It is hard to find words to describe the horror of the war in Ukraine. Undoubtedly, this shocking invasion has led to a strong desire among Irish people to help in any way we can. Ukraine and Ireland share many parallels between their histories. Ukraine is lodged right up against a large colonial power, has suffered from extensive and devastating famines because of the decisions of that colonial power and aggressive wars were also waged against the smaller country by that colonial power. Undoubtedly, we cannot affo…

It is-----

It is the cost of living.

Change the existing rules.

Is deas an rud é an Taoiseach a fheiceáil iomlán folláin. Guím gach rath ar cheannaire nua an Lucht Oibre freisin. It is hard to remember any time since the Good Friday Agreement when the political infrastructure in the North of Ireland was in such chaos. In the North today, there are 44,000 people on housing waiting lists and 250,000 people have been on health waiting lists for more than a year. That is one in seven people in the North of Ireland. Some 300,000 men, women and children are living in poverty in the N…

What material help has he got from the White House to protect the agreement?

Let us be honest: the Good Friday Agreement is not being protected. It is gutted and needs to be fixed, but not with a sticking plaster to get it up and running with some pretend compromise that will never be implemented. The current arrangements are a recipe for dysfunction and instability. The political institutions in the North have to be reformed. I take the Taoiseach's fine words on the fact that the Stormont Executive and Assembly should never be collapsed, but I want to know from him how it can be stopped fr…

It is not working.

The two Governments need to do it.

The Farrelly commission examined the issues around the Grace case. The way the State treated Grace was utterly shameful and represents, perhaps, one of the greatest scandals of modern Ireland. Is the Taoiseach aware of the Alice report, which deals with a case bearing a striking resemblance to the Grace case? The primary difference is that Alice can speak while Grace is non-verbal. Alice was removed from her home eventually, after allegations of sexual abuse. She was placed in a foster home, where there was further…

Who is answering the questions here?

Billions in Russian roubles are reportedly sloshing around the IFSC. Those funds are reportedly being used to circumvent sanctions. We have reports from thecurrency.news of about €13 billion of domiciled money in the IFSC and from The Irish Times showing that €34 billion is held by opaque Russian-linked shell companies registered in the IFSC, while Colm Keena has done work concerning a network of bank accounts moving billions of euro from Russia to the west through the IFSC. The question put to the Government since…

The IFSC is acting as a colander, allowing Russian money to percolate and therefore to circumvent sanctions. It is up to each individual country to implement and impose those sanctions, so will the Minister address that point? It is something of real significance and if it is happening, it means the IFSC is helping the Russian war effort. Another way Ireland and the European Union is supporting the Russian war effort is by spending €500 million every single day on Russian oil and gas. The US and Britain have decide…

What about the IFSC?

What research is happening?

I also thank Deputy Paul Murphy for adding his personal story to the debate. I wish him and his partner the best of luck in their endeavours. The issues at the heart of this Bill are incredibly important and significant. They range from the families which desperately seek to have a child but cannot to the rights of the child to have a family and know their mother and father to the rights that affect the mother who carries to term. There are many examples, unfortunately, of the dark exploitation of surrogate mothers…

The amount of money being allocated to the school meals programme has been increasing year on year. That sounds like a good thing, but when one examines the situation, the number of schools availing of the programme has been reducing. This means that a small number of children are getting those school meals. It could be because of an increase in the cost of the programme, etc. What is happening? Is the amount of money being given to the programme increasing? Is the number of schools availing of it increasing? Is th…

If I am correct, it is still the case that the amount of money being given to the programme is increasing but the number of children or, at least, schools receiving it is falling or remaining static, depending on which section of it one is looking at. We very properly debate in the House the cost of living increasing throughout the State. There is an issue with inflation in the inputs into school meals, meaning that more money goes less distance towards meeting the needs of young children in those schools. We are s…

For more than a year, the Meath food bank was operating out of my office in Trim because it was without any other location from which to operate. It was shockingly sad to see young children and their parents queuing daily outside the Aontú office in Trim for food. The fact that food banks even exist in Ireland in today's world is incredible. Many of them sprung up during the previous economic crash. They did not go away and have been functioning ever since. In many cases, they will say that they are busier than eve…

Noah Donohoe was a bright, happy 14-year-old boy with a loving mother. He went missing on 21 June 2020. Shockingly and tragically, he was found dead in a storm drain in Belfast some days later. Since then his family have been seeking answers to the circumstances surrounding his death. The PSNI has actively sought to withhold information surrounding his death and instead has put more effort into questioning and potentially prosecuting his mother for holding a memorial walk. The PSNI seeks a public interest immunity …