We need direct intervention from the Minister in this case.

Research has clearly shown the inequalities in structures and supports for women in sport. Quite simply, more investment will lead to more exposure and more success. As my maths teacher in school used to say, nothing succeeds like success. Seeing women athletes, and broadening the definition of what it is to be sporty so that more girls can feel they can participate and identify with it, is incredibly important. This massively increased funding through doubling the budget is very welcome from the Department and the…

My concern is another of the groups mentioned by Deputy Aindrias Moynihan, namely, those who are not involved in sports at all. We see poor levels of participation in sport and activity among young teenage girls. Much research has been done into this topic and how to break down these barriers. Girls talk about limited opportunities to try new things or learn new skills. I hope this investment, the doubling of funding, can provide new opportunities to learn new skills. Will the funding simply be for capital acquisit…

In 2014, I spent some months in occupied Palestine as a human rights observer. In these dark days, the people and activists I met both in Israel and in Palestine are never far from my thoughts. What was perpetrated against innocent civilians in the attacks by Hamas was horrendous. Nothing can justify it. The scale and the nature of the bombing in Gaza in response is worse than anything we have seen before. The ground assault that is still to come will add yet more brutality. We must remember the root of the endless…

President von der Leyen has shown that her support for international law is less about the rule of law and more about whether she supports the victims or not. Uachtarán na hÉireann has been very strong on this in saying she does not speak for Ireland. Does the Taoiseach agree with the President? Will he raise at the extraordinary European Council meeting with President von der Leyen her blindness to the rights in international law of the Palestinians in Gaza?

I welcome, as others have, the O'Farrell family to the House. I have had the pleasure of meeting Lucia on a number of occasions. I have to admire the relentlessness, steadfastness and energy she brings to the cause of justice for her son. The O'Farrells are a very impressive family who could teach all of us in here a few things. My local Green Party colleague and representative, Tate Donnelly, introduced me to Lucia. I thank him for that introduction and for the work he has done to support the family. As I said, me…

I am unclear.

Deputies Wynne, Barry and Bríd Smith have been in the Chamber longer than me.

Like other Deputies, I welcome the changes relating to sexual offences. Plenty of time is spent in this Chamber discussing the issues of violence against women, assault and sexual violence and the fact that this is a cross-society issue, but the justice system needs to play a part in that. Regarding the journey of a sexual offence from the point at which it happens to the point at which somebody is convicted, the number of times victims do not come forward, the number of times they come forward but the case does no…

On 12 December 2022 we saw the closure of the Lachin corridor, a small humanitarian corridor which was the only route into the Republic of Artsakh, in which ethnic Armenians live. This was closed by the Government of Azerbaijan. This act of closing the Lachin corridor was described by the International Court of Justice as a breach of international law. It also flew in the face of well-established European Court of Human Rights norms on collective punishment. The closure led to a cruel and deliberate forced starvati…

The news of funding and the humanitarian aid and effort is very welcome, and I know it will go a long way on the ground. It highlights another issue in that now there is a UN mission on the ground where there was not before and the UNHCR is getting involved whereas before there was a threadbare presence from the Red Cross. That was essentially all that was able to get into the region, which allowed Azerbaijan to be able to escalate its violence and brutality. One of the things I find frustrating around this is esse…

The first part of my question has been answered with regard to whether the two-state solution is possible. For me there is frustration. Why do we continually allow Israel to commit vast numbers of war crimes and breaches of international law with complete impunity?

I thank the Tánaiste. I find his language quite diplomatic, which is perhaps appropriate given his position, but I tend to agree with Deputy Gannon that we should call things what they are. In the question I have mentioned settlement building, settlement expansion, state-supported settler violence, demolitions and the forced transfer of Palestinian populations. What we are witnessing is Israel deliberately inflicting on Palestinians actions and conditions of life designed to destroy them within the West Bank. They …

I would highlight the difference between calling out and action. We have certainly taken much action in terms of economic sanctions against Russia that we have not against Israel. If we are supporting international law, let me ask this question. The International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, conference is happening now. Israel is well known to have nuclear weapons. The Department of Foreign Affairs is rightly proud of its record with regard to non-proliferation and its work in that regard. There are two motions from…

Irish school libraries are underfunded, under-resourced and are falling short of international standards. The Department of Education only funds 4% of school libraries. This morning I was in my local Mercy Secondary School. It is a DEIS school where parents fundraise for the library but there is no librarian to bring this to life. Funding school libraries is the best way to ensure access to reading and books and make sure every young person has the best start in life. Currently, only 30 DEIS schools are part of the…

As has been said before, the Minister was totally right to say we need zero tolerance on the issue of domestic and gender-based violence. This is a scourge that still haunts our country and still exposes many people, many women and girls, to threats, violence and death. Their very lives are at stake here. This Bill proposing to establish a new agency is incredibly important because it allows us to provide a sharp, laser-like focus in this regard. It allows us to act in a way in which this zero tolerance aim can be …

I thank the Minister for his attendance. It is nice to have the actual Minister responsible for a Topical Issue appear before us, so I look forward to a deeply informed response. I wish to raise the challenges in special care, particularly staffing of special care units. It is important that we contextualise this discussion by remembering that special care is a small part of our overall care system, with only a small number of young people in special care units. However, they are some of the most challenging and tr…

I thank the Minister for his detailed response. I know he understands the issues facing Tusla in general and the issues facing special care in particular. The issues we see in special care are replicated in other parts of Tusla. There is a challenge in terms of recruitment and I appreciate that. The agency conversion aspect the Minister spoke of has been incredibly important in terms of retention and staff morale. It is an excellent thing, for a variety of reasons. It needs to be supported and continued. The outrea…

I welcome the recent news of the significant overhaul of the disability payment system. Ms Niamh Ní Hoireabhaird, a disability activist from Clane, wrote in the Irish Independent last week about how she had been excitedly planning her wedding only to find out she was going to lose her disability allowance upon getting married. As part of this overhaul, will the Government commit to removing the stipulation that recipients of disability allowance have their allowance reduced if they get married, enter a civil partne…

I welcome the Bill. I welcome this change and reform to local democracy. It is, I hope, a real chance for change. Many improvements need to be made and we will get to that, but in reality local democracy in Ireland is rarely either local or democratic. Most of the power is held either by officials in the Custom House or by unelected officials. We are one of the worst countries in Europe when it comes to local democracy, local government subsidiarity and devolving power to local areas where it is needed. This is not…