It is the Government, Deputy Smith.

He has 20 seconds.

Yes.

You can join us in the vote so, Deputy.

As we meet here, Israel's genocide in Gaza continues, Israel's attacks on the West Bank continue and now Israel's bombardment of Lebanon continues and Israeli leaders are openly discussing a land invasion. Israel is committing war crimes every day. That state is in flagrant violation of international law, just as it has been not for a year but for several decades. Today, we are on the brink of a global humanitarian and security catastrophe. Every time we think things cannot get any worse, Israel proves us wrong. Wh…

My assertions amounted to a request that all Government Ministers clarify the full interactions they have had with Israeli Government Ministers and state officials. You did not answer whether that would be forthcoming. You set out very clearly and rightly the realities of Israeli actions in both Palestine and Lebanon, but you did not set out any consequences for those actions. I have no doubt that there are many within the international community who are very grateful for the positions Ireland has taken. I am very …

Nothing angers and frustrates people more than seeing wastage of public money. Of course, the litany of overspends and wastages under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael is endless. We could go back to the electronic voting machines; the €150 million spent on the MetroLink, which still does not a have a timeframe; NAMA giveaways; and projects with seemingly unlimited budgets and zero accountability. After each such controversy, the Government says that lessons have been learned. Perhaps the Tánaiste could tell us what lesson…

Is the Government actively seeking to dismantle the adult education sector? How else could the Minister explain a situation where adult education tutors with Cavan and Monaghan Education and Training Board, ETB, and other regions, were informed at minimal notice that their contracts were suspended and that their classes would not commence in September as planned? How could the Minister explain a situation where students planning to commence courses or to advance their qualifications actually turned up, only to be t…

While there are a lot of failures this Government is overseeing, the failures in disability services are probably the single greatest failure. Like all the other failures, what we get from the Taoiseach is soundbites rather than solutions. My experience of dealing with families in Monaghan is a familiar story, from listening to other Deputies. Families are waiting far too long for an assessment of needs. When they get through that particular hurdle, they are waiting far too long for occupational therapy appointment…

Last October, I raised with the Taoiseach’s Fianna Fáil predecessor the case of a young boy in Castleblayney who was seriously injured in a football match and had to wait three hours before an ambulance arrived. The then Tánaiste informed the House that he could not understand why it would take so long but set out very clearly that things were improving and all the great things the Government was doing. A fortnight ago, another young boy in Monaghan town was seriously injured in a football match. He lay screaming i…

As we sit here, bombs are exploding across Lebanon. They are exploding in supermarkets, offices and cars and they are indiscriminate in the taking and injuring of life. This is clearly a strategic move on the part of the Israeli regime that is designed to escalate the conflict more widely and, crucially from its perspective, to bring the United States directly into the conflict. I can only assume that a large part of this strategy is based upon the wish to deflect attention away from the genocide that has now gone …

That is crazy.

I recall in November 2016 that I was an MEP when the Fine Gael Minister for Finance, Deputy Michael Noonan, attended the European Parliament's economic and monetary affairs committee. I asked him about the so-called double Irish, one of the many practices that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had created to allow the wealthiest corporations in the world avoid paying their taxes. The scheme at that stage was being finally brought to an end but Fine Gael had given a longer phase-out period than was needed so companies could…

Hear, hear.

I do not know if the Tánaiste has had a chance to reread the letter he wrote to the grieving mother of Shane O'Farrell in December 2019. In it, the Tánaiste told her that she could be assured of his continued support for a public inquiry to be set up. Six months after that letter was sent to Lucia O'Farrell, the Tánaiste became Taoiseach. In his time as Taoiseach, he did nothing to advance that pledge. Last night, for a second time, the Dáil passed a resolution calling for a public inquiry into the death of Shane O…

Is that the Tánaiste's answer?

The scoping inquiry was established when the Tánaiste wrote that letter.

After that, the Tánaiste wrote that letter.

There is. Set up a public inquiry. Will the Government do that?

Seriously. The Tánaiste is saying he has ethical issues.