Israeli war cabinet minister, Benny Gantz, said on Sunday, "If by Ramadan our hostages are not home, the fighting will continue to the Rafah area". Ramadan begins this year on 10 March. That is the start of the week in which the Taoiseach presses his shirts and packs his bags to fly off to the United States for a celebration with President Joe Biden. Has the Taoiseach considered the fact that the most bloody episode of the Israeli state's entire genocidal campaign might now coincide with him providing a bowl of sha…

More than 100 workers at Activision Blizzard in Blackpool in Cork city face redundancy within the next couple of weeks. Their company was purchased late last year by Microsoft for $75 billion, which is the largest video game acquisition transaction volume in history. Microsoft is arguably the largest company in the world with gross annual profits last year of $146 billion. It plans to gut nearly 2,000 Blizzard jobs worldwide. The Blackpool workers have many issues they would like to discuss with the company. These …

Should the company talk to the union?

18 January was a day to remember in Northern Ireland. That was the day of the general strike in Northern Ireland's public sector. Transport workers, health service workers and teachers were on strike. More than 170,000 workers overall were on strike in defence of pay, which had lagged way behind inflation, and in defence of the people's public services. It clearly showed the most powerful and dynamic force in Northern society. It is not nationalism or unionism, but the power of a united working class. Now that Stor…

There are more than 300 children aged four or under in the Churchfield area on the northside of Cork city. Last August, a very long-standing and much-loved childcare and community centre, Before 5, closed suddenly. All other childcare providers in this area have waiting lists. The urgent hope is that a new childcare facility will open at the old location this September. However, for that to happen, approximately €366,000 worth of works need to be done and for them to be done in time, work will need to commence befo…

Adult education tutors in education and training boards from across the State will protest outside the Dáil at lunchtime tomorrow. They want to know why the Government is making an offer that falls short of equality with other post-primary teachers. Why is the Government not offering equal pay for work of equal value? Teachers in this country progress up the pay scale based on years of service. Why is the Government offering the adult education tutors progress up the pay scale based on number of hours worked? Why i…

The Bill is not premature; it is way overdue. The majority of people in Irish society, of young people, know that that is the case. In any event, we will move on and debate some of the issues here. We are debating a very modest proposal, which is to decriminalise possession of cannabis for personal use. We are talking about small amounts. The Bill stipulates 7 g of cannabis or 2.5 g of cannabis resin. The average joint would be in and around half a gram. This gives the House an idea of what we are talking about. I …

There is a massive expansion in the Minister's speaking time.

There is a water crisis in Cork city. The issue is dirty, discoloured water - brown and orange - coming from the taps. It is coming from the showers. It surges into washing machines and dishwashers. It does not affect every home but there is no question that it has affected many thousands of homes. Uisce Éireann statistics indicate that on nine separate weeks in the past 18 months, complaints from the public were more than ten times the number that would normally be expected. The problem began in earnest when Uisce…

The title of this session is Leaders' Questions not leaders not answering the questions. The Minister did not answer the Sinn Féin question. He did not answer the Labour Party question and he is not answering the simple questions I put to him. I will repeat them. Will he simply and clearly tell the Dáil and the people who have been directly affected by this that this situation is completely unacceptable? He did not answer that question. He must answer it now and say that it is completely unacceptable. Second, will …

Completely unacceptable.

He will not use the words "completely unacceptable".

Three hundred and sixty-four jobs are due to be cut at VMware in Ballincollig, Cork city, in the near future, possibly as early as next month. I expect this to have a big impact on what, for want of a better phrase, I will call the tech ecosystem in Cork. It will have considerable knock-on effects. The Minister for enterprise, Deputy Coveney, and IDA Ireland need to make replacement investment and replacement jobs a top priority. Will the Minister tell the House what steps have been taken and what, if anything, has…

We will be watching very closely.

The Minister of State may guess which topic I will raise. I once again raise the issues of healthcare assistants from outside the European Economic Area, EEA, many of whom come here from India and play a vital role in our health service doing stressful work away from their families. They do not reach the minimum income threshold of €30,000. People who came here last year and the year before are on €27,000. They have to do difficult, stressful and vital work away from their spouses and children. Often, they cannot e…

A total of 71 people were on trolleys in Cork University Hospital, CUH, this morning. It was the second most overcrowded hospital in the State last year, with 12,582 patients admitted without a bed. Already this year, the numbers presenting to the hospital's adult emergency department are up by one third on last year. This morning, the hospital's clinical director of emergency and acute care, Professor Conor Deasy, appealed to the Government to lift the staff embargo. What does the Taoiseach have to say about this …

Is there any comment on the recruitment freeze in Cork University Hospital?

Vacancy and dereliction are a curse across our cities, towns and villages. A study by the Revenue Commissioners two years ago put the number of vacant buildings at more than 57,000. There is plenty of potential for housing there. One of those buildings was probably the old Central Hotel in Mallow, County Cork. The building has been put onto the derelict sites register. It will have been vacant and derelict for 17 years this year. It could be used for affordable apartments or community facilities for young people, f…

Last week, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel has a case to answer on a charge of genocide. Who is the individual, outside of Israel itself, who has by far the greatest responsibility for funding and arming that Israeli assault? It is the man the Taoiseach intends to hand a bowl of shamrock on 17 March - President Joe Biden. Will his hand tremble when he hands over that bowl? Will he squirm when he poses for that photograph? How does he think that photograph will look to the people of Gaza who hav…

The ICJ should have ruled in favour of immediate ceasefire but despite its failure to do so, its ruling is a clear defeat for the Israeli regime. The court has found that it has a case to answer for genocide. The Irish Government must now get off the fence and join the South African action without further hesitation. Benjamin Netanyahu's decision to defy the ruling must now be a green light for the stepping up of mass protest worldwide against Israel's rulers and their backers. Israel's number one backer, President…