Deputy Paul Murphy asked about electricity supply. I am glad to say we are in a much better place in the security of electricity supply than we were this time last year. That is down to the extra generation taking place, in both renewable and gas, and the fact that there is a better partnership between EirGrid and the big energy users, including data centres. Data centres can be called on to contribute to the grid because they have generation capacity of their own, particularly when there are issues around supply. …

In percentage terms, the rate has fallen but is still at 69%, when one excludes those are who are not stated. That is pretty high by international standards but not high enough. That is why we are prioritising home ownership. I will have to come back to Deputy Ó Murchú on his question in respect of gaming. I might ask the Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael McGrath, to come back to him. I know the tax credit is designed to encourage more of the gaming industry to base operations here in Ireland and we are seeing s…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 to 33, inclusive, together. I travelled to New York to attend the UN General Assembly's high-level week. I delivered Ireland's statement at the UN's SDG summit, which highlighted the need to get back on track with reaching the SDGs. Towards that end, leaders adopted the summit political declaration, which Ireland co-facilitated with Qatar. I also gave Ireland's national statement to the General Assembly on the Friday. In my speech, I highlighted four issues, which were the need f…

Deputy Haughey raised the issue of the UN Security Council. It is very much our view, and I expressed this view at the UN General Assembly, that the UN Security Council needs to be reformed. It simply does not reflect the world in 2023. The five permanent members are the victors of the Second World War, which was a long time ago now. It is in dire need of reform and legitimacy. We should all appreciate that there is much more to the United Nations than the Security Council. There is UN peacekeeping. Does anyone dou…

-----notwithstanding anything Deputy Boyd Barrett may have seen. It was established by the United Nations as a Jewish state in their historic homeland. Israel has the right to exist-----

-----but it does not have a right to do wrong. Finally, Deputies will recall that there were many calls to expel the Russian ambassador and to close the Russian Embassy in Dublin. Everyone in this House knows that I was 100% on the side, and remain 100% on the side, of the Ukrainian people in resisting occupation and resisting the war that is happening that has been caused by Russia. We decided not to expel the ambassador or close the Russian Embassy precisely because we think it is important that even in the worst…

I thank Deputy McDonald for raising this very important and very serious matter once again in the Dáil. I say once again that Ireland unreservedly condemns the brutal attack by Hamas and other militant groups on Israel and the devastating loss of life it has caused. We also condemn the terrorist attacks that occurred in France last week and in Belgium only yesterday. We also demand the release of all hostages without any conditions immediately. Israel has the right to defend itself and to pursue Hamas terrorists wh…

Alongside the UN, we have called for the order which Israel has made for Palestinian people to move to the southern part of Gaza to be rescinded. That is not an acceptable demand in our view. We have also clearly condemned the cutting off of supplies of water and fuel to the people of Gaza. That is not acceptable. In contrast, we need humanitarian corridors. The European Union is working on that with Egypt at the moment. Israel has the right to defend itself, to pursue the terrorists who attacked its civilian popul…

The position of the European Union is the one agreed in the statement by the European Council. That was agreed on Sunday after many conversations over the weekend. I hope we will be in a position to build on that position today at the extraordinary Council of the European Union. Each EU member state has its own foreign policy. We only have a common foreign policy when we agree to have one and when we can agree joint statements. While President von der Leyen has done an extremely good job as President of the Europea…

I hope that we can all agree a few things in the House. First, that we condemn without reservation Hamas's actions in Israel and that we call for the release of the hostages immediately and without any preconditions. I hope we will all agree, just as is the case for any sovereign state, including ours, that Israel has the right to defend itself and has the right to pursue the terrorists that attacked it-----

-----and try to rescue the hostages who are currently being held in Gaza. I hope we can all agree on that. I also hope we can agree on a third thing, namely, that it is not acceptable for Israel in defending itself to violate international humanitarian law, to target civilians, to cut off civilian infrastructure or to order people to be displaced to the south of Gaza. I hope we can agree on all those things. I specifically asked about the consular situation. We are in constant contact with a number of citizens in G…

I thank the Deputy. I hope that when this period is looked back on there will be what might yet be seen as a number of Donogh O'Malley moments. What we have done, particularly as regard to employment rights, such as the move to a living wage, is hugely significant. There is the introduction of statutory sick pay and all the different forms of parental leave, which did not exist before, as well as the national pension plan legislation the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Humphreys, will bring in this year to m…

In terms of our accounts, when it comes to early years childcare and early education, the budget for next year for the first time will exceed €1.1 billion. When this Government came to office, it was €0.63 billion. There has been a 70% increase in investment in just over three years. That is really considerable. What does that mean for parents? It means by next September the average family will pay half what they paid for childcare than when this Government was re-elected. That is a considerable achievement with hu…

I want to recognise Deputy Michael Healy-Rae for raising the very serious issue of road safety. Like everyone, I was shocked to see the headlines over the weekend. Five more people died on our roads in different incidents around the country. With the Deputy, I would like to extend my deep sympathies to the families affected and the friends of those who were lost on our roads. It is devastating to see the extent to which road fatalities have increased over the course of this year. We have to turn the tide on it over…

It is all these things. We know from the success we had a few years ago in bringing down the number of road fatalities - and we should not forget all the injuries either, many of which are life-changing - that it is never one thing. It is about approaching the issue from five or six different aspects. I agree that road maintenance and improvements are part of that picture but they are only part of it. The Deputy made a strong case a number of times for educating children in school about road safety and, potentially…

I will come back on a few of the points. To be very clear, the budget is agreed by the entire Government and the entire Government is responsible and accountable for the budget. It is not agreed bilaterally between the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, Deputy Donohoe, and the Minister for Health, Deputy Donnelly, and any other Minister. The budget was agreed by the Government and approved by the House. That is essentially how it works. I just want to be very clear about…

I am sure he is happy to engage.

I am sure he is happy to engage. He has engaged with some and I am sure he is happy to do so again.

We believe the motion is balanced and does provide a strong statement-----

-----on behalf of this House.