It is not agreed. Israel acts with impunity and continues its genocidal war on the people of Gaza because it is never held to account by world leaders. Millions of Palestinian refugees in Rafah face the same nightmare as those wiped out in Gaza city and Khan Yunis before the eyes of the world. Government has said that Israel's attack on Rafah is inhumane, that Israel behaves as a rogue state and that Netanyahu is not listening to anyone. Why then is the Israeli ambassador still in Ireland, justifying genocide on RT…

I was very sorry to hear of the passing of former Taoiseach John Bruton yesterday. Through his long career, he had a significant impact on politics and life in this State, and 'though we held very clear and very important political differences, I want to express my respect for John Bruton's commitment to public service and to representing people. It speaks to his dedication and resilience that he was a Teachta Dála for 35 years. It is to his great credit that he gained and maintained the trust and support of the pe…

Tens of thousands of people are now refusing to pay the TV licence. The licence, as the Minister knows, is €160 and people are voting with their feet in huge numbers. Is it any wonder? People are understandably angry. They feel they are being taken for a ride. The recent financial scandals at RTÉ, the latest chapter of which is the debacle of Toy Show The Musical , have rocked people's trust and confidence in the national broadcaster. The number of people refusing to pay has soared in the aftermath of these scandal…

I have heard some bluster in my time but that really was a bravura performance of absolute rubbish - sound and fury, signifying nothing. My God, it is remarkable how one person can talk so much and say so very little in response to a very straightforward question. Is the Government for the TV licence or not? I have stated our position, which is in line with the expert view of an expert commission. When it was published, the Government dismissed that view. We do not do that. We accept the commission's view. The corr…

Oh my God.

Humanity itself is on the line in Gaza. With every Palestinian killed in Israel's genocidal war, with every innocent Gazan child whose beautiful life is horrifically extinguished, with every family wiped out, home destroyed and hospital decimated, and with every refugee camp bombed, the humanity of the world slips further into the darkness. Ireland must now confront that darkness. Ireland must confront this genocide and seek justice for the Palestinian people. Ireland must join the case against Israel in the Intern…

Hear, hear.

It is not agreed.

Yesterday, I raised with the Taoiseach the scandal of a wealthy vulture fund buying up 46 of 54 homes at Belcamp Manor in north Dublin. These were homes that should have been available to workers and families to buy, to live in and to call home. Instead, the fund will rent them out for more than €3,000 a month. It is scandalous. Clearly, the Government's measures to stop the funds have not measured up. It is not just Sinn Féin saying this. Department officials warned Government last year that funds were still snapp…

For clarity, I was referring to rental income. Not a red cent is paid on that.

The level at which these rents stand should be borne in mind. Our motion this evening calls for a rate of at least 17%. We are simply reiterating what we told the Government at the time, that anything less than 17% would fail to be an adequate disincentive to clip the wings of the vulture funds. We are repeating that. I see no reason for the Taoiseach not to support the motion if he is, as he says, concerned with stopping this practice. I do not have to provide the figures I have quoted to the Taoiseach. The CSO ha…

I quoted them to you.

I want to return to the situation in our emergency departments. As the Taoiseach knows, hospitals have not been able to sustain the figures that we saw over the Christmas break. They have really struggled. They have cut activity in hospitals to try to manage the situation, but we know that this could not last forever. This morning, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation reported 654 people on trolleys. The Irish Examiner , as was alluded to, reported that an 87-year-old man spent 100 hours waiting at University…

The cost of doing business in Ireland makes these worrying times for workers and for businesses, which, as the Taoiseach knows, have been vocal on this issue. Corporate insolvency has reached its highest level in five years, with a 25% rise in 2023. Across the country, towns and villages see long-standing businesses, particularly restaurants and pubs, are closing their doors. Jobs are being lost and communities hollowed out. SMEs are particularly vulnerable and, no doubt, are watching the rapidly approaching deadli…

I move amendment No. 1: A. To insert the following after "terms of reference and the type of inquiry;": "acknowledging that were it not for the work of the Women of Honour group, the Canary Movement and others, these matters may never have been brought to light;"; B. in paragraph G. to delete the words "in so far as (vii) below is concerned,"; C. to insert the following after "in light of the responses to same;" in paragraph (vii): "(viii) investigate whether Complaints of Hazardous Chemicals were deterred on the b…

This can either be the beginning of the end or simply the beginning of a series of inquiries that will see survivors re-traumatised time and again in pursuit of the justice they have deserved for years or even, in the worst-case scenario, for decades. The process of sampling must be excluded from the terms of reference. It would be cruel for the voice of any survivor to be excluded on the basis of their abuse but considered as similar in category to that of another. The language itself is problematic. It states the…

Go raibh maith agat. Three years ago, the Taoiseach's Government promised it would stop vulture funds bulk-buying family homes from under the noses of ordinary homebuyers. This followed considerable public anger on the back of a fund attempting to buy up the majority of homes at Mullen Park in Maynooth. On the floor of the Dáil the Taoiseach said: What happened in Maynooth and Hollystown is not right. We do not want investment funds in any form coming in and buying substantially complete developments that could hav…

I have set out the facts for the Taoiseach. I have acknowledged and put it to him that he did respond in 2021 on the back of the Maynooth situation. I also reminded him that, at the time, he was advised that he had not gone far enough. I also told him that, in July of last year, Department officials told the Minister that the regulations were failing. They said very clearly that funds were continuing to buy up family homes. The Taoiseach says that he wants this to stop - I presume we are all in agreement on that - …

It does not say that.

Oliver Bond flats in the inner city of Dublin are 90 years old. If you live in Oliver Bond, you are likely to be living with damp and mould, in conditions that are unacceptable and unbelievable in 2024. A report published today reflects that people living in Oliver Bond flats have a higher likelihood of respiratory illnesses such as asthma. The report speculates strongly that this is a direct consequence of the very poor living conditions that exist. I have to say that I was not surprised at all to hear the outcome…