I understand that the review by Mr. Nayagam is ongoing and that it is looking at the broad spectrum of ways to improve services. Is one of those - I am sure the Department has looked at this - for children to travel abroad for intervention or surgery? That can be slightly complicated given the nature of this surgery. Has it been actively looked at? It is good that we have more capacity but the test is whether children are waiting longer than they should for intervention, and they are. The Minister and his colleague…

Gaza has been termed "a graveyard for children". More than 4,000 small children have been murdered by Israel, and across the world people are protesting against this savagery. We need a debate in this House to reflect the opinion on this not only in Ireland but across the world. That should reflect the untenability of the Israeli ambassador's position in Dublin. Her situation is untenable. She needs to be expelled. War crimes are being committed at the moment and people are needlessly dying, yet we have an ambassad…

He should be expelled.

They may be dead.

That is rubbish.

There has been an alarming increase in road fatalities. Compared with the figures in 2019, there are now 50% more fatalities, which is staggering because in Ireland we had a good campaign of awareness around road deaths. The figure had been going down significantly over the previous ten to 15 years, but that is not the case now. Obviously, there is a range of factors contributing to why this is happening. As one of the busiest bank holiday weekends of the year approaches, we hope that everybody who travels througho…

There has been much frustration about the lack of progress with the medical cannabis access programme, MCAP. The first time the access programme was mooted was in 2017 after a report by the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA. In the meantime, there has been a lack of progress. Since 2016 and 2017, there has been much campaigning by families and individuals to get access. The majority of people who campaigned have got access via a licence system. That is not perfect by any means but at least they have access…

The Minister of State can understand why people are frustrated. The programme has been up and running for two years and fewer than 50 people have got it via prescription. This review is going on forever. It was first mooted a year and a half ago. My most recent correspondence with the Health Research Board indicated that this is an ongoing review and will be finished by the end of the year. The Minister of State can see the frustration and what people are feeling. I am not sure if the Minister of State will be able…

Over the weekend, the Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use completed its work after six months. The clear message from the citizens' assembly is to end the status quo . As I said to the Taoiseach two weeks ago, we have had six decades of this that have failed. People have been criminalised. They have been brought through the criminal justice system and through the prison system. It just has not worked. Surely the Taoiseach will admit that the system we have now does not work. There is a clear message. There are 36 recom…

Decriminalisation.

It is.

So do I.

The Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use will meet for the final time this weekend. It has been going on for the last six months and was a much-needed debate. All indications from the assembly will point to a different approach. We have had an approach that has failed for the last six decades. Indications from the assembly are that they will call for decriminalisation and possibly regulation, which I fully support and others will support as well. We have had six decades of criminalising people and it simply has not work…

I am.

I acknowledge the really good work all our healthcare workers do on the front line of the health service. We rely on them so much for our care and everybody else's care. I am very critical of the inequalities in our health system but, as I have said many times, once people get into the public system, it is a very good system. They are treated very well and their experience is the best it can be in that environment. That is something of which this country can be very proud. However, there are historical inequalities…

There is huge concern about a cohort of patients who rely on new drugs and treatments. Bizarrely, in this year's budget the funding for these treatments has been taken away. This will affect thousands of patients. Like all Deputies, I received an email about a person who relies on a particular drug and has been told by their doctor that they will not get it. The person will have to leave the jurisdiction. This is a case of life and death. There are consequences for many people. This is bizarre. The country is awash…

The only thing that brings about peace is a political settlement - a settlement that means people can coexist regardless of their creed. That coexistence cannot exist under a system of oppression and occupation. In fact, it is an affront to the concept. Nobody wants to see anybody die, regardless of whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian or of no religion at all, but decades of brutal oppression and of the international community overlooking Israeli impunity and apartheid have led us to this situation. What doe…

I too welcome the O'Farrell family. We have spoken about Shane many times over the last seven or eight years. One does not have to have a forensic mind to understand that Shane O'Farrell should have been alive today. We should not even be speaking about him but because of systematic failures in all strands of the authorities, Shane is dead and we cannot bring him back. There is one thing that we can do, as legislators and friends of Shane and the O'Farrell family, and that is to bring justice and some solace to the…

The people of Gaza are paying an absolutely terrible price for the crimes of Israel.

Already 300 children have been killed by bombs by the Israeli state. These are tantamount to war crimes. Cutting off electricity, with no medical supplies and no food, to 2 million people is tantamount to a war crime. What has happened over the past week would sicken anybody in this House. Nobody wants to see anybody die. Will the Tánaiste use his influence as the Minister for Foreign Affairs for this country, at EU level, to hold Israel to account for its continued war crimes against the Palestinian people?