The Taoiseach said he would get legal advice on the EU-Israel trade agreement three weeks ago. Where is the urgency when a child is dying every ten minutes in Gaza? People there cannot wait any longer. Whole families, generations of people, have been wiped off the face of the earth. People do not have enough food or water, they have nowhere to flee the bombs, most of the hospitals are not functional anymore, and we are watching this happen without doing anything meaningful to try to stop it. Absolutely zero pressur…

I want to start by acknowledging the sad death of Shane MacGowan. His legacy of iconic music is a testament to his genius. On behalf of the Social Democrats, I offer my condolences to his family, his friends and all who loved him. I am wondering how high is too high. How high will rents have to go before the Government says, "enough", and does something about them? There is another report out today detailing sky-high rents. This time it is from the RTB. Rents for new tenancies are up an enormous 11.6%. Across the c…

Listening to the Tánaiste, one would swear that this is some kind of big conspiracy to make Fianna Fáil and the Government look bad when they are doing everything that they can, but if it is, I am afraid that the RTB, the ESRI and loads more are in it with me. The Tánaiste may not want to admit it but the facts are the facts. The facts are that rents in this country under the Tánaiste's watch are a runaway train. The Tánaiste keeps coming in here and telling us that everything is under control but every year it get…

I know that.

Where is the Tánaiste's evidence for that?

The Minister claims to have full confidence in the Garda Commissioner. She also claims that no one could have anticipated the appalling violence in Dublin on Thursday. The Minister, Deputy Coveney, was on "Prime Time" last night trying to push the line that none of this was foreseeable. He said that far right activists had used sophisticated communication online to rally their supporters - sophisticated communications. Far right ringleaders were posting public messages on Twitter, Telegram and on other social media…

In terms of foreseeing the protest-----

It is not just taking the posts down.

Greyhound racing has been in decline for decades. Ireland is one of only ten countries in the world where commercial greyhound racing is still legal in 2023. Since the Government took office, it has given €74 million to the greyhound racing industry, with €19 million allocated in budget 2024. There are 17 tracks in Ireland and no one to fill them. Youghal greyhound track had an average of three people at meets during the start of this year. Why does the Government refuse to acknowledge what the overwhelming majorit…

Vótáil.

Under this Government's watch, there has been an unprecedented breakdown in law and order. The streets of this city were surrendered to a far-right and violent mob for hours on Thursday. We in Ireland like to think of ourselves as living in the land of céad míle fáilte, but tens of thousands of our migrant population do not feel welcome. Many now feel unsafe, threatened and even targeted. People now worry about their children when they leave the house to go to school or to meet their friends. It is an indictment on…

The country is still reeling from the attack last Thursday. As I speak, one of the children and Leanne Flynn, the heroic crèche worker who put her life on the line, remain in a critical condition in hospital. All our thoughts are with them. Almost immediately after the attack, Irish far-right agitators began to spread their venom through social media. They incited discrimination and stoked up fear and tension in a despicable attempt to blame our migrant population for the attack. They urged their supporters to gath…

I welcome that a deal to release hostages has been reached between Israel and Hamas. Everyone in this House is hopeful that Emily Hand will be among the first hostages to be released. My thoughts remain with her family at this extremely difficult time. I also welcome the release of 150 Palestinian women and children who have been detained in Israeli prisons. Taking hostages is a war crime but snatching children and babies from their families and using them as hostages is especially despicable. All hostages should b…

We must have a ceasefire, not a temporary pause and the Taoiseach seemed to echo that sentiment. Getting a ceasefire will require pressure on Israel and we have the ability to apply pressure in that way. When it comes to sanctions at EU level, the Taoiseach has said he does not want us to be too far in front because people will not follow him. As it stands Ireland is being outflanked by countries like Spain and Belgium so that excuse is ringing hollow. The Government is also failing to live up to its commitments. T…

The Government is running an advertising campaign to highlight the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It tells us that disability rights are human rights. It goes on to state, "Everyone in Ireland has a role in advancing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities." I really cannot imagine a more tone-deaf marketing slogan. That is all it is; a slogan. Disability rights are not rights people can exercise in Ireland. The only people who can do anything …

Those kinds of platitudes and promises are something that people have heard so many times before. These bear no resemblance to the reality. The reports about disability services in Ireland are far from the language the Taoiseach is using there. It is language like "unmet needs" and "wasted lives". The Taoiseach has said that his Government was the one to ratify it. How many years later is it and the Government still has not ratified the optional protocol aspect of it? How many years has the Government had to get to…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: — expresses its horror at the death and devastation being wrought by the Israeli government in Gaza; — expresses its outrage at the scale of the death toll in Gaza, with more than 11,000 people having been killed, including more than 5,000 children, 89 United Nations (UN) workers and 39 journalists; — expresses its abhorrence at the deliberate targeting by Israel of hospitals, schools, UN Relief and Works Agency installations, bakeries, residential buildings and civilian infrastructure in…

I have listened to the Minister of State and, earlier, the Minister of State, Deputy Browne, saying "This needs to stop", while simultaneously taking no actions to actually help it stop, when the actions in our motion are to match the words they are saying. Today, 650 patients and up to 7,000 civilians are trapped inside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Among them are 36 premature babies who have been removed from their incubators because the hospital ran out of fuel. Elsewhere in the hospital, the bodies of more than 10…

It is easy to feel completely hopeless and helpless watching the disaster unfold in Gaza. Today, there was a small glimpse of light. Up to 30 Irish citizens who had been trapped in a hell on earth for more than five weeks are finally getting out. I really hope they and every Irish citizen can escape the carnage. For the more than 2 million people who remain in Gaza, the nightmare continues. The horror is unimaginable. Yesterday, the Taoiseach's colleague the Minister, Deputy Harris, described it as a war on childre…

There is also the option of removing the diplomatic status of the ambassador. Yesterday, the Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau joined with the French President Macron in telling Israel that the killing of babies must stop. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu reacted angrily and stated that "the forces of civilisation” must back Israel in defeating “Hamas’s barbarism". There is nothing civilised about the Israeli war machine or its enablers in the West. What can we do when Israel will not even agree to protect babies…