Hear, hear.

I second that.

Like the Taoiseach, I believe Israel is carrying out a genocide in Gaza. Given that is the case, what are we doing allowing uninspected flights involving private jets linked to military contractors and carrying dual-use goods to transit through Shannon Airport en route to Israel? These flights are not covert. The are documented and trackable. The Taoiseach might be aware that under EU customs law, Ireland is obliged to carry out risk-based inspections. This includes flights using known arms routes. Right now, Irela…

Yes. I would appreciate a response.

I thank those who brought forward this motion, which is incredibly timely and important. It is one that resonates across society in Ireland. It is especially timely coming on the same day as the Raise the Roof protest, which is taking place outside the building this evening. People are once again calling on the Government to finally treat the housing crisis with the urgency it demands. I had the pleasure of stepping outside and engaging with the crowd. The energy was contagious. It was incredible to see so many peo…

I thank Deputy Coppinger for this important Bill and acknowledge all the people in the Gallery. There is something deeply broken in how we treat survivors of sexual violence in this country. I am not just talking about the underfunded services or the months-long waiting lists, although they are a part of it. I am talking about what happens when somebody does everything we ask of them, when they survive, report and stand in a courtroom and tell their story. Then we tell them their private counselling notes, pages fi…

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, for coming to respond to this matter today. We are at a tipping point in the roll-out of commercial drone delivery in Ireland, but regulation has clearly not kept pace. In areas like Drumcondra and Glasnevin in my constituency, residents are raising serious concerns about noise, planning, the environmental impact and safety. Drumcondra was recently named Ireland's first autism-friendly village, a designation that carries responsibility to protect the sensory and envir…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. I appreciate that the regulations speak to how drones may be flown safely, but they do not in the slightest capture how drones may be experienced safely. That is particularly pronounced in a village like Drumcondra, Ireland’s first autism-friendly village. Significant sensory issues will not be captured in the regulations for how drones may be flown safely. It is a bit of a dystopian future when even one operator at the moment causes a hum of annoyance. What happens w…

I was sitting in this chair a couple of weeks ago when the Taoiseach said the word. I had to do a double-take to see if I heard correctly. The Taoiseach said, “Let us call a spade a spade”, what is happening in Gaza is “genocide”. That was an important moment. After 19 months of evasion and legal gymnastics, the Taoiseach finally said it. He stood in the Chamber and admitted what the world has seen in real time since October 2023: that the Government of Israel, under Benjamin Netanyahu, is committing genocide in Ga…

That is not true.

The Taoiseach is running down the clock.

What we are being asked to vote on here is the Government asking us to trust it. That is what the entire motion comes down to. We are making statements today on the idea of trust. The Minister is asking us to sign off on a behind-closed-doors negotiation without access to the annexes, without public scrutiny and without a clear understanding of the implications. We are effectively being asked by the Government to trust it. I do not. From conversations I have had over the past week or week and a half, I can say that…

We all do.

Children cannot take that decision themselves.

We did not say that.

Answer the question.

The press release.

There is very little left to say about Gaza that has not already been said and there is almost nothing left in Gaza that has not already been destroyed. We are past the point of shock and statements; what remains is rubble, mass graves and the silence of children whose names we will never know. We welcome this motion and support every line in it but we have to be honest. Ireland, though it has gone further than most because the bar has been set very low, still has not done close to enough. In that delay, tens of th…

To Lucia, Jim and the O'Farrell family sitting with us in the Gallery today, I offer my condolences and express my admiration of their dignity in grief, which has been extraordinary. Their courage is incalculable. They should never have had to fight this hard or for this long just to be heard. They should never have had to carry that burden of proof. Their campaign has been an act of love and courage. This House and this State owes them infinitely more than words. Their son, Shane O'Farrell, was 23 years old. He wa…

He made more sense than the Minister of State after six months.