I have not seen the detail of the advice to the Minister, Deputy McGrath. I expect that when I see it, I will find out that Deputy McDonald has not told the full story or given the full picture to the Irish people and that she has engaged in a degree of misrepresentation and misleading behaviour. I suspect that the advice will also say that the number of family homes bought up by investment funds might have been something like 1% or 2% of total sales-----

-----but I will double-check that. As I said earlier, the Government does not want to see family homes being bought up by investment funds. That is not the case at all. It is something we think is undesirable socially and economically. That is why we changed the law in 2021 to stop this happening. It does not apply to old permissions. This is an old permission from 2019. The Deputy's contention is that increasing stamp duty to 17% will solve the problem but she does not know that. A rate of 17% might not be enough …

Like everyone in the House, I am appalled at the ongoing violence that is occurring in Gaza and, indeed, in the West Bank and Israel, where millions of people have been displaced and tens of thousands killed, mostly women and children. We should not forget there are two sides to this conflict. It is the case that many more Palestinians have died than Israelis and many more Palestinians have been displaced than Israelis but there have been Israelis killed and Palestinians and Israelis displaced too. It is important …

As I mentioned earlier, the Attorney General will travel to the ICJ in The Hague on 22 February and will make Ireland's intervention in respect of the case relating to Israel and Palestine and the actions happening in that regard in person. This demonstrates that we take these matters seriously and that we take the ICJ seriously. On the genocide convention case, we will adopt the same approach that we did in respect of Russia and Ukraine. We will wait until South Africa files its memorial - its main case. We will c…

There has been considerable investment in University Hospital Waterford under this Government. Just since 2019, there has been a 40% increase in staffing at the hospital. The hospital's budget is now approximately €270 million. There has been a 33% increase in the budget since 2019. There has been considerable investment in Waterford. That includes the second cath lab, which people in the region campaigned very hard for over a long period. That is open now, and we want to extend the hours to weekends as soon as pos…

In terms of clarifying the record, I think I have done that already by correspondence. Like a lot of things, investment depends on how you count it, that is, whether you count the spend when it is actually spent, which often happens after the building has been built, or when it is announced or when it is under construction. What the Deputy and I do not disagree on is that Waterford and the south east need more investment, and I can guarantee him that so long as this Government remains in office, and so long as ther…

I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. I know many Deputies have done so, in Government parties and Opposition parties alike. We are a Government that supports enterprise and wants to make work pay. We believe it is possible to reward enterprise and reward work. However, there are interplays and balances that have to be struck, and we have to strike them right. I acknowledge that the cost of doing business is very high and is rising. Some of that is down to pay. Much of it is down to energy. Some of i…

Businesses, particularly small businesses, have received unprecedented support from Government over the past three or four years. During the Covid-19 pandemic, we helped pay the wages and the overheads. During the energy crisis, we helped with the energy bills through TBESS. We reduced VAT to 9% on a temporary basis-----

-----we brought in tax warehousing and we also have a new grant which businesses will receive in the next couple of months. The sad reality is that there are a number of businesses in the State which have only got by in the past couple of years because of that State support and some of those are not viable. That is a sad truth but one no Government can simply subsidise forever. On the story the Deputy tells about somebody emigrating to set up their lives abroad, of course that happens. It happens all the time for a…

They are. The Deputy is entitled to his opinions, but he is not entitled to his own facts. The facts are that in the past three years, 80,000 Irish citizens left and went abroad for all sorts of different reasons. A total of 90,000 came back. That is a fact, Deputy.

I think the Deputy may be incorrect and we can check the record. I believe I said the Deputy's party only mentioned Hamas in the context of its crimes on 7 October which it says does not justify Israel's response.

There is no condemnation.

There is no call for the release of the hostages. There is no call for Hamas to cease fire. There is no call for that terrorist organisation to disarm.

The issue of immigration and asylum is a very sensitive topic and one that needs to be dealt with sensitively in this House, so I reiterate my view and that of the Government that migration in the round has been a good thing for Ireland. We would not be able to run most of our public services without migrant workers. Many of the big companies that are here that pay billions in tax would not be here if it were not for access to talent from all over the world, and of course people coming from other parts of the world…

If I stick to that, I can do this very quickly.

In relation to the O'Meara case, we will need legislation on that. We are considering the judgment, which is about 160 pages in length. I should point out that the judgment was made on equality grounds. Sadly, the court confirmed that it does not see Mr. O'Meara's family as a family under our Constitution and nor can the State. That is another reason why we need to change the Constitution. I want to acknowledge the loss and bereavement he has suffered and I know that no payment from the State can make up for that l…

First, everyone should live in safe and healthy accommodation. Damp, mould and cold living conditions are not acceptable, particularly when it is State-provided accommodation. In relation to Oliver Bond, I am informed that Dublin City Council is working on a design in preparation for a Part 8 planning application for the regeneration of Oliver Bond flats, including blocks L, M and N. In the meantime, the council is making a number of interventions including the installation of mechanical ventilation units and the u…

My understanding is that early pregnancy loss and fertility treatments can be covered under the statutory sick pay scheme, which is new. It just requires a doctor's cert to that effect. However, I appreciate and am sympathetic to the calls for dedicated leave for the reasons outlined. Some employers offer it on a voluntary basis. To pick up on what many Deputies said earlier about rising costs and the rising difficulties businesses are having, the Government has introduced a lot of additional leave, including an ex…

The Government defends the right of people to protest and do so peacefully. That includes pro-Palestinian protests, and it includes protests against antisemitism and protests against terrorism. I do not know the details of the case raised by the Deputy. There may be more to it than I know or the Deputy knows. We have no plans to bring in any restrictions on pro-Palestine protests.

I thank the Deputy. I do not believe this is just about electricity prices, which as the Deputy will know are now falling and falling rapidly for businesses. It is also about lead and zinc prices, which ultimately determine how much the company gets for what it produces. The Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Simon Coveney and his team, alongside our enterprise agencies, have been engaging with the company to see what financial and other support the Government could put in place for the company t…