Tell that to the people in the Middle East.

I have been at protests outside the Russian Embassy and I did not see the Taoiseach there.

Can I just get one word in?

From the start of Putin's horrendous invasion of Ukraine, we have raised the need for the State to call clearly for debt cancellation as a significant act of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. We tabled a motion in the Dáil to that effect, pointing out that, annually, 12% of all Ukrainian state budgetary income is currently going on debt repayments and that that was utterly unsustainable. At the start of the war the IMF said that Ukraine's economy could contract by as much as 35% in 2022 but that the debt would …

It is almost two months since the Government received the report from the working group to examine defects in housing. That report is extremely stark in terms of the situation it sets out with regard to defects, primarily fire defects in apartments and duplexes. The report states: "The Working Group estimates that of apartments and duplexes (or associated common areas) constructed between 1991 and 2013, the number that may be affected by one or more defects, i.e. fire safety-, structural safety- or water ingress de…

So what? The State could buy the houses.

Why not?

The State could buy the houses to keep the families in them.

There is something rotten in An Bord Pleanála. The only reason we know this is because of the work and the serious stories published by The Ditch , especially over a period of about six months, about what has been happening with An Bord Pleanála. I will briefly list just some of the many allegations published on that website. The publication of these allegations started on 6 April, with a report that Paul Hyde had defaulted on loans and had failed to declare his legal ownership of three properties in the 2021 regis…

Yes, these are allegations. The allegation concerning the application made by his sister-in-law concerned a property she co-owns with Mr. Hyde's brother. On 11 May, it was alleged that another board member had voted on at least three planning applications in the Dublin 6 suburb where she lived. One of these was less than 400 m from her home. On 30 May, another allegation was published that she had approved planning permission for a development application brought by one of her company's clients. On 31 May, it was t…

We are in the middle of a severe cost-of-living crisis. We are also facing a climate catastrophe and experiencing the sixth mass extinction event brought about by the unsustainable use of land, water and energy. These two crises are not unrelated. In fact, they are two sides of the same coin. The root cause of both is the capitalist system. In other words, it is the organisation of our economy and society around profit and maximising profit for the fossil fuel companies in particular, without any regard to people's…

Deputy Connolly made interesting points earlier about the use of the Irish language. I definitely support use of the Irish language in terms of naming State bodies and so on. It is an important way of popularising and bringing the language into normal use but I cannot help but be a little bit cynical when it comes to this naming. I wonder if the name is being changed from "Irish Water" to "Uisce Éireann" because of the deep unpopularity of Irish Water, the dislike that many ordinary people hold for it as an institu…

Outside the Dáil today were many residents of apartments and duplex complexes, including Hunterswood and Park West. These are some of the 100,000 householders facing serious defects in their homes. They were carrying placards saying "Not our fault" because it is not their fault. They did everything right when they bought their homes. The fault is with the builders responsible, with the lack of proper regulation, and with the regime of self-certification that existed at the time. It is not their fault, but at the mo…

I have three quick questions. One, when will the Government decide on the report? Two, will the Government agree that anything it does will be retroactive and will the Taoiseach make that commitment now? Three, will the Government commit to 100% redress?

The annual report speaks about the role of Ireland in the world. I would like to ask the Taoiseach whether the role he envisages is one of allying with and participating in NATO. I ask the Taoiseach whether the Irish Government participated in the fifth meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which took place at the Ramstein US air base in Germany, which also happens to be where the NATO military headquarters are based. After the meeting, the US Secretary of Defense said, “I am extremely proud of the progress…

The role of the parliamentary liaison unit is to ensure that dialogue and so on take place on the implementation of the Government’s legislative programme. Part of the agreed Government legislative programme is a referendum to enshrine water in public ownership in the Constitution. This is a matter of considerable public debate. A mass movement defeated water charges and in the aftermath, the Government said there would be no problem about having a referendum and that we would have public ownership of water. It is …

When will it be?

Will it be this year?

So the Taoiseach could not progress a referendum in Covid.

This morning President von der Leyen made a speech to the European Parliament about the energy and cost-of-living crisis affecting people across the Continent. She said the energy companies are making revenues they never accounted for or even dreamt of. She is right about that. The Taoiseach can look up the figures for the big oil and gas corporations at a global level. I compared profits year on year, quarter 2 versus quarter 2, and Shell, Exxon, Chevron and BP have all tripled or quadrupled their profits. In this…