I pay tribute to my colleague Deputy Duncan Smith who has led for us on this important motion. As Deputy Smith has said, this is the last Labour Party Private Member's motion in the lifetime of this Dáil. It might even be last Private Member's motion. In any case we thought it was vitally important we would put it down on the issue of healthcare and especially healthcare staffing. We are all conscious what a crisis exists. Notwithstanding the very lengthy Government amendment, which is about four times as long as o…

Education is the great liberator, but that is if you can get an education. In Ireland in 2024, as we have learned today, 44 pupils across the country are being taught at home because there is no school place available for them. A further 150 young people are receiving home tuition because of anxiety or mental health issues but also in many cases because there are just not enough staff in their school to look after them during the day. Those figures, awful though they are, only scratch the surface and do not take ac…

Oh shut up.

Apologies, a Cheann Comhairle, but I have really had enough of that.

I thank the Taoiseach for his constructive response. A Cheann Comhairle, I apologise for my language earlier but I am sick of taking insults and abuse on cycling from Deputies who believe that God above is in charge of the weather and who have no record of taking the climate crisis seriously. I have no time for that nonsense.

I have no time for that nonsense when we are----

A Cheann Comhairle, I want to address the Taoiseach's response to me. Government policy is taking teachers for granted, notwithstanding his response. We still have some of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in Europe. The Government promised a citizens' assembly on the future of education which seems to have been quietly dropped. We want to know when the Taoiseach will address the teacher shortage crisis that is causing such seriously negative knock-on impacts for children's education across the country. As we reach …

This Bill and the amendments from the Seanad give us an opportunity to address that bigger issue of the Land Development Agency. We in the Labour Party certainly supported the Land Development Agency in principle. We think it is a vital vehicle to deliver homes at scale, affordable homes that we badly need. However, as Deputies Ó Broin and Boyd Barrett have pointed out, there are real concerns about the delays in output from the Land Development Agency. Six years on from its inception, the Shanganagh scheme we have…

Not agreed.

I welcome the Taoiseach's comments this morning that he is looking for a pathway to progress the occupied territories Bill. That is welcome. I also note, however, that he said it will be challenging to see it passed before the election, whenever that will be. On this side of the House, I think we would all be willing to facilitate the speedy passing of the Bill, given the ongoing carnage we are seeing in Gaza and Lebanon and that we all want to see stronger and more effective sanctions on Israel and to seek to prev…

Next week, the Labour Party will table a motion on the crisis in healthcare for patients and staff. Throughout the country, trade unions representing healthcare workers are holding lunchtime protests because the new de facto recruitment embargo is leaving vital positions unfilled and, therefore, putting patient safety at risk. It is taking up to a year to fill vacancies and when someone retires or leaves for another position, or takes leave, such as maternity leave, his or her position is not ring-fenced for backfi…

We are all aware of the terrible impact on children of long waiting lists, particularly for those with scoliosis and spina bifida. As we head into flu season, all of us are thinking about healthcare and the health of our children, and we all know how much we need a new national children's hospital. Last week, the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and members of the board of the national children's hospital appeared before the health committee. In response to questions from my colleague Deputy Alan Kelly, some i…

I raise the ongoing brutal bombardment by Israel of Gaza and Lebanon, and I want to ask the Taoiseach about the occupied territories Bill. Over the last few days, I think we have all watched with great distress as Israel's actions have escalated still further to an even more horrific degree in Gaza and Lebanon. On Sunday morning, UNIFIL reported that 15 peacekeepers were injured in Lebanon following an attack by Israel upon them in apparent targeting of UN bases. These actions by Israel represent a serious breach o…

I thank the Taoiseach. It is encouraging to hear that we will not wait for European consensus and that the advice will go to the Cabinet next week. Certainly, if there is anything we in the Opposition can do to ensure the expediting of the passage of the occupied territories Bill, I think we will all do it. It has cross-party support. That is encouraging. At EU level, we support the Taoiseach seeking a review of the EU-Israel trade agreement. That is important. He has said he will be at the European Council meeting…

The Labour Party has drafted legislation, as the Taoiseach may know, to make unincorporated associations accountable for paying redress for abuse that has been committed by members or those under the power of those organisations. The need for this Bill was brought to the fore by the recent scoping inquiry on sexual abuse in schools but, of course, it would apply not just to religious orders but also to other unincorporated associations, including political parties and others. On 3 October, when I raised this matter…

Can the Taoiseach advise if he can provide an update on this before the general election and will we see this Bill capable of being brought into law?

It is some weeks since the budget but those locked out of securing housing are realising how little it does for them because house prices and rents are still going up and availability is not keeping pace with demand for homes. I know the Taoiseach will agree on this because we are all so aware of the chronic housing shortage and the impact it is having on so many people and communities. The Government's targets are too low and it is not even meeting its own targets for social and affordable housing. We have been pr…

In any discussion of child protection, we must think first of survivors and victims of childhood abuse. Their needs and rights must be front and centre. Child protection procedures are in place to protect children. That may sound self-evident but it can sometimes be lost in translation. In my previous life as a practising lawyer, I had the experience of representing survivors of abuse in court and before the Residential Institutions Redress Board. Through that work, I witnessed the traumatic impact of childhood abu…

I raise the incredibly volatile and concerning situation in the Middle East. As we were coming into the Chamber, we heard reports Israeli troops are, as we speak, firing on three UNIFIL positions in Lebanon. We understand from reports that one of those is the base at Naquora, that there are injured UN peacekeepers and that UNIFIL is to issue a statement very soon. No Irish peacekeepers are affected, as far as we know, but all of us must send thoughts to the troops now under fire. They are UN peacekeepers fulfilling…

As the Tánaiste said, clearly the situation is unfolding. UNIFIL is due to give a statement shortly but the reports are extremely concerning. I agree that of course we need to see an immediate ceasefire. It is also true, as the Tánaiste said, that Israel is not listening to allies. It is not listening to anyone. That is the point. It is continuing to act because it believes it can do so with impunity. Netanyahu's Government has lost all sense of moral compass, international law and compliance. As a small state here…