Not alone can I echo the call for a ceasefire and the release of hostages, but I remind the Taoiseach that I actually pre-empted his calls for those very things. There is no controversy on those matters. All the violence must stop now; not humanitarian pauses, not humanitarian windows, but a cease, a cessation, to all violent actions. I remind the Taoiseach that Israel is the dominant party in what is an asymmetrical conflict, to use the terminology, but let me ask him this, because he has used the terms "collectiv…

Why? Because Israel is never ever held to account. The Taoiseach is being very disingenuous as regards the International Criminal Court.

When it came to Ukraine and Putin's violation of international law, there were, correctly, multiple complaints to the International Criminal Court. Why is Israel different? Why is it that the international community cannot the state the truth that the world has seen with its own eyes? As Palestinians are massacred, why is it that Israel cannot be held to account? The Taoiseach's own words reflect the damning analysis that Israel is in repeated violation of international law. This State, the Taoiseach's Government, …

This is a serious issue.

Hear, hear.

That is outrageous. The Taoiseach is not withdrawing aid from Palestine?

I am asking a question.

Childish.

Last week, I raised with the Taoiseach the 800 vacant posts across primary schools. Today, the TUI has sounded a warning in regard to the recruitment and retention of teachers in secondary schools across the State. The union's survey shows that 89% of schools experienced recruitment problems in the past six months, 61% of schools are having difficulty holding on to staff and students are being forced to drop subjects as a result. The cuts imposed during the austerity era are now compounded by the housing and cost o…

Across the State, tens of thousands of homeowners and tenants are living in homes built during the Celtic tiger era that have serious building defects. These homes typically have no fire stopping measures, causing significant fire safety concerns. At the most extreme, they have no adequate fire escapes. Many properties have water ingress, that is, moisture seeping into the structure of the building, slowly eroding the fabric of the home over time. People have to deal with damp and mould and, in the long term, their…

We can agree that the scale of this is huge. I hope we can also agree that, along with builders and developers, the State bears considerable responsibility for this fiasco. Let us remember the details. We talk about defects. We have families living in homes that are not safe, that do not have adequate fire safety protection and, in the worst-case scenarios, have inadequate fire escapes. That is terrifying. There can be no excuse for delays to the emergency funding. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, would want t…

As Israel continues to lay waste to Gaza and its medical infrastructure, there are 50,000 pregnant women who cannot access basic health services and proper care. Now, Al-Awda Hospital, the only hospital in northern Gaza left providing maternity services, will shut down as fuel runs out. The trauma and the horror experienced by Gazan women is the stuff of nightmares. It is a living nightmare. Women are undergoing Caesarian sections without anaesthesia. Emergency sections are being performed on dying pregnant women h…

It is "unprecedented", "dire", "an exodus". These are some of the words used to describe the chronic teacher shortage, with new research showing 800 vacant primary teaching posts across the State. The situation is set to worsen, with vacancies expected to hit 1,200 in the near future. A staggering 66% of these vacancies are in the greater Dublin area and the impact is being felt disproportionately in poorer communities, with nearly half of disadvantaged schools reporting vacancies in permanent posts. The price is b…

We do not want to do that at all. What I would like the Taoiseach to do is-----

-----to answer the question I put to him. There are currently 800 vacant posts in primary schools. That is set to hit 1,200. That is a problem, I think we can agree. The teaching union is telling us directly that this is related to housing and the fact that teachers cannot afford to rent or buy a home close to where they work. I have asked the Taoiseach what he will do about that. His views on Sinn Féin are a matter for himself but they are not addressing this question. The teachers do not care about that. They wan…

To attack-----

This is all diversionary.

I want to join in extending condolences to Deputy Verona Murphy and to our colleague, Deputy Denise Mitchell, who also lost her father yesterday. I extend condolences to both families. We need to have statements, questions and answers with the Ministers for Justice and Transport on the issue of road deaths. I am struck by the fact that we have seen a spike in the loss of life, especially in rural Ireland. Some years ago we had an horrendous levels of deaths on our roads and there was a multi-agency plan and approac…

I want to return to the question of Gaza. A calendar month ago, horror was visited on Israeli civilians and we remain in condemnation of that action by Hamas. Since then, as has been said, Gaza has become a graveyard for children, with a child killed every ten minutes. It is very clear that Israel is not acting within international law in pursuing its self-defence. The Taoiseach has acknowledged that and I commend him for doing so. I also commend him for calling out collective punishment. I think that was important…

Why did the Taoiseach's Government take the decision to drastically underfund the health service in budget 2024? It is a health service that is already under enormous pressure, with record treatment waiting lists, a year-round trolley emergency and an ever-worsening recruitment and retention crisis. Against that backdrop, the Government chose, with its eyes wide open, to blow a massive €1.3 billion hole in funding for the health services people rely on. At the Joint Committee on Health yesterday, the head of the HS…