Affordable homes.

Tomorrow will mark exactly two months since most of the world's attention became focused on Israel and Palestine, but the conflict has been going on for much longer than that. Today, we saw that the visa of the UN humanitarian co-ordinator was revoked simply because she made the following statement: Nowhere is safe in Gaza and there is nowhere left to go. The conditions required to deliver aid to the people of Gaza do not exist. If possible, an even more hellish scenario is about to unfold, one in which humanitaria…

There are but the next speaker should be here in time. It has been said that there are only two certainties in life, death and taxes, but perhaps rising Irish rents should be included in that old maxim because here we are again. Whether it is the latest Daft report, CSO statistics, the census or, as in this case, RTB data, we are talking about rents rising again and again. At exactly this time last year, Eurostat detailed how, over the previous 12 years, average rents here had increased by a whopping 82%. One year …

We are weeks away from Christmas. For many young people, this will be an incredibly difficult time because it will be their first time away from home for Christmas. These are young people who have been forced to go abroad because they feel they have no ability to build a life here. Some families will have the delight of having their children home only to have the gut-wrenching experience of them leaving again after Christmas to return to Australia, Canada and beyond. We have heard again today that more young people…

Arguably one of Ireland's greatest foreign policy achievements was the so-called Irish resolutions at the UN. These are widely recognised as having brought about the first nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Ireland was of course the first country to sign it. Frank Aiken, who was then Fianna Fáil's Minister for External Affairs, was under no illusion. He recognised and stated explicitly that it was our neutrality that was key to this. Our neutrality was not simply a side effect of a state that was a former colony. No…

Gabhaim buíochas. Tuigim go dtuigeann an tAire Stáit an méid a tharla i nGaillimh le roinnt laethanta agus seachtainí anuas agus ní rud nua é seo. Tá a fhios agam go raibh sé anseo agus i nGaillimh, fiú amháin, nuair a bhí an fhadhb sa Chlochán. I seek an update on Galway flood defences. I am aware the Minister of State has been in Galway in relation to the most recent floods and that he also came when Clifden was hit badly.

I know the Aire Stáit saw the complete and utter devastation in Galway and the very real-life impact it has had both on businesses and on the wider community, within the city and county. The stark thing that stood out to me when speaking to one particular business owner was that she said that this may not have happened before or it may not have happened to this extent before, but we know this will happen again and asked what can we do to ensure it does not. Her business was completely destroyed in terms of what had…

The Aire Stáit is correct in saying it was a tsunami and the concern is obviously that there will be more tsunamis and that they will be worse. As he mentioned, we were very lucky in Galway that there was no loss of life. We need to do everything in our power to ensure the people and the communities of Galway are protected going forward. I note he said there were not enough of these specialists, particularly the specialist engineers, both on a national level and on an international level. Does he know if we are tra…

College students face serious challenges due to the housing crisis. Last week, the Irish Council for International Students told us shocking stories about the way international students have been housed. We heard of a three-bed house in which ten students were living. They were told that another person would join them for that person to live in a tent in the back garden. They paid €300 for that privilege. There were 11 people sharing one bathroom. That is the legacy of the Tánaiste’s Government. That is the legacy …

It absolutely is.

Tá ról lárnach ag scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge i gcur chun cinn na teanga dóibh siúd nach bhfuil Gaeilge labhairt acu sa bhaile agus, ansin, i gceantair Ghaeltachta dóibh siúd a bhfuil an Ghaeilge á labhairt acu sa bhaile. Tugann sé deis do scoláirí a gcuid oideachais a fháil ina dteanga dhúchais. Tá tábhacht ag baint leis seo i gcomhair chaomhnú na teanga agus tá sé tábhachtach go bhfaigheadh na scoileanna seo tacaíocht ón Roinn Oideachais agus ón Aire Oideachais chun é seo a dhéanamh. Ní fhaigheann scoileanna educatio…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. Tá eolas agam anseo faoin gcineál maoinithe atá á fháil ag education and training boards, ETB-anna, i gcomparáid leis na scoileanna deonacha. Má bhreathnaímid ar an capitation standard rate, mar a thugtar air, tá difríocht ann. Tá €276 ag na scoileanna ETB agus tá €316 á fháil ag na scoileanna deonacha. Is rud eile é sin ón méid a bhí mé ag labhairt faoi maidir leis an €110.50. Ansin tá siad ag fáil an €110.50, méid nach bhfuil na scoileanna ETB ag fáil mar go bhfuil deontas eil…

In life, two of the most important things are health and housing, and both areas seem to be in perpetual crisis here. Indeed, most of the Government's actions actually seem to be making matters worse for people. A recruitment freeze in the health service at a time when the system is bursting at the seams is simply incomprehensible. You would think that it would be a cost-saving exercise, but is it? Many within the HSE want to move away from using agency staff but this recruitment ban is doing the exact opposite. Th…

Today, we are celebrating Science Week. We are honouring the achievements of science and we are recognising the success of science and the progress that has been brought about by scientific research. I recognise that the Minister mentioned that we need to do everything we can to make sure that a career in science is available to everybody. This week, the education committee went on a visit to the Holy Family School for the Deaf in Cabra. It was a fantastic visit. We visited both the primary and secondary schools. I…

"Everything in Gaza is upside down. It is hell to be honest. It is hard to find food, hard to find water. It's hard for everyone. I am lucky. I am so happy that I am going to leave." Those were the words we heard this morning from Ayman Shaheen as he prepared to pass the Rafah crossing into Egypt. The hell in Gaza continues and, as we debate this motion, Israeli soldiers are raiding Al-Shifa Hospital, causing more terror and more hell. Al-Shifa Hospital is where premature babies died because the hospital's incubato…

There is devastation in Galway. Businesses have been flooded and livelihoods completely destroyed. In Clarinbridge, business owners told me this was like nothing they had witnessed before. They are concerned and fearful that this is indicative of what is to come, perhaps even this winter but certainly in years to come. This is a massive blow to the livelihoods of the business owners and the workers but also to the growing community that depends on the services these businesses provide. They need security and suppor…

At times like these, I hope people see the value of our neutrality and the ability of a small nation such as Ireland to have an outsized voice that can call for de-escalation, diplomacy and peace, even when larger powers call for greater confrontation, greater militarisation and further escalation. The Tánaiste's security forum has finished and its report has been produced. For those of us who support neutrality, its findings are just what we expected. The overwhelming majority of people support our status of neutr…

In this day and age, it is very common to give out about social media; to say that it is no good, toxic or divisive; and to complain about misinformation and so on. A lot of that can be the case, but in this instance we need to give social media its due because without it we would not be able to see the horrors happening in real time in Gaza and the West Bank. We are not dependent on the likes of CNN, Sky News or the BBC to show us what is really happening on the ground because the Palestinian people can show that …

Students were expecting and hoping to see a permanent reduction in the student contribution charge in the budget last week, rather than a once-off measure. Students I have spoken to in the past week are really disappointed about it. Will the Minister explain why there was temporary reduction in the charge rather than a permanent one, with a view to abolishing it?

The Minister mentioned the financial crash. In 2008, when the registration fee was first increased by a significant amount - by 67%, as I recall - I had just started college. Students came together to protest outside Leinster House, in Galway and all over the country. They knew that fee was simply the start of what was to come and, indeed, it has increased massively since then. It certainly is true that people will be pleased to see some money going back into their pockets by way of the reduction in the charge. The…