Hear, hear.

Hear, hear.

I welcome the Palestinian ambassador, members of the Palestinian community and long-standing campaigners for justice in Palestine to the Dáil for statements to mark an historic moment for both Ireland and Palestine. The decision to officially recognise the State of Palestine fulfils a Dáil mandate that is now almost a decade old. It was in December 2014 that the Members of this House adopted the Sinn Féin motion that called on the then Government to take this step. Better later than never, of course. When the then …

Agreed.

As the Minister knows, dual-use items are items that can have either a civilian or, importantly in this case, a military use or capability. Over recent years, the Government and the Department have been signing off on an increasing number of licences for dual-use items to be exported to Israel from Ireland. Can the Minister assure the House that not a single one of those items is being used by Israeli military forces or their proxies in their ongoing genocide against the people of Palestine?

Those words would count for more if there were a single instance where the Department had refused a licence. There is a big question mark over the rationale and the reason the number of dual-licence products - these are products that can be used by military forces - has actually been increasing in recent years. The value of these products from Ireland to Israel was €4.7 million in 2019; it was €70.37 million last year. Every licence application has been approved by the Department. To put this in context, medical sc…

With due respect to the Minister of State, he is asking me to do his job for him. He talks about the interactions with the Department of Foreign Affairs. That Department is obliged under its own criteria to consider "Respect for human rights in the country of final destination as well as respect by that country of international humanitarian law". How the hell can we be allowing any licence for exports going to Israel to be approved, considering that it is the official position of this House and this Government that…

Not a single licence has ever been refused.

The announcement that Ireland will formally recognise the state of Palestine next Tuesday is an historic moment for both Ireland and Palestine. I want to commend today all those who have campaigned, marched, petitioned and stood up for international law and the reality that the only route to a lasting peace in the Middle East lies with a free, independent and sovereign Palestinian state. The state we will now officially recognise has long endured oppression, occupation and apartheid. Today, the people of Gaza face …

If I were to say "systemic failures, ineffective decision making, reactive policymaking, risk aversion, impacting supply, and undermining affordability", someone would think I was taking an excerpt from a speech Deputy Ó Broin had made in this House, but I am not. These are excerpts from the report of the Housing Commission, the housing commission that was set up and established by the current parties in government and which has delivered a damning indictment on what every single Irish family already knows, that th…

I welcome the Palestine women's national soccer team to Ireland and commend Bohemian Football Club on hosting the squad for their match this evening. What does it say about the Minister's party's record that after 13 years in government, families are forced to go onto the media to beg for the services to which their children with disabilities are legally entitled. Recently, another desperate mother had to go public to report that her little boy will miss out on starting school later this year because he has not rec…

All of that would count for something if this problem had just emerged in the past number of weeks or months.

This problem has been getting steadily worse under this Government. For all of the task forces and all of the reviews proposed by the Minister, there are immediate solutions that need to be implemented. Deputies Cullinane and Tully and other members of the Opposition have told the Government what they are. Most importantly, the families of the children involved and the professionals directly involved in providing these services have told the Government what the solutions are. The Government needs to end the recruit…

Today marks the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, which saw 15,000 Palestinians killed and 750,000 more expelled. The seven and a half decades since then have been marked, on the one hand, by the repeated breach by Israel of international laws and, on the other, by the failure of the international community to hold that state accountable for those breaches. The world, has, in essence, given Israel licence to disregard international humanitarian law and the UN Charter. In recent times, this has been evident through set…

Which Minister is taking this?

On Friday, 17 May 1974, three car bombs exploded in Dublin city centre. Less than 90 minutes later, outside Greacen's pub on the North Road, a fourth bomb exploded in Monaghan town. Some 34 lives were lost, including that of an unborn child. Nearly 300 were injured. Countless lives remain both physically and mentally scarred to this day. On Friday, we will mark 50 years since the massacre of Irish citizens by a death squad involving members of British state forces. It was the worst atrocity in this State since the …

There are not too many issues that would secure all-party support for a motion on four occasions, namely those tabled in 2008, 2011, 2016 and today. Some might say it is surprising that there has been a need to bring virtually the same motion before the House on four separate occasions. The most surprising aspect is that it took 34 years for the first motion to be tabled. That is telling. I hope what we can offer to the families and campaigners joining us here tonight is that on this occasion, the motion will be me…

I ask the Minister of State to outline the meetings and briefings he and the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, have had in respect of the North-South interconnector.

According to the Minister of State's response, the only briefing that was received was in respect of the North-South Ministerial Council. The only meeting-----

But that is not the question.