-----but will it change Israel's position? That is the key issue.

Globally, there must be an international alliance of countries to really put pressure on Israel.

I respectfully suggest that is the way to proceed.

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I acknowledge that there are very significant difficulties and challenges with the dental treatment medical scheme and dental healthcare more generally in terms of the poor capacity in the public sector side of dental treatment. The preponderance of people has been towards the private sector and the difficulty in terms of recruitment and establishing a comprehensive structure within the dental public health service has proven problematic for quite some time. There have bee…

The preponderence of people are moving more into the private sector. That is the reality. However, I take the Deputy’s point. There are ongoing reviews and discussions on this between the Minister and representative organisations. Recruitment has been ongoing and additional funding has been allocated over the past two to three years. I do not have the specifics on County Laois; I know the Deputy does. I will ask the Minister to engage with him in respect of County Laois specifically. In terms of prioritisation, tho…

There is an obligation on Dublin City Council to act on derelict sites and it should have acted in respect of such derelict sites and buildings. That is first and foremost the responsibility of local authorities. Some have managed it reasonably well while others have not. That is why the Government took a decision last year to bring Revenue in on derelict sites so that Revenue will make sure that dereliction will be penalised.

I spoke about this earlier. Again, my sympathies go to the family of Yves Sakila. It is an issue of the deepest concern and needs to be thoroughly and fully investigated. Obviously, there will be a post mortem to establish the cause of death, which will inform the Garda investigation. Fiosrú, the independent Office of the Police Ombudsman, was notified, as required under the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act 2024. It is fully independent in terms of its investigative and operational functions. There are v…

I agree fully with Deputy Gannon that this is an appalling incident and we must condemn those who did it because they are impacting, presumably, on their own community. Young children now cannot avail of that play facility because of the burning that has taken place. I cannot comprehend why people would do that. I will alert the Minister for justice to the Deputy's comments. There has been increased visibility but gardaí are not going to be everywhere 24 hours a day. That has to be acknowledged as well. Nonetheless…

First, I appreciate the comments the Deputy has made and that he has acknowledged the encouraging signs the committee witnessed when it visited Lady's Island Lake recently. I have been engaged with the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, on the biodiversity plan and national funding over a period, to enable implementation of the broader national strategy and plan. Obviously, we are committed to continuing the work at Lady's Island Lake to see how speedily or timely we can get that work done. I will speak to the M…

The additional resources have been allocated and the Garda and others are working flat out to make it as timely and efficient as possible. Legislation is there, so people are either constrained by it or have to operate under the legislative frameworks that govern vetting. It should be kept under constant review to make sure it is practical and pragmatic while at all times ensuring proper safeguarding and protection of people.

I know the Minister for agriculture is here but I will take it on the basis that this morning, the Cabinet had a discussion on this issue, acknowledging, first of all, the significant take-up of TAMS by farmers in respect of solar. More than 20% of the expenditure overall, out of €160 million, has been on the solar capital investment scheme. That shows there is a real hunger there among farmers. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, is engaging with the Minister for agriculture. They will try to work it out togethe…

We have benefited enormously from a strategic approach to cancer over the past three decades, going back to the late nineties. That has resulted in significant survival rate improvements and increases in technology and so on. Survival rates for patients have improved greatly. OECD data show that cancer mortality rates in Ireland are falling faster than the EU 27 average and faster than that of our economic peers. The first strategy was 1996. My understanding is that there is a successor to the current ten-year stra…

As we have always done, we work to help and support Irish citizens in any difficult situation. In this case it is absolutely unacceptable. I have condemned what the Israeli military and Israeli Government have done in international waters. We will work extremely hard through our ambassadors to make sure that all Irish citizens are looked after and that they are released immediately. Those are the advocacy and representations we will make to the Israeli Government. I do not accept the Deputy's assertion that it is t…

I do not think it is fair. I will just make the point----

That is not the reason.

That is not the reason.

I take it that it is a post-primary school.

I will talk to the Minister in respect of this. In addition to the physically established special classes, a new inclusive class is being advanced by the Department. It is open to schools. If they have children and young students with special needs, the same principle of one teacher and two SNAs will apply. In advance of a class being established physically, a new innovation has come into being. I will check with the Minister whether Duiske College can be accommodated within that. We are trying to create more class…

The Deputy knows that the European sanctions against Russia are European, not individual member states'. The same applies to Israel. We have not been able to get unanimity at European Union level in respect of Israel. The Deputy knows that yet he just presents a false picture. By the way, Russia did kidnap thousands and thousands of children.

The Deputy has never brought a Bill in about that.