If invitations to the Minister and the Minister of State are what gets things done and gets investment happening, they are both very much invited to Dungarvan, hopefully with-----

-----a load of funding to build a community centre. If it is big enough, we might even name it after the pair of them. An cheist ba mhaith liom a chur ar an Aire ná mar gheall ar phobal láidir Gaeilge taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Tá pobail nua ag fás ar fud na tíre, mar is eol dó, go minic bunaithe ar Ghaelscoileanna agus ar eagraíochtaí pobail. An bhfeiceann an tAire acmhainn i scéimeanna nua tacaíochta agus in aitheantas foirmiúil do phobail den chineál sin, áit a bhfuil an Ghaeilge á húsáid mar theanga phobail a…

Aontaím leis an Aire go bhfuil an Ghaeltacht lárnach agus go bhfuil pobail Ghaeilge breá bríomhar fud fad na tíre seo ó Thuaidh agus ó Dheas. Caithfimid an Ghaeltacht a chosaint, a chothú agus a neartú. Níor cheart go mbeadh cosaint agus fás curtha i gcoinne a chéile. Tá gá le seasamh cosanta cinnte mar gheall ar an 100 bliain d’fhaillí an Stáit seo i dtaobh na Gaeilge agus na bpobal Gaeltachta. Tá gá freisin le fís fháis - fís atá uaillmhianach. Ní leor a rá go gcaithfimid an méid atá fágtha a shábháil. Caithfimid…

Cé go bhfuil an dualgas orainn an Ghaeltacht a chosaint agus tá an Ghaeilge rófhada faoi chosaint ar pháipéar agus faoi bhrú sa saol fíor amach ansin, tá gá anois an chéim uaillmhianach chun tosaigh a ghlacadh. Tá an-taithí agam ar na scéimeanna, na tionscadail agus na heagrais ar leith atá ag obair ar an talamh agus atá ag fás an phobail sin agus ag tacú leis an bpobal leis an nGaeilge a bheith mar theanga chumarsáide inár dteaghlaigh i mbailte, i sráidbhailte, i scoileanna agus sa phobal i gcoitinne. Caithfimid a…

I ask the Minister of State about the farmers' yard initiative developed - in this country in any case - by Dr. Shane Conway and Dr. Maura Farrell, and piloted successfully in Mountbellew mart. I met recently with Dr. Shane Conway to discuss the model. It uses marts as trusted social spaces for older farmers, combining peer-to-peer support, information sharing, social contact and discussion around issues such as succession, ageing, isolation and farm life. As we discussed earlier, social isolation, particularly in …

I would welcome that engagement. The strength of this initiative is that it is not asking anybody to go where they would not ordinarily go or to go outside their comfort zone. It is meeting people where they are at, where they feel comfortable and where they are turning up anyway. It is not just about isolation among older farmers; it is also about connecting younger farmers and giving people who are still farming but would love to retire a way to find somebody who might take on the enterprise. They can share skill…

I raise the mobile maternity unit fundraised for by Gaeil ar son Gaza in west Waterford. It is now stuck in Egypt, prevented from entering Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces. I understand Irish diplomats in Egypt are seeking a resolution but will the Minister urgently intervene with Egypt, the UN and all relevant agencies to get this Irish-funded and much-needed mobile maternity unit into Gaza? In the same week that we saw the Global Sumud Flotilla illegally interdicted and humanitarian volunteers including 14 I…

As Israel continues to thumb its nose at the international community, bask in its impunity and gloat in the face of the deepening humanitarian crisis it has created-----

-----will the Government finally concede that it is time for us to take unilateral action?

Our so-called European partners are continuing to enable and protect Israel in its colossal crimes against humanity.

Can we sustain the current evictions and homelessness figures?

Sinn Féin will not oppose this legislation progressing to the next Stage. We support the orderly winding down of NAMA and the completion of the IBRC process, but we have serious concerns about accountability, governance and the extraordinary salaries that will be paid, which are utterly out of kilter with public sector norms. Sinn Féin will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage to address those concerns. Before we close the book on NAMA as a State, a people and a Government, serious questions have to be answe…

This is an extraordinary salary that is part and parcel of the winding up of a State agency.

I will continue with that noted. Last year, the so-called housing tsar plan collapsed under pressure and now the Government wants to fold an individual back into the NTMA while preserving the same extraordinary pay package. Contrast that for a moment with the National Ambulance Service workers who have been forced onto picket lines simply to secure modest improvements in pay and conditions and address chronic recruitment and retention problems. Front-line workers are told there is no flexibility, no urgency and no …

Whose job is it to bring legislation?

The scenes in Tycor in Waterford over the weekend have been devastating for residents, businesses and workers. I commend the firefighters, emergency services and front-line workers who responded. On Sunday morning, my colleague, Deputy David Cullinane, and I visited the area to meet those residents, the workers and the businesses affected. While the immediate danger has passed in many respects, enormous concerns remain around livelihoods, the clean-up operation, asbestos, air quality and long-term safety. I welcome…

Has the Taoiseach spoken to the incoming First Minister of Wales and leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, or with the current and likely future First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, following last week’s seismic election results? In the context of the growing constitutional change taking place across these islands, does he intend to meet them alongside the First Minister and deputy First Minister in the North to discuss future relationships and co-operation?

Today, on International Nurses Day, we recognise and thank nurses working across every part of our health service and at every stage of life. We think of those nurses in our hospitals, in GP surgeries and in communities. We think of public health nurses, addiction nurses, mental health nurses, intensive care nurses, palliative care nurses, paediatric nurses, geriatric nurses, and those working in disability services, cancer care, maternity care, health promotion and the Irish Blood Transfusion Service. Irish nurses…

It is a number of months since the World Economic Forum in Davos. In the past few weeks, however, the Taoiseach has met the German Chancellor and we have had the German foreign minister here in Dublin. We now know that Germany has once again blocked even the most modest EU action to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement, which grants preferential access to a rogue state that is systematically violating international law, human rights norms and the very terms of that agreement. At the same time, countries like Spain…

We are here discussing the consultation process, but if we are being honest about it, rural Ireland does not lack for consultation or for strategies and plans. What it actually lacks is delivery, urgency and alignment across Government policy. This is where the Government has failed. The Minister is the one tasked with rural-proofing this Government. He is meant to be the voice at the Cabinet table defending rural Ireland, so this is a fair question to ask him. Where was Our Rural Future when the national developme…