It is very apt that we are having this discussion on breast cancer awareness month. This is an issue close to the hearts of many people. I do not think there is anybody in the Chamber or the country who has not been affected by a loved one, friend or family member being touched by breast cancer. The world was touched by the ravages of breast cancer when Sarah Harding died seven or eight weeks ago. She was only 39. It was a terrible loss for her family and the world. Yesterday, at a meeting of the Joint Committee on…

I thank everyone for their contributions to the discussion so far. I commend the Regional Group on this important Bill. There has been much discussion of the challenges that autistic people face during my time in this House. Whether progress has been made is a matter for interpretation. There has been a better understanding of autism in society over the past 20 years and resources have been put in place. There is no doubt about that and that is good because it is progress. There are, however, considerable inequalit…

The programme for Government commits to exploring the potential for development of an industrial fibre sector using hemp. Two years ago in this building, one of the recommendations of Ireland's youth assembly was the development of the Irish hemp industry. Hemp has huge potential not only in regard to our climate but also for farmers. There is an unusual lacuna in the Misuse of Drugs Act in regard to growing hemp. Will the Government amend the law around this lacuna?

There is a contradiction in the law. The Health Products Regulatory Authority and the Food Safety Authority of Ireland say there is a limit of 0.2% of tetrahydrocannabinol, THC, whereas the Misuse of Drugs Act says it is 0%, so there is a contradiction.

I wish to discuss the pension scheme of workers in CIÉ. A ballot was taken in June 2020 on changes to the regular wages scheme, a deal that would have seen modest increases in weekly pension incomes. The Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, stated last year and earlier this year that he would sign a statutory instrument to bring those increases for retired workers into effect. Will the Tánaiste confirm that the Minister will sign that statutory instrument?

I want to start on a positive and realistic note. The past 18 months have been pretty horrific for working people in this State. The pandemic has shown us that ordinary working people keep everything functioning, whether that is bringing us to work or looking after us in hospital. Those working people want a dividend, not just on a personal note but also a societal note. That is what budgets are; they are a collective action to make things better for everybody else. The pandemic has changed many things. It was a tr…

Many people will be very alarmed by the news this week regarding substantial energy price increases of between €500 and €800. Coupled with that is the news about data centres using enormous amounts of electricity. The Minister of State can, therefore, understand that there is a sense of trepidation. Energy prices worldwide are rising for a variety of reasons. One reason is geopolitical. Other reasons include deregulation and competition. Competition was meant to bring lower prices to the market, but it has done the…

What is that?

These are the facts. Many people will spend huge amounts of money on fuel because their houses are not energy efficient. Those are the facts, regardless of whether the Minister of State wants to dispute them. Another deciding factor is the deregulation of the energy market in Ireland. The ESB is an incredible company. It was a public utility but, in 2014, the Government, which is possessed by privatisation, deregulated the market. We now have a situation where prices have increased and the consequences of that can …

I probably will not. We will see how it goes.

I do not normally take ten minutes. Less is more, as they say. I welcome the debate today with regard to the national Youth Justice Strategy 2021–2027. It is a good document but as with any document, its implementation is the most important thing. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, on the community approach regarding the misuse of scrambler motorbikes in particular areas. There is a particularly problematic issue around scramblers where I live. A holistic approach that turns an antisocial activit…

My question relates to a decision earlier on this year by IDA Ireland to expand into Israel. That is a retrograde step. I would like to hear the Minister's comment on that decision.

Over the summer, a well-known ice cream maker called Ben & Jerry’s, which is an American company, announced that it would no longer sell ice cream in the occupied Palestinian territories, which are East Jerusalem and the Palestinian West Bank. This was greeted with much disdain in certain parts of the world but with great congratulations from others that a company would take a stand against apartheid Israel. Yet, IDA Ireland says it want to develop its global footprint and more economic links with Israel. That is c…

I do not think that the Minister gets it. He comes in here on a weekly basis and says that he is against the annexation of Palestinian lands but at the same time he treats Israel as a normal state. Would he have said the same about apartheid South Africa in the 1980s, for example? No, he would not. That is the contradiction that we as Deputies in the Opposition constantly point out to him. Israel cannot be treated as a normal state as it is not one. It is an apartheid state and that is inherent in its brutality aga…

It is.

Why does the Minister have a bilateral interest in an apartheid system?

Over recent weeks, there has been much conjecture about possible blackouts because of energy shortages. Ministers and the Taoiseach have said there may not be a guaranteed supply of electricity in the future. If it was not so serious, this would be very funny, but it is extremely serious. One of the reasons there is going to be a huge demand for electricity is data centres now and into the medium term. Most people will ask what purpose data centres serve because they use so much of the energy and resources we need …

I will be sharing my time with Deputy Barry. We will take five minutes each. I echo the sentiments expressed regarding the programme for admitting Afghans who have relatives here. It is a good initiative. Ireland has always played a good role in showing humanitarian solidarity across the world. There are other matters on which I would fundamentally disagree with the Minister but Irish people across the world have always held a hand out to those who are in need. That is a proud tradition of ours. It is very good. Th…

I want to start on a very positive note about the past 18 months, which have been testing to say the least. The doctors, nurses, auxiliary and care staff and everybody who works in hospitals had the most challenging 18 months of their professional lives. They saw their patients, loved ones and family members die of this particularly terrible disease. The public health system protected and saved us and at its greatest hour it saved many people in the most difficult of circumstances. Notwithstanding the public health…

A number of weeks ago, the Comptroller and Auditor General briefed the Committee of Public Accounts on the amount the State has spent on personal protective equipment, PPE, over the last 18 months. That spend has amounted to more than €1 billion so far. The Comptroller and Auditor General stated that the HSE has written off €375 million worth of PPE thus far. This is an eye-watering figure but it gets worse. This figure includes more than 1,800 ventilators, ordered at a cost of €81 million, which were never receive…