I very much welcome the motion, particularly as, in the middle of the worst housing crisis this State has experienced, the Government is standing idly by and letting vulture funds swoop in and bulk-buy new family homes. Worse still, not only is it standing by, but it is incentivising and encouraging it. We need to see urgent measures taken to put a halt to the practice of these vulture funds. Thousands upon thousands of people have been working hard and saving everything they can but they still cannot afford homes.…

Residents in the new houses in Ringsend are being held hostage every single night and morning because of two two-way cycle lanes running up each side of Seán Moore Road. Residents in Bremen Avenue, Bremen Grove, Cymric Road and Pine Road are unable to get in and out of their homes. Getting out of the estate is impossible and it is very unsafe. I know the Tánaiste is going to say that the local authority should be addressing this and he would be right; the local authority should be addressing this. However, there is…

But they are not doing it.

The senior management of the council has blocked any efforts and treated residents disgracefully and it is about time that somebody intervenes because someone will be killed or injured.

Month after month and year after year, we have watched this Government fail to bring the housing crisis under control. From what I can see, this Government is effectively trying to normalise the crisis and trying to get ordinary people to think that this is just the way it is, that these things happen and that it will work its way through it. We in Sinn Féin will never accept this. This Government's failed housing policies are not working and need change. Sinn Féin is committed to being the party that builds afford…

Shelbourne Park greyhound track is in the heart of the inner city, not too far from here, between the Ringsend and South Lotts communities. Both these communities, along with communities right across the island of Ireland, have a deep sense of connection with the Shelbourne Park greyhound stadium. The cohesion and engagement between the stadium and the local community have been eroding in recent years. While Shelbourne Park is best known now for greyhound racing, it is less known that it was probably one of the fir…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. This greyhound stadium has massive potential. There is massive growth in housing in the area. The community needs every piece of sporting infrastructure it can get. It would be a shame if an opportunity was missed. As I said, it has been done in the dog track in Galway with Connacht Rugby. Maybe Sport Ireland could intervene. There must be some avenue by which Shelbourne Park greyhound track can reach its full potential because it is currently only operating three nights…

I have frequently raised the issue of the need for the regeneration of housing in the inner city. I think we all agree that the inner city complexes are in a dire state of neglect. While many are earmarked for regeneration in the coming years, there needs to be more urgency. Dublin's public realm also needs to experience regeneration. Recently, I met several business owners and residents from Temple Bar thanks to Mr. Stephen Kennedy of Copper and Straw coffee shop on Arran Quay. I recommend that the Taoiseach drop …

The south inner city is equally chaotic.

It is a momentous occasion that Deputy Ó Murchú can sit in the same chair for longer than three minutes. It is impressive. I have never seen it happen before.

Archbishop Desmond Tutu said after his visit to Palestine that he was deeply distressed by what he witnessed. The main pillars that upheld apartheid South Africa are being replicated today in Israel, especially in the West Bank, the demarcation of the population into racial groups, the forcing of the different designated groups to reside in different geographic areas, the restriction of movement between those areas and the repressive security matrix, which includes detention, torture, censorship, banning and extraj…

I feel that everybody in this House is united in the desire to see an extension of the ceasefire. This is really important. I also want to acknowledge the work the Department is doing to secure the release of hostages. What efforts are being made at European level to ensure an extension of the ceasefire?

I agree with the Tánaiste that a return to the slaughter in Gaza would be unconscionable. I know many people have concerns about the European Union's approach to the situation in the Gaza Strip. We saw the best of the EU in the response to the brutal crimes inflicted on Ukraine but we have seen the opposite approach to Israel, and that cannot be denied. Some 6,000 children have been slaughtered and the EU has not in any way shown a similar approach to that taken to Ukraine. Is there any hope that the EU will take a…

I agree with the Tánaiste's comments on the West Bank. The West Bank is clearly of huge concern. It is not in the public eye as much because, understandably, people are focused on what is happening - the slaughter in the Gaza Strip. I understand that this morning at rush hour, two gunmen jumped out of a car in Jerusalem, opened fire and killed three people. I think the Tánaiste referenced that. Three civilians were killed and many others were wounded. Yesterday in the West Bank, two Palestinian children were murder…

I agree with much of what the Tánaiste said in his analysis of the situation in the West Bank. Clearly, the illegal settlements are a huge block to any sort of development of any peace process or two-state solution. The Tánaiste mentioned humanitarian aid on numerous occasions. Of course, I welcome that. It is really important. The difficulty is that when Israel destroys that humanitarian aid that has been allocated to Palestinians, blows it up or wrecks it, there are no consequences for Israel. The illegal settlem…

Do we agree with that?

Since the publication of the Shannon report, what has changed in St. John Ambulance? It was a damning report that highlighted the abuse of cadets. St. John Ambulance has changed little, if at all. What signal does that send to victims? How does that deter other organisations from protecting members in the event of children being sexually abused? How, as a country, do we allow there to be no consequences for current senior and former members of St. John Ambulance for the covering up of sexual abuse of children withi…

I thank the Minister. When he says there has been progress, it is very hard for survivors to see what that is. Nobody is being held to account. In regard to the meeting of 11 December, what would the Minister consider the best outcome from that to be? When it comes to the FAI and gender quotas in sports organisations, they are told that if they do not meet a certain level, their funding will be cut. A similar approach needs to be applied to St. John Ambulance. It cannot be given funding when it has not implemented …

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I acknowledge and extend my thoughts to the children and adults hurt in Thursday's sickening attacks. Those attacks were heartbreaking. There were many heroes on the day. I commend the gardaí who had to put up with extreme levels of violence and abuse. The gardaí on the front line were immense. The gardaí I deal with daily in the south inner city go above and beyond each and every day. Equally, gardaí do not have the resources they require. We have had 12 years of Fine Gael …

We have a long and proud tradition of supporting the United Nations peacekeeping missions. Ireland is the only state to have continuous deployment on UN and UN-mandated peace operations since 1958. We should be immensely proud of that commitment to peace and stability. We should stand fully opposed to any attempts to undermine our highly respected standing on the international stage. Where we are known as a voice for peace and justice, we should be developing our soft power and our diplomatic corps, and developing …