I welcome the debate on the report by the Ombudsman for Children. It is an in-depth critique of child poverty in the context of the pre-pandemic and post-pandemic world in which we live. It lays out a policy to address the historical legacy of the deprivation of children in this country. The pandemic has done some terrible things but it has revealed the chasm or fault lines in society and what we really are. It has opened up that chasm of disadvantage in how children are treated in our society in respect of social …

We have debated this issue numerous times. I come from the point of view that there is irresponsible and responsible use of scramblers and quad bikes. We have spoken about this matter numerous times and legislation on it has had many manifestations but the central argument is that the irresponsible use of these vehicles in public spaces is not only a danger to the user but also to pedestrians and road users. We all agree on that. Whether it is a Sinn Féin Bill or whether the Government implements a Bill and changes…

All of us want to see the hospitality industry reopened. We want to go back to what we had prior to the pandemic when you could go for a drink or a meal. We all want that and to get back to a semblance of normality but we are not living in normal times; we are living in abnormal times. To say there is confusion and ambiguity on this legislation is a complete understatement. The polarisation that has happened because of this is pretty bad. There was a huge sense of solidarity at the start of this pandemic. People ar…

I commend Sinn Féin on this important debate. We broadly welcome the Bill and anything that addresses the spoils of crime, which devastates individuals and communities. The proceeds that CAB seizes largely come from the illicit drugs trade. I have a different view than most as regards drugs policy, which is antiquated and does not work. Criminalising people for drug use is counterproductive and we must do something different. We need a paradigm shift in how we treat people, determine why people take drugs in the fi…

I raise the matter of students who were in receipt of the pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, last year. There are now difficulties when they apply for SUSI grants. Some have had reductions in their grants, some have had their qualifying income completely disqualified and some have had to defer their courses. This is putting a lot of stress on students for September. What is the Government doing to mitigate the plight of students who have been discriminated against because they were in receipt of PUP last year? The…

I am sharing time with Deputy Barry.

I too would like to raise serious questions in regard to the "Prime Time" programme last night. There must be a public inquiry in regard to what happened in nursing homes last year in the interests of the loved ones and relatives and in the public interest. It is inevitable that that will happen. Vaccine roll-out is a logistical challenge. This country has been quite good in administering the roll-out. It is going very well. My experience at Citywest was excellent. The Minister's statement about the roll-out of the…

I want to raise an issue in respect of the programme for Government, specifically the health-led approach to drug misuse outlined on page 50. Previous Governments have paid lip service to this issue. So much so, that thousands of people would still be alive had it not been for the lip service that Governments have paid to this issue. We have to take a different approach. The current approach does not work. Criminalising people for drug use simply does not work and is completely to the person and to society as a who…

I will probably use three minutes. First, I commend the retired workers we met yesterday outside the gates of Leinster House. There was a whole plethora of workers from semi-State, State and the private sector. They gave their working lives, not only to their families and their companies, but to the State. These workers were well-organised, in the great spirit of the trade unionism. They were the people my parents grew up to admire and who stand shoulder to shoulder in the workplace. That is the spirit of trade uni…

I want to ask the Minister his views on the recent assault on Gaza that left more than 60 children dead. What does the Government intend to do regarding the impact of this terrible conflict on the Palestinian people, particularly children?

I want to give an example of the murderous intent of the Israeli Government. There is a project in Palestine called the Better Learning Programme, which is funded by the Irish taxpayer and the Norwegian Refugee Council. Eleven children participating in that programme were murdered in May, most of them in their homes. I do not know how the Minister and his counterparts can stand over, and even legitimise, the state of Israel when it conducts murderous bombings of innocent people. It is incredible that the Minister c…

Has there been any sanction against Israel for what it did in Gaza in May? Was there any punishment imposed or any effort to secure accountability? Was there any kind of sanction in regard to the economic and trade agreement between Israel and the EU, which is worth tens of billions of euro per year? I already know the answer is "No". There has been no sanction or punishment. The innocent people of Palestine suffer while other people pay lip service to what is happening. The Minister must go back and say to his EU …

That is mild.

That is very mild.

I welcome the statement of the Minister. It was robust. People Before Profit express our solidarity with the LGBT community not only in Hungary but across the world and in Ireland. Given that it is Pride week, it is very relevant. At one stage, people not only in Ireland were hounded, marginalised and put in situations where it was extremely difficult for them. In our organisation we hold solidarity against these particularly draconian laws, which are the anti-gay laws, in Hungary. Orbán has history in this. He has…

I commend Damien Duff and Richie Sadlier on their critique of UEFA's decision regarding the football match in Munich. We have all enjoyed football over the past seven days, but UEFA's decision was unforgivable and spineless in terms of standing up for human rights, as the Minister said. At this particular juncture, when people are coming together in football terms, it has shown a lack of solidarity for people who are trying to get basic human rights in Hungary.

I want to raise an issue I have raised numerous times with the Tánaiste and his colleagues, and one which is also in the programme for Government, namely the commitment to the medical cannabis access programme. Obviously there was good news in January from the Minister for Health that the funding would be obtained via the HSE service plan. Will the Tánaiste give campaigners a commitment on when the programme will be rolled out because this campaign has gone on far too long? Families in desperate situations have gon…

I want to start on a very positive note on the vaccine roll-out. The uptake of the vaccine has been very good and logistically it has gone very well also. There will be kinks and vulnerabilities in its implementation. One of the vulnerabilities is the cohort of those aged over 60. A cohort of nearly 450,000 is in that bracket. It seems counter-intuitive that those people have been left vulnerable. For example, I will be fully vaccinated by next week but somebody that is 20 years older than me will possibly not be f…

We have had debate on disability services and the knock-on effect of the pandemic on them many times in the past 17 or 18 months. It has been a grim 18 months for society as a whole but, in other ways, it has been enlightening to see people pulling together in a time of need. I am proud of this country's spirit. We are in a different place now to where we were in January or the previous March and April. Images stick in my mind of really stressed parents. The routine that they had with their children disappeared ove…

My question refers to the ongoing GSOC investigation into the death of George Nkencho. Will the Minister examine the possibility of a public inquiry into his death?