Every day in Gaza brings a new atrocity and today is no different. The hospital in Khan Younis has been evacuated. This morning, the World Health Organization, WHO, issued a plea to the Israeli Government. Now we have powerful organisations basically just pleading with the Israeli Government not to commit war crimes. I do not know how much longer we have to sit back and watch that kind of savagery continue and not just refuse to take action, but actually reward those who have facilitated it. The Taoiseach says that…

There is an urgent need for co-ordination on school transport. It is particularly sparse in rural areas and is very limited. A group of parents got together in my constituency to campaign for the introduction of a bus between Bantry and Schull Community College and there are about 35 pupils who need it. Bus Éireann has told me that the children are already covered under the concessionary scheme but there is no direct bus from Bantry to Schull for them to pay a concessionary fare on top of that. There is a clear lev…

Clean drinking water and wastewater treatment systems are basic components needed to grow or even just sustain rural communities. At the moment, our island communities in west Cork face huge barriers in accessing affordable social housing due to the need for a stand-alone wastewater treatment units. In Castletownbere, there is an issue where there is no extra capacity for drinking water because of the presence of pearl mussels in the current supply of drinking water. There is also the issue I raised with the Taoise…

The lack of planning in the school system means that children with additional educational needs are consistently being failed. I am contacted by parents across west Cork every week. I was speaking to a mother and her twin children recently. One of the twins has Down's syndrome and they have been in the same class all the way through primary school. One twin has had an SNA with her full time. They are just about to head into secondary school and they found out there is a place for one of the twins but potentially no…

On behalf of the Social Democrats, I join others in paying tribute to Tommie Gorman. He had a stand-out career in public service broadcasting. My thoughts are with his family, friends and colleagues. I am glad that the relevant Minister and Minister of State are present in the Chamber today. The group Mind EveryBody is in the audiovisual room as we speak and is trying to bring home the reality of how desperately people with eating disorders in this country need support. I do not know how to emphasise this enough. I…

Will the Minister of State please address the issue of inpatient beds?

There has been no funding allocated for that.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment to his new post. Today is undoubtedly a very proud day for him and his family. Some people have commented on his age and queried if it should exclude him from the role. While I am glad not to be the only one patronised because of their age, it goes without saying that I do not think the Minister of State's age is an issue. We need more young people in politics. We also need more women in politics and more people from under-represented communities sitting at th…

I also want to mark the death of a legend - Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. His magical voice expertly evoked all the drama and passion of the GAA for decades. He devoted a lifetime to the promotion of the GAA and the Irish language. He did this in a manner that beguiled and transfixed a nation. He will be missed but forever remembered. I will also take this opportunity to wish the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister of State, Deputy Jack Chambers, the very best in their new positions. I warmly welcome Nat…

The phrase "zero tolerance" rings about equally as hollow as that of "Never again" in this scenario.

Like many other people, I believe the DPP should review the leniency of this sentence because it was not a zero-tolerance one.

However, my fear is that in reviewing it, the DPP will discover that this sentence is not unusually lenient at all and that men routinely beat women to a pulp and walk free from court. Natasha is now known and admired across the country, but she never wanted to be in this position and she should not be. We are familiar with the names of other women too: Elaine O'Hara, Jennie Poole, Nadine Lott, Ashling Murphy, Bruna Fonseca, Anna Mooney and so many more. How many taoisigh have stood there before and spoken about ze…

Yesterday, primary school principals were in the House pleading for help. Over the past two years, heating costs have risen by an average of 37%, electricity costs by 35% and insurance costs by 19%. Seven out of ten primary schools ran a deficit in the last 12 months. Almost three quarters do not even have enough money to pay for cleaners and caretakers. More than half have had to fundraise for basic utilities. On top of all of that, 28% of schools have a long-term vacancy rate, with that figure rising to 51% for D…

Respectfully, it is not my narrative. It is what the principals are telling us, and it is really important that we listen to it. They spoke about the things the Tánaiste just referenced, for example, the hot school meals programme and how welcome that is. However, one principal gave an example of a contract for the hot school meals programme costing €160,000, which is more than the school received for all the other costs it is covering. While schools welcome the programme, they cannot pay for basic things like clea…

Will the Tánaiste outline what the Government will do to address these issues?

Today, 13-year-old Cara Darmody will hold a protest outside the Dáil again. Cara is protesting for improved autism services and for the Government to live up to its promises to disabled people and their families. She has first-hand experience of the difficulties endured by people with disabilities. Her two younger brothers, Neil and John, are autistic and she and her family have had to fight for every single service they have ever received. So many families have to fight and witness nothing but broken promises and …

I thank the Minister for the congratulations. Respectfully, that is the kind of rhetoric that I am saying does not match up with reality. The Minister is talking about people reaching their full potential and people's needs being met. There is a stark contrast between that kind of language and the language that comes back in reports from the Ombudsman with titles such as Wasted Lives. We have seen all the reports and heard all the promises over and over again. We have seen committee after committee. Cara has had me…

Is there anything the Minister can say today that will lead us to believe that it will actually be any different? I mean actions rather than promises, meetings and reports.

At the outset, I wish the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, the very best as he announced he is stepping down as leader of the Green Party. He has always been sincere and helpful. He can be proud of his contribution to Irish public life. Domestic violence is a problem which is endemic, systemic and growing. Women's Aid recorded more than 40,000 disclosures of abuse last year. These figures are truly shocking. That is a 20% increase on the previous year. I acknowledge that the Minister, Deputy McEntee, is working on this…

The way this pact has been handled is an insult to the Dáil and the people who elected us. At every step of the way, the Opposition has pleaded with the Government to treat this issue carefully and allow for sufficient oversight and debate. At every step, however, the Government has ignored those pleas. The only actual scrutiny of the pact before today was two three-hour sessions in the justice committee in late April. One of those sessions was only added at short notice when the Government's cavalier approach to o…