I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I second the amendment.

I also want to raise the situation in Gaza and Israel. The situation has obviously become so dangerous, it is necessary for us to schedule time to discuss the hostilities there. A decisive international intervention is needed to end the hostilities and bring about a lasting resolution to the Palestinian question. We need a discussion about what role Ireland can play to show leadership and to work with the international community to secure peace. Remember that Ireland can be very constructive on these issues. We hav…

Hear, hear.

When a government has the surplus the current one does but still cannot address the multitude of overlapping issues facing our country, it is clear that there is a mismatch of priorities. A budget is about setting out a path for the future. It is about setting out our vision and our values. Today’s budget makes clear to workers and families that the Government cannot and will not deliver for them. The number one issue facing workers and families is the housing crisis. Since the Government took office, the average h…

I am still here.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The increasing threat of climate crisis and our responsibility to shift towards a low-carbon economy present challenges and opportunities to our society and the broader economy. Despite the rhetoric, the current Government is falling short on taking effective climate action. At the outset of this year, we held the highest greenhouse gas emissions rate in the EU. Under the leadership of this Government, our emissions continue to rise. Where is the alternative for househo…

I welcome the Minister to the House. I will talk about the creative youth and Creative Ireland programme, and creative schools, as I have the opportunity to do so. The Creative Youth Plan 2023-2027 was launched this year. It includes a number of actions related to the senior cycle and the education system more generally, some of which I will highlight. I encourage the Minister to back her Department in support of that plan. There are underlying issues with the current curriculum for senior cycle students. It can so…

Cuirim fáilte roimh an Taoiseach. I wish to raise the Government's autumn legislative programme and express my disappointment at the absence of any priority for drafting legislation that would disregard the criminal convictions of gay men convicted of historical offences, namely consensual same-sex intimacy. In May, the Seanad passed a Sinn Féin motion that called for the introduction of legislation and a scheme that would disregard these criminal records. It has been eight years since the start of this process, ye…

I commend the Irish Women's Parliamentary Caucus and Senator O'Loughlin on all their work on this comprehensive motion. I welcome the motion on behalf of Sinn Féin and I want to express our support for it. In our view, we really need to move beyond the idea of care as just being a family matter. Carers have long been the backbone of care provision in Ireland but time and again they do not receive the care and support they need and so rightly deserve. I am particularly conscious that the role of carer has traditiona…

On behalf of the Sinn Féin group, I welcome our new Superintendent, Barry Ryan. He is very welcome here and I wish him every success in his role in the years ahead. On behalf of Sinn Féin, I also wish to extend our condolences to the Fianna Fáil family and Senator Davitt on the death of Damien O'Reilly. I also offer our condolences to everyone in the Labour Party on the death of Flor O'Mahony. The lack of supply, much less affordable supply, of student accommodation has only worsened since the previous academic yea…

We are seeing a dramatic increase in military spending around the world. On 28 June, Ursula von der Leyen said that common procurement will give the defence industry more certainty and bring us closer to a European defence union. Essentially we can ramp up production and see the further armament of Europe with more weapons, more war, and more young men and women dead. On Thursday evening last week, the Dáil set aside 55 minutes to discuss and approve Ireland's participation in European Defence Agency, EDA, projects…

All three.

It was the defence industry.

A 55-minute debate is a bit rushed.

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. The Israeli Government's military bombardment of the Jenin refugee camp caused the deaths of 12 Palestinians, five of whom were children. Thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. It destroyed roads, electricity and water services. The Israeli Government outrageously managed to make refugees out of refugees. The views of the United Nations are that the military force used by the Israelis was a gross violation of international law and the standard of the forc…