I ask that the Taoiseach allow for statements, particularly on the issue of housing affordability. I was told by my colleague, Councillor Melisa Halpin, that there was a management report in Dún Laoghaire yesterday showing that zero cost-rental or affordable houses were delivered last year. In Cherrywood, the biggest residential development in the country, houses are being sold at between €600,000 and €800,000 and, unbelievably, we still do not know whether we are getting any affordable housing. Apparently, there i…

The Taoiseach said he was interested in ideas-----

We need an urgent discussion in which we can have ideas about how to deliver affordability in housing and rents.

I met a young mother this week who has a very serious precancerous condition. For six years, she obtained a cream called Imiquimod with her medical card. For no reason for which she can get an explanation, she is no longer able to get it. It has been taken off the primary care reimbursement scheme with no explanation. The only way she can get it now, apparently, is by paying €400 a month to import it from the United States via Holles Street hospital. I understand the product is licensed here. I do not understand ho…

The fact is that the market is proving incapable of delivering affordability for houses to buy or rent for large swathes of young and working people. That is the reality. There has been an uptick in the delivery of social housing. It has not been enough but we are beginning to see some progress, not least because the Government adopted a proposal we suggested, which was to start buying some of the houses delivered by the market that are too expensive for people to buy and having the Government deliver them as socia…

On the same issue, genocide is the worst crime that a human being, state or regime can commit. It is the unspeakable crime. Joe Biden has armed Israel to the teeth, specifically to support Israel's ability to continue the massacre for which it is now in the dock. Let us be clear that Israel is in the dock for genocide. The court has said there is a plausible case that it is guilty of genocide and, under the Genocide Convention, all signatories are required to do everything in their power to stop a genocide. Would t…

The first thing I want to do is say that tomorrow at 5.30 p.m. a demonstration organised by anti-war and Palestine solidarity groups including Mothers Against Genocide, the Irish Anti-War Movement, the Union of Students in Ireland, the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign and many others will be assembling at the European Commission offices on Mount Street to march to Leinster House. They will be calling once again on the Government to take the opportunity to do what it should have done when it was first asked in …

My question was not due until 10.15 a.m.

Once again, I appeal to the Tánaiste, as we have been doing since the middle of November, to publicly support the case that has now been taken by South Africa against Israel for the commission of genocide where there is overwhelming evidence that it is committing crimes that are considered to be genocidal under the Genocide Convention.

Once again, the Government is dancing around its obligations under the genocide convention. Forget about all the other stuff the Tánaiste said. This is about the genocide convention. In November, the Tánaiste was asked in the Dáil to discharge his obligations under the genocide convention, which requires that all signatories, as soon as they hear of the possibility of a genocide taking place, examine whether they believe such a thing is taking place and take action to stop it. This has been in Irish law since 1973.…

Jesus.

Jesus Christ.

I hold Israel responsible for the violence we have seen. That is my view. From 1948 onward. It is not just me who is saying that. Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and every decent Israeli historian, including Ilan Pappé - we could go through the list - acknowledges this. You can go through the list, about decades of ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, illegal occupation, apartheid, illegal settlements and a 16-year siege of Gaza. Inevitably, that produces violence. Now we are seeing the absolutely genocidal …

That is absolutely-----

Do not dare say that.

Do not dare say that I condone murder.

That is absolutely disgraceful. You are complicit.

You are complicit with Israel's slaughter. You do not use the same strength of language when it comes to Israel's slaughter.

It certainly is, and you would want to be careful.

I just asked you to do something.