I am not sure if the Minister agrees or disagrees that the privatisation of waste collection has been a disaster. It has been a disaster for households faced with bills that go up and up, north of €300 now, while the likes of Greyhound, Panda and City Bin are making millions of euro in profits and are domiciled offshore so that they do not have to pay any tax on it. It has also been a disaster in terms of reducing the amount of waste we are collecting and increasing the percentage of that waste that gets recycled. …

A third of households do not have brown bins.

The State and the Government are failing children with additional needs very badly. They are failing those on the long waiting lists for an assessment of needs and for therapies and those who are seeking to access education. I want to raise one particular case, that of a young man called Tadhg who is 11 years old. He is in sixth class in primary school and is looking forward to going to secondary school. He wants to go to.St. Joseph's, but the school has said that it cannot accept him without a new educational asse…

While the Taoiseach was away yesterday, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, took Leaders' Questions and he said that Israel is waging a war on children. Does the Taoiseach agree that Israel is waging a war on children? There is plenty of evidence to show that they are. Almost 5,000 children in Gaza have been killed by Israel. The bombs rain down on hospitals, including children’s hospitals. Babies have been taken out of incubators because the hospitals hav…

I asked the Taoiseach last week about this deal for a data centre from South Korea in Ireland. I was spun a line about fuel cells and so on. The Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, said, "If we can build data centres that are powered by fuel cell technology, initially gas, but in the future hydrogen, then that really does change the dynamic". It is classic greenwashing-speak by the Government, is it not, Taoiseach? The translation is that this new data centre will be powered by burning gas, a fossil fuel. The backdrop …

I attended an excellent town hall meeting organised by the North West Migrants Forum at the end of September. It has done very good work on highlighting the reality of the invisible hard border that exists on this island for non-EU nationals. There was another example of the consequences of this in terms of racial profiling on 7 November, when a black passenger was removed from the X4 Derry to Dublin bus while a white passenger with no identification remained on the bus. There are very simple things the Government …

It is 2023 and we live in a wealthy country. For 7,000 people in Limerick, however, it might as well be the Dark Ages because they have no clean drinking water in their homes. For over five months, they have been told that the water coming from their taps is not safe to drink because of the pollution of our rivers and the underfunding of our treatment plants. This is particularly egregious for the people of Kildimo and Pallaskenry, who for years got their water from the much cleaner Bleach Lough but who were forced…

I thank the Electoral Commission for its work on the boundaries. There are significant problems with the outcome but one cannot really blame the commission for it. It just implements the process that has been designed elsewhere, particularly here. Its hands have been tied by the decision to restrict constituencies to between three and five seats. The consequence is the current proposal we have, which will pass and come into effect for the next general election. One good aspect of electoral politics in Ireland is th…

Has it changed?

There is still a period up to that when there are no restrictions. We could have annual restrictions on advertising by any potential candidate to avoid a lot of money being spent. An election does not just happen. Certainly in a three-week period or even 60 days-----

I will check it out. I encourage this because lowering the limits, and certainly not raising them in line with inflation, would generally have a good outcome.

Earlier today, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, was taking Leaders' Questions. He was asked about the horror being rained down on the people of Gaza. He said that what is taking place is a war on children. It is a war being waged by Israel against Palestinian children. That is a very good description of what is happening. More than 4,000 children have been killed. Bombs have been raining down on hospitals. A children's hospital has been surrounded by Is…

ALONE has published a report on housing adaptation grants. It reveals that almost 6,000 families across the country are on waiting lists for housing adaptations for loved ones, older people and people with disabilities. It also suggests that local authorities are turning down applications because of a lack of funding. Thousands of other people are not entitled to a grant because they are slightly above the threshold. They cannot afford to do the adaptation but their loved ones still need it. A review was due to be …

I thank Deputy Pringle for pushing consistently for this debate because it is very important. It should have been about a formal announcement by the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, that Ireland was immediately withdrawing from the Energy Charter Treaty. Unfortunately, it is not. Italy, Germany, France, Poland and Luxembourg have all already formally withdrawn. Ireland said it plans to withdraw but has not yet done so. The European Commission recommended a co-ordinated withdrawal by the whole of the European Union. The…

Twelve years ago I visited the Jabalia refugee camp in Gaza. I was struck by how packed it was with more than 100,000 people living in closely cramped quarters in less than 1.4 sq. km. Many streets are so small that you cannot even fit a coffin down them. Today, much of Jabalia, a refugee camp, lies in ruins because Israel targeted it for bombardment. I visited a hospital in Gaza. Even then, back in 2011, they were running out of surgical gloves and basic medicines because of Israel's blockade. Today, they are bein…

It would demonstrate real solidarity with the Palestinian people. I have two questions for the Taoiseach.

Will the Government make a referral to the International Criminal Court so there can be an investigation and will he expel the Israeli ambassador?

The Taoiseach has acknowledged that there needs to be an investigation by the International Criminal Court. It is true that the Prosecutor has said that the ICC has authority, but what that is referring to is the fact that Israel is not a signatory to the Rome Statute and therefore it is saying it is not applicable to it. The Prosecutor is saying "No. Things that are committed in Gaza can be covered" but there does need to be a referral in order for a prosecution and investigation to take place. The Taoiseach has t…

Those countries whose citizens are allowed to leave are those who voted in line with Israel against the ceasefire and Irish and Brazilian citizens are effectively being punished by Israel for our vote in favour of the ceasefire at the UN.

The best thing for Irish citizens in Gaza-----