Come on. Is the Deputy seriously suggesting we can effectively dismantle the Israeli state?

Come on. The Deputy's solution fails in any shape or form to deal with the complexity of the situation. It is not as simple as he has put forward at all. It is a long history, as the Deputy correctly pointed out. It is not as simple as recognising one state and derecognising another and attempting to dismantle it. That would cause untold further violence and upheaval. In our view, Palestinians and Israelis have to live side-by-side in harmony and in peace. That is the only solution into the future.

That is why we condemned 7 October and Hamas. That form of jihadism and rapine was unacceptable too. The Deputy has never done that. He has never condemned it-----

-----because of his particular view. I believe Israel has no strategic approach to the Middle East and has failed abysmally in developing a strategic approach. I believe earlier generations of leaders had a better approach to the idea of a two-state solution and getting there but it is a far more complex situation than the Deputy is articulating here today, to be fair.

Ireland is doing everything it possibly can. It may not appeal to the sort of popular rhetoric the Deputy will engage in from time to time. By the way, Ireland is recognised in the Arab world for its leadership on that question, and maybe the Deputy could acknowledge that from time to time.

Officials from across government have been engaging with their British counterparts since last autumn on the introduction by the United Kingdom of its post-Brexit import controls. Britain remains a significant market for Irish exports, especially for agrifood, so ensuring a smooth transition for businesses has been a constant Government priority. I am glad to report that the transition to the first phase of new UK controls at the end of January went broadly well, thanks largely to the level of engagement and prepar…

So far, the transition to the latest phase of controls seems to have gone well. There have been no reports of delays or congestion impacting Irish land bridge movements through Britain's east coast ports. We remain vigilant, however, because the longer term impacts of the new controls on Irish business and trade patterns will take some time to emerge. We will continue to engage with stakeholders. The controls introduced at the end of January did represent a significant change to the way Irish businesses export to B…

In the run-up to the introduction of import controls, all relevant Departments engaged directly with affected Irish stakeholders, especially in the agrifood, transport, ferry and port sectors through webinars, meetings, training and online briefing materials. Government veterinary inspection services, in particular the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, made extensive preparations to facilitate the increase in demand for export health certificates. This included intensive engagement by local veterinary…

I travelled to Egypt and Jordan in April as part of this Government’s continued efforts to address the crisis in Gaza and the wider Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Both Egypt and Jordan are at the forefront of regional and international efforts to halt the conflict in Gaza, address the dire humanitarian situation and resume a meaningful political pathway. In Jordan, I met with foreign minister Safadi, as well as with King Abdullah. Our discussions focused on efforts to bring about an immediate ceasefire, the uncondit…

First, ní aontaím go hiomlán leis an Teachta. Ní dóigh liom go bhfuil an méid atá ráite aige cruinn maidir leis an méid daoine atá ag obair sna seirbhísí sláinte, go háirithe agus an méid banaltraí ag dul in airde. Is é fianaise an scéil go bhfuil i bhfad níos mó daoine ag obair anois sna seirbhísí ná mar a bhí anuraidh agus an bhliain roimhe sin. In the first instance, I will deal with the so-called embargo that is being touted about the place. We now have 9,614 more nurses and midwives working in our health servi…

I made the point already that graduate nurses, qualified nurses and midwives committed to and coming through the international recruitment pipeline, emergency department, ICU, maternity and community nurses are all exempt from the recruitment pause. Recruitment of nurses has continued. The other point, which the Deputy did not seem to pick up on, is that expenditure within the HSE in the first quarter of this year, as confirmed by the Department of Health, is way ahead of profile. Spending in the HSE has not stoppe…

An additional €7 billion has been invested in the health service since 2020. When people say it is worse, I do not accept that because our survival rates have improved significantly over the past decade. There is room for significant improvement in certain locations. We need very rigorous examination of certain sites as to how people are deployed to get optimal outcomes and improve quality.

I agree with the Deputy that the death toll and the horrors happening in Gaza are quite shocking. The death toll is now in excess of 34,000. Over 1.9 million people have been displaced and, of course, thousands of people have been badly injured as a result. On my recent visit to Rafah, UN representatives spoke about the degree of psychosocial trauma that the entire population, particularly children, have been subjected to. There are 17,000 unaccompanied minors in Gaza right now, 17,000 children without parents and …

I accept what the Deputy is saying. War crimes have been committed. I am in no doubt about that. What is happening is a shocking humanitarian catastrophe. The most immediate priority is this Friday, when the UN General Assembly will consider the question of admitting Palestine to the United Nations to enjoy the rights and the full gamut of what is available as a member. That vote and the scale of the vote is important. We are supporting and co-sponsoring it with a view to ensuring as large a number of people as pos…

-----further examination of that from a legal perspective but the advice has been very strong to us.

Again, the European Council meeting is in June, I think.

We will see what can happen there. The Foreign Affairs Council meeting will be held before that. We have the meeting of the UN on Friday and we will see where we go from there.

First of all, I do not rule; I am elected-----

-----as is everybody else in this House. We have a parliamentary democracy in this country which I respect, and I respect the views of all citizens. I am under no illusion about the strength of feeling across the entire Irish people about what is happening within Palestine, and to Palestinians in Gaza in particular. My own party has been consistently supportive of a Palestinian right to its own state. Indeed, in our programme for Government, the three Government parties put together a commitment to recognise a stat…

We have taken action. The Deputy is being very disingenuous. We have taken action long before this war and during it. We were one of the first to support the NGOs that Israel had, in our view, wrongly labelled as supporters of terrorism. We continued our support for those NGOs, which are human rights organisations, with finance. We met them. I already instanced the UNRWA situation and the wider supports we give to the Palestinian state in the areas of education and health. That is action; it is not words. It is pra…