-----and that would be a huge shame. Whatever your doubts about medical cannabis may be, it can be a hugely beneficial medical intervention for some people and particularly for some conditions, although not all. Some people will use it for all conditions and that is their business, but there is really good evidence to show that we should expand this programme. If it does not expand, I do not think there will be a future for the medical cannabis access programme going forward.

Today is the first day of the special Joint Committee on Drugs Use. Paul Reid attended the meeting and I was present. The recommendations from the citizens' assembly are about saving lives, but an article on the front page of yesterday's Irish Examiner stated that the European drugs agency's report found that Ireland has the highest rate of drug deaths in Europe. Shockingly, Ireland has four times the rate of drug deaths of the European Union. This is really startling. Also there is a proliferation of synthetic dru…

I wish to return to the report of the Low Pay Commission that recommended the abolition of all sub-minimum wage rates for all employees. I think we all agree that there is age discrimination in pay in this country. People who are 16 get 30% less in pay than those who are 18 and doing the same job, which is bizarre. This time last year, People Before Profit brought forward a Bill to address all these anomalies in pay. As the famous chef used to say, here is one I prepared earlier. Our proposed legislation could be e…

I come back to the issue of the Family Carers Ireland survey. It was a very important survey of respite care in Ireland. The survey shows this is arbitrary and inconsistent in respect of when families need this respite care. It is so important that all parties get respite care. Mention is also made of the means testing of carers. Again, I think this is quite arbitrary and needs major reform. In terms of respite care, this needs to be less arbitrary and more statutory. Everybody in this situation deserves respite ca…

We are living in very dangerous times, when the norms of international law, even in warfare, are being breached on a daily basis. We only have to look at what is taking place in Gaza. The pictures and images of what Israel is doing to human beings - children, women and men - are incomprehensible. In that context, Irish neutrality has always been sacred. It has been sacred from the foundation of the State. The overwhelming majority of Irish people have supported neutrality because they understand that if our neutral…

He took extra minutes.

In the past number of days, there have been reports in the media about people having adverse reactions to cannabis. This is quite concerning but where there is no regulation, someone will fill the gap and that is the black market. It is in everyone's interest in respect of harm reduction and regulation that there would be a different model for cannabis. In the absence of regulation, people will have adverse effects from cannabis use because of the potency and because they do not know what they are consuming. Does t…

I do have not much time, but there are brutal times and happy times in all of our lives. The happy time is today, when we can celebrate and welcome the recognition of Palestine. Some people will call it symbolic, but symbolism brings huge hope across the world. Where there is hope, there is solidarity and friendship from the people of Ireland. However, there are also brutal times. Those brutal times continue in Gaza. Anybody who watched the Channel 4 programme, "Kill Zone: Inside Gaza: Dispatches", last night will …

I hope the Minister of State will be able to shed some light on what is happening with Lucan Lodge Nursing Home. There is a lot of uncertainty about its future. The 73 residents and 85 staff have been told recently that the nursing home might close down. This is having an effect on the relatives of the residents. There is a great deal of stress about what is happening. I understand the HSE has taken charge of the running of the facility because the operator of the home, Passage Healthcare, has gone into liquidation…

This is a set of extraordinary circumstances. Googling this operator, it claims to be a multibillion-dollar health provider in the United States. It is not some makeshift provider by any means. It has enormous assets behind it. Alarm bells are ringing about its very rudimentary fire compliance both in Sally Park and Lucan Lodge nursing homes. There are very serious questions to be asked of the provider. The residents are at the heart of this. Some have been in the nursing home for a considerable period and some are…

I thank the Minister of State.

I commend the Social Democrats on introducing a motion on this important issue. The Minister of State attended a briefing by the Dental Council and the Irish Dental Association at the Joint Committee on Health a number of weeks ago. The picture they portrayed was stark in respect of oral healthcare in Ireland. The reality is that 80% of oral and dental healthcare is privatised. That was not the case 30 years ago. In fact, the opposite was probably the case. We have seen this happen in other parts of our healthcare …

I am sure the Taoiseach, as a former health Minister, is concerned about an article in The Irish Times on Monday on accessibility to cancer drugs. I will just quote some of what the oncologists said. They said public patients are facing huge delays in accessing cancer drugs and that a two-tier health system exists in the context of cancer drugs. They stated that less effective cancer drugs are being prescribed to public patients as a result of the delay in reimbursement of drugs. I am sure the Taoiseach agrees this…

My questions relate to the triple lock. What type of operations does the Tánaiste envisage the Irish military forces being engaged in that are not allowed under the UN Charter if the triple lock is removed?

I do not trivialise the situations the Irish Defence Forces have encountered but there is a distinct narrative by the Government that Irish neutrality is up for grabs. The Tánaiste can shake his head all he wants but the rhetoric coming from the Government and EU leaders is that we are almost in a pre-war situation in Europe. We in the Opposition have been very concerned about this rhetoric and the militarisation of Europe. This is why we hold neutrality sacred. We do not want to be drawn into any imperialist war t…

I agree with the Tánaiste that the UN Security Council is dysfunctional. Look at the role of the United States with regard to Israel and its conduct over the past seven months, whereby 35,000 people have been killed including 15,000 children. Think about this. It is absolutely dysfunctional. The United States has played a completely detrimental role in international relations. It has undermined human solidarity in terms of the UN. Ireland has played a key role in peacekeeping in the Middle East but this has been sl…

Today is Nakba Day. Seventy-six years ago today, 600,000 Palestinians were expelled from Palestine. Palestinians across the world mark this day and recall the catastrophe that continues to this day. No adjectives could sum up what is happening to the people in Gaza at the moment. There is persecution and the people are being tormented, brutalised, murdered, exiled and jailed. I could go on. Since 7 October last, 15,000 children have been murdered by the state of Israel. What sanctions are this country imposing agai…

Are there any sanctions against Israel?

Are there any sanctions against Israel?

Could somebody answer that question? Are there any sanctions against Israel for murdering 15,000 children?