I welcome this debate even after ten or 11 months of seeking a debate. It is not really a debate because it is just statements with no questions and no answers. I am delighted that the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has finally arrived in the Chamber for this debate. There has been talk about misinformation and disinformation. None of the Ministers speaking today had scripts. I hope the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, has. They were asked for them. We cannot fact-check them. One Minister told us there were 103,000 Ukrainian…

This situation is delicate and emotive and it needs to be dealt with. The people out there are yearning for information and are not getting it. I want the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, to tell me how many people from his Department are on the public engagement team. I believe it is very few. When will they have joined-up thinking and put services in place? I demand that he meets the people in Roscrea. He will not find a far-right person there. These are decent people who have been demonised and blackguarded. Imagine t…

I am delighted that South Africa, a country with a very chequered history, brought forward this case. Words mean a lot but words can be semantics at times. The ICJ can only find a country guilty of genocide so it has said that there is a "plausible" claim of genocide in its interim judgement. I am surprised and disappointed that while we have close ties with the US, which I want to maintain, Ireland has not called in the US ambassador to persuade him to put more pressure on Israel to stop this horrible genocide and…

The Tánaiste may have read over Christmas about the wonderful achievements of Shaun Fogarty from Cahir over the new year. In 2013, this 19-year-old student was left paralysed followed a devastating car accident. His family was told he would never move, eat, drink, or speak again. In the ten years since his accident, Shaun has overcome massive challenges with the support of his parents Gretta and Kevin Fogarty, his family, and wonderful carers. He showed great determination and strength and after three years in hosp…

This needs to be looked at for cases such as this with such inspirational people.

He has that but he loses-----

School bus transport is a very important issue, especially in rural Ireland. It is very important for families. It is also important when we are talking about carbon emissions and everything else. There are two big problems in this area. One is that people over 70 are not allowed to drive school buses, even if they are medically fit. This has been raised here by me and many other people for the past two years. It would be a simple measure to allow people, where they have been certified by a doctor, to continue work…

Go raibh maith agat. Tá an t-am caite.

The last EU Council meeting in December was a pivotal one. The war in Ukraine, the enlargement of the EU, the revision of the EU’s multi-annual financial framework and the conflict in the Middle East were all on the agenda. These issues sparked a variety of opinions among EU leaders. Why would they not? The meeting aimed to reach a consensus on enlargement, specifically on the potential of EU accession negotiations with Ukraine and Moldova, and the granting of candidate status to Georgia. The Taoiseach supports Geo…

Tá cúpla ceist agam. Does the Minister of State not think it a failure that Europe could not make a united stand calling for a cessation and condemning outright the genocide that is going on in the Middle East and the fears of the spread there? Under what specific treaties are we duty-bound to take in so many refugees as a percentage, and IPAS applicants? The Taoiseach has welcomed the fact that Georgia has become a candidate to join the EU. Has he or the Minister of State expressed concerns about the number of Geo…

The Minister of State skirted around the question I asked about the specific obligations we have under treaties. I asked him which treaties but he just said international treaties. It is my understanding, in the context of the referenda on the Lisbon treaty, that a specific commitment was given whereby countries like Ireland, Denmark and others could opt out. I also asked if the Government has signed up to an agreement more recently to pay money if we cannot accommodate the people who come here. Furthermore, I aske…

It is not agreed.

Go raibh maith agat, a Leas-Cheann Comhairle. On behalf of my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group, and Deputy O'Donoghue raised it already, we badly need a debate on the situation facing small businesses, especially food outlets. We had two restaurants on Main Street in Tipperary town, Prime 74 and Flanagan's Lane Restaurant, close in the past week. These were two excellent premises with excellent staff and excellent management. They were excellent family businesses. This is replicated up and down the county …

The N24 upgrade from Cahir, at the Cloghabreedy junction, through County Kilkenny and on to Waterford city is at design stage and now it is at stage 2. Engagement is taking place with householders and farmers along the route. There is a proposal that up to seven houses and family homes may be demolished. The road is very badly needed but there is now confusion and no clarity from the Department or TII. It is supposed to be a single carriageway route. It just beggars belief that in this day and age in 2024, they wou…

I, too, believe that the situation underscores the urgent need for peace, not war. We would much rather see the Irish Government step up its effort to bring about a peaceful ceasefire. The pursuit of peace and justice should always be our guiding principles, regardless of the complexities of international law and optics. I condemn utterly the actions of Hamas on that fateful day in October. I unreservedly condemn the massive overreaction of Israel. It will not even listen to its allies in the United States. Now we …

I raise with the Minister the issue of planning permission and planning guidelines for log cabins, modular homes and mobile homes. We are all well aware of the housing crisis, which the Minister has been addressing, and we are all talking about it. There is a concerning situation in the case of people who have modular homes or a mobile home. I have previously asked for a ten-year moratorium during this crisis. There is strong enforcement by local authorities of planning policy against log cabins and temporary dwell…

The guidelines do not allow them.

They never get it.

From Whitelands Cross right up to Glenagat Cross where Dan Breen was married in a cow house, as his wedding took place in troubled times, every resident on the road signed a petition supporting Sean Meehan to be allowed to live in his home and on his site. The Minister is totally wrong there. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil promised at the last election that the rural planning guidelines would be changed but then they did a grubby deal with the Green Party and that promise went out the window. This political promise on c…

This man has housed himself. I am dealing with 12 more people like him who have housed themselves. They are not looking for anything off the council. They just want to be left alone. The Minister should do his job as part of the Government but he is not doing it.