What about what is happening in Yemen?

The Catholic bishops have, this week, finally agreed to hand over patronage of eight schools so that they can become secular schools. This is after a decade of talk following the forum on patronage in 2012. At this rate it will take 3,000 years to finally have a secular primary school system in this country. Even more alarming are the reports today that the church may be doing with these schools exactly what Deputy Boyd Barrett explained in respect of the national maternity hospital, that is, hanging on to ownershi…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion. It is striking the length to which the State has gone to try to cover up the reality of the extremely long waiting lists for children who have special needs. It is ingenious of the State to try to do so. This stands in contrast with the absence of similar ingenuity matched with resources to provide children with the care they need. If a little of the effort that went into covering this problem up went in, matched with resources, to providing the services, therapy …

Was the question not transferred?

The inhumane system of direct provision sees companies like Aramark make millions in profits, running what are essentially open prisons for asylum seekers. This is fitting, perhaps, because Aramark also makes money by running for-profit prisons in the US. They have treated those who are in direct provision here appallingly over the years, by serving up terrible food, by intimidating those who speak out and, in one case, by locking the common room on Christmas to prevent families from having a celebration for their …

The Taoiseach thinks that it is fine.

That is the implication.

I wish to ask the Taoiseach about his position on the newly published draft corporate sustainability due diligence directive from the European Commission. We desperately need laws ensuring corporate accountability throughout the supply chain, regarding human rights, labour rights and environmental rights, but it appears the Commission has gone for the lowest common denominator position, with loopholes to carve out the vast majority of corporations in this country and across the EU. For example, 99% of Irish busines…

It is criticism of the draft directive.

I also want to talk about the Aer Lingus ground staff. They very decisively rejected a proposal to impose a pay freeze and cuts to allowances on them today, voting 85% against. Fair play to them. These are workers who have not had a pay rise since 2019, and the Labour Court was pushing to continue with the pay freeze for almost three more years when the cost of living is through the roof, as the himself has now pointed out. At the same time, IAG is now granting 10% pay increases at other airlines. Does the Taoiseac…

The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, report was described by the UN Secretary General as "an atlas of human suffering and a damning indictment of failed climate leadership". The latest report talks of a "rapidly closing window of opportunity to secure a livable and sustainable future for all". It says that up to three quarters of the world's population faces life-threatening climatic conditions this century due to extreme heat if we do not act to stop climate change. The IPCC chair, Dr. Hoesu…

The Secretary General of the Department of the Taoiseach is on record as saying that no clear process was followed in deciding to give a 38% pay rise to Robert Watt. He stated “While I would rather there was a much more scientific process for all of these things, there is not.” Some €81,000 extra was given to Mr. Watt, more than the vast majority of workers earn in a whole year as a regular wage, not a pay increase, and with no scientific process for it. We hear that further pay increases of 10% to 15% may possibly…

It is nine months since the Dáil endorsed our Thirty-ninth Amendment of the Constitution (Right to Housing) Bill 2020 to which Deputy Boyd Barrett referred. The Dáil agreed to call a referendum to insert the right to a home into the Irish Constitution. Nine months on, we have no date for this referendum. No progress has been made on that but we heard reports today that the Cabinet is discussing it. We need to know what wording is going to be proposed by the Government. There has been much vagueness about that. It i…

We will switch it around. The Taoiseach can ask us questions.

The world is horrified by Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, by the war crimes which are now being committed and by the threat of this spiralling into a full-scale hot war between nuclear powers. We unreservedly condemn this brutal invasion and we demand that Putin withdraw from Ukraine, immediately and unconditionally. I want to pay tribute to the anti-war protesters in Russia who are under conditions of horrendous repression. More than 1 million people have signed a petition, tens of thousands have come out onto…

Hundreds of thousands of people were killed.

Afghanistan was robbed of its gold just last week.

We do.

I extend our deepest solidarity with and support to the Ukrainian people. They are now the victims of war crimes carried out by Putin's army. There is no justification for this imperialist invasion. Russian troops should be withdrawn immediately and all refugees fleeing from Ukraine should be welcome into the EU and Ireland. I will address the campaign from large sections of the establishment to paint anyone who opposes escalation and the risk of nuclear war as, in some way, pro-Putin. It is a disgusting slur desig…

I want to express People Before Profit’s solidarity with the people of Ukraine. They are facing a horrifying imperialist invasion. Will the Tánaiste give a guarantee that no limit will be placed on the number of refugees fleeing Ukraine who will be accepted into Ireland? Does the Tánaiste agree that any NATO escalation will simply make the situation worse, threatening descent into a deeper and bloodier conflict? What we need now is to build a global anti-war movement, independent from and in opposition to both impe…