It is the task force.

We are asked today to make statements on Europe Day so let me make a statement straight off the bat. Europe is complicit in the genocide that is taking place in Gaza and under that blanket, nothing else matters. When the Tánaiste spoke earlier, in Trumpian fashion, he equated the right and the left and spoke of a collective cynicism about the EU as if those two groups shared the same viewpoints or perspective. It could not be any further from the truth. To avoid that charge of cynicism to a degree, I will start wit…

We know the result of the Government's proposals.

Another diplomatic fiasco from this Government is splashed all over the front pages of the right-wing press in the UK today. According to The Daily Telegraph , Rishi Sunak is imploring the Irish Government not to set up checkpoints at the Irish Border. He is urging the Taoiseach to maintain an open Border. You could not make this stuff up. The Government's panicked, reactive and shambolic approach to migration is not just causing chaos and division in Irish society, it is a PR boon to the Tory party in its general …

I am over here.

Yes, through the Chair. When is this shambolic Government going to get its act together and get a proper plan in place for migration because it is causing chaos for communities and provoking international incidents. Get it together.

On 14 November last year, when deputising in the position the Taoiseach now holds, he said that Israel had been blinded by rage and warned that peace could not be built on the graves of children. In the almost six months since then, the lives of 15,780 children have been lost. As we sit here today, the invasion of Rafah is impending. Rhetoric has been strong from the Irish State - there is no doubt about that – but what tangible actions are we taking to hold Israel to account for the crimes it is inflicting on the …

In advance of his ascent to our highest office, one of the Taoiseach's biggest statements was to say he would immediately convene a task force to address safety in the city of Dublin. When should we expect an update on that task force? Who will be on it and when will it report? I note that another tragic stabbing incident happened on Tara Street last night. We cannot wait for 12 weeks for something the Taoiseach said would be immediate when he first took office. When should we expect an update on that task force?

I will begin and end with a quote given to me many years ago by survivors of Magdalen laundries who formed the basis of the work I was asked to undertake during my time as a Dublin City councillor, namely that the antithesis of restorative justice is the retraumatisation of victims. We should keep that quote close to us as we endeavour on the road before us in honouring and providing supports to those who have been failed unimaginably by the State. Yesterday, I spoke to a survivor advocate who simplified this Bill,…

We welcome the principles behind the Bill and we fully support it through its passage. I will not use the full 20 minutes. In welcoming the Bill, we acknowledge that it provides for the necessary advancements in the modernisation of how we deal with the beginning and the end of lives, times that are full of ecstasy and grief, in turn. Aside from the obvious fact that the process of registering major life events online will ease stress for many when it comes to their loved ones, it is further welcome that the Bill w…

I thank the Regional Group for tabling this motion, which is incredibly important and timely. The Social Democrats fully support it. The motion recognises carers' invaluable contribution to society and highlights their mistreatment by the State, which is something that I hope we can work collectively, across the Chamber, to rectify. I echo the call to fully abolish the carer's allowance means test, as reflected in the research published by Maynooth University and commissioned by Family Carers Ireland. One of its ve…

I am grateful for the opportunity to make some points on this Bill and our pension system more generally. I do not want to come across as if I am suggesting that auto-enrolment is without benefit. Many hardworking people with no pension savings will be saving for the first time and will be better off as a result. Overall, however, I wonder about the repercussions. How does this contribute to things like a decent income for all older people, alleviating poverty for our elderly or financial sustainability for the Sta…

I ask the Minister the measures she is taking to reduce the teacher shortage crisis that we are experiencing in primary and secondary schools.

I thank the Minister for her kind words and subsequently the contribution that she made to the debate. I do not think we can step away from the fact that we have a crisis in our schools that is once again impacting the most vulnerable cohorts of students. If schools are short of teachers, it means that there is a shortage in special educational needs allocation. It means that students in DEIS schools who need much more intensive teaching are left without. This is an issue that has been going on for the last two and…

The PME. From the conversations I have had with people who want to engage in the profession, that is just not enough. One of the prohibitive factors is the time it takes to do the PME. It is two years. In the North, it is only one year and costs substantially less. Two years means that a person is without an income. Permanent contracts, proper investment in special educational needs and reducing class sizes in order that people are teaching in an environment that is safe and constructive to learn and teach in, brin…

It is.

We still have a scenario where a teacher will need to do three years in order to get a permanent contract. You cannot expect people to move job or to move into the teaching profession if they know there will be instability in their life for three years. Permanent contracts are going to be essential. The €2,000 package for the PME is very welcome. However, in Dublin and other places, that is just a little over one month's rent for most people. We really have to take the course duration down to a year. I also want to…

One of the more odious aspects of the Taoiseach's contribution to the Fine Gael Ard-Fheis on Saturday was when he said, "It is time to have pride again in our capital city", as if Fine Gael had not held the justice Ministry for the past 13 years. He went on to say he would immediately convene a Dublin city centre task force, bringing together the council, retailers, business, community groups and the Garda. Will the Tánaiste tell me what his understanding of this task force is? As he will be aware, I have been aski…

You are an avid supporter.

But this is policy.