They do matter. The Deputy will always need to find a stronger word, no matter what word we use-----

I propose to take Questions Nos. 5 to 8, inclusive, together. Ireland’s well-being framework was launched in July 2021. It consists of 11 dimensions made up of different aspects of well-being, with a dashboard on the CSO website of 35 indicators. The development of the framework is a major new initiative of the Government and is modelled on best practice from the OECD. We know that no single measure can accurately capture how we are doing as a country but by bringing together economic, social and environmental stat…

I thank the Deputies for their questions. This block of questions relates to the well-being framework and I am not sure whether many of the issues raised by Deputies relate directly to that. Of course, they are entitled to raise any issue they wish in the House, but it makes it difficult for me to reply. Day services in Saint Michael's House, which Deputy O'Callaghan has raised a number of times in the House do not fall directly into my remit, but I will follow up with the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte on it a…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, together. The Housing for All update and quarter 3 progress report was published last week. This report sets out our priority actions for the coming year as we build on the strong start we have made in tackling the crisis. It is clear that we are making real progress. We can see it on the ground, with new homes and apartments being built all over the country. In the past 12 months, 30,000 new homes have been built. That is 50% more than when this Government came …

I thank Deputies for their contributions. Deputy O'Sullivan raise the process of buying a house. Approximately 60,000 people a year are buying houses. It is great to see that happen. For a lot of people who I know and who bought a house in the past couple of years, some found the process seamless and others found it really complex and stressful, particularly if they were involved in bidding wars or were victims of gazumping. In some cases, they found homes that were put on the market but should not have been put on…

That is with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. A decision has not been made on it yet. It recommends changes to the income thresholds, recognising the fact that people earn more than they did before, and also increasing the amounts of grants given, recognising that the cost of construction has gone up. It has not been formally signed off on yet.

I do broadly, yes.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue once again in the Dáil. The Government's position, and the position of Ireland, is clear. We are calling for a ceasefire that will allow humanitarian aid to get into Gaza, including food, fuel, medicine or whatever is needed. We are calling for the hostages to be released and we believe a ceasefire can facilitate that. We are calling for the killing to stop, and that is why a ceasefire must be adhered to by all sides, not just by Israel but also by Hamas, Isl…

The consequences are an investigation that is being carried out by the International Criminal Court, a body we support and to which we have provided additional funding as a meaningful action, precisely so that it can carry out the investigation it wants to carry out into activities in the occupied territories, by Israel, of course, but also by other militant groups, like Hamas, that may have committed war crimes. That is the work the court is doing and we should support it in that work. It is why we have provided a…

I thank Deputy Cairns for raising this important question. It was during my first term as Taoiseach that we ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities. We are not a country that just ratifies a convention and then moves on. We are a country that makes sure we have done what we need to do before we ratify a convention and that is what we did on this occasion. It was not straightforward but we got it done. I want to acknowledge in particular the work of the former Deputy Finian McGrath, as M…

We do not have a date for it at this stage but it remains Government policy and it remains a Government commitment to do exactly that during this term in office of this Government. The Minister is reviewing the steps needed to allow the optional protocol to be ratified. We will not wait for an optional protocol to the UN convention to be ratified to make improvements in the lives of people with disabilities. We are doing that. I have set out what we have done in education so far. We have come on in leaps and bounds…

We will propose an amendment to People before Profit's motion tonight in which we will call on the House to deeply deplore the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, including the death of more than 11,000 people, almost half of whom were children, as a consequence of Israel's military actions in Gaza, condemn the barbaric acts on 7 October by Hamas in Israel and specifically condemn the killing of children and civilians. We will raise our very deep concerns about violence in the West Bank, in particular sett…

Deputy, I am not. I appreciate why you have to say things like that, but I can absolutely guarantee that I am not. I am sorry you had to make that up, quite frankly. The Minister of State, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, was telling me about something else.

In relation to Shannon, the US does not fly planes through Shannon to Israel. It does bring some of its troops to service people through to bases in Europe and other parts of the world, and has done that for a very long time. I have set out the rules in relation to the use of Shannon Airport for transit. I think that has happened to the Palestinian people for the past 75 years is shameful. It is appalling. I think the international community and, as part of that, the West and the Arab world have let them down extre…

-----and killings, and that has to change. I hope that one of the things that can come out of this, if anything can come out of this, is a renewed effort from all sides - the West, the Arab world and the Islamic world - to demand a two-state solution to give the Palestinians the homeland they need.

I am not an expert on terms like "genocide". My understanding of genocide is that it is an attempt to obliterate an entire nation or an entire people. For example, the Holocaust, or Shoah, and the killing of 6 million Jews, which was half the Jewish population, was certainly genocide, or an attempted genocide.

We will look at it.

I thank the Deputy. At the outset, I recognise that very many communities across the country, including in County Kerry, have accepted and even welcomed large numbers of Ukrainians and international protection applicants in the past few years. With respect to the Harmony Inn in Kingscourt, Killarney, the Minister has met the Kerry TDs, the mayors of Kerry and of Killarney, and the chief executive of Kerry County Council. I think that meeting may have been about two weeks ago. The community engagement team in the De…

As I mentioned in my earlier reply, a community engagement team has been established. It is engaging directly with elected representatives, relevant local authorities, the local development companies and other entities and individuals. The purpose of the community engagement team is to improve the flow of information regarding arrivals into areas and to help equip local communities with information required to help them understand the current situation and to assist with the welcome and integration process for new …

I am afraid I am not familiar with the issue Deputy McGrath has raised. Perhaps the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, will be able to come back to him directly on it. There have been calls for statements on climate action, on the situation in Northern Ireland regarding the Assembly Executive not functioning and on violence against women and domestic and gender-based violence. I would welcome statements or debate on them but I really think it is for the Business Committee to order that business in the normal way rather tha…