he can decide to close it down if it does not suit his business model, and that …

I acknowledge the visit of Stillorgan College of Further Education. I hope they enjoy their tour of the Oireachtas. They are in safe hands with services officer, Jack. I wish them the best of luck. If they were in secondary school, we would let them off homework for the rest of the week.