A number of us spoke about an element of the anger regarding Ursula von der Leyen. Some of it goes back to the initial unconditional support for the Israeli regime. The absolute pounding of the Palestinian people was a genocidal action. There is no way to call it anything else. That was always on the cards, given the nature of that regime, Benjamin Netanyahu and all the others who-----

Fair enough. Of course there is a question. Is it correct that there has been no response with regard to Ireland looking for the EU-Israel agreement to be reviewed? If there has been a formal response, will the Minister of State provide some detail? What discussions were there about Georgia? In the past while, there has been almost a stopping of its journey to accession based on the foreign agent law. Deputy Howlin and I listened to what now looks like a pile of nonsense from representatives of the Georgian Governm…

I will also deal with right to housing. I brought up the issue before of the affordable housing scheme in Cois Farraige in Blackrock, just outside Dundalk. I am expecting word back. First and foremost, €305,000 is not affordable for a huge number of people in the general Dundalk area. Only five of those who applied qualified when there were meant to be ten houses offered. Louth County Council will also say there is a definite issue with the criteria, so this needs to be looked at. I previously brought up the issue …

We all welcome the plans for Narrow Water Bridge but we need to make sure it is built on time and within budget. I welcome a lot of the research from the shared island initiative but we need to look at research and modelling on a higher level. I do not believe I would shock anyone by saying that I believe the State has a responsibility to prepare for the possibility of constitutional change on the island. We have to look at the changed nature of the electoral map and demographics and all the other factors with rega…

Definitely. Either which way, they will not be found wanting, unlike myself who sometimes is found wanting. Remote working or working from home is not a possibility for people who are working cross-Border and there are other issues in relation to pensions, tax codes and such.

I have a document that the Taoiseach had requested and I believe action that needs to be taken.

I welcome what the Taoiseach said about a cross-Border enterprise hub to deal with certain issues. I probably failed to say that there would need to be engagement with the British Government and some sort of bilateral agreement. Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves might be more open than the people who sat there previously. The issue of the underfunding of the Executive needs to be dealt with. Turning back to the peace conference, it has been said by many of my colleagues that the double standards are an issue. They are…

We very much welcome this Bill. This issue was put on the agenda because of the very significant amount of work done by Sinn Féin and Deputy Mairéad Farrell. It has been brought up for a considerable amount of time. It was first a matter of identifying the number of these places owned by vulture funds and the average rents charged. There was then the question of 51-week leases, which are a major imposition on students. We all understand how modularisation works as regards students and that they would have had no ne…

If anyone was in any doubt about the issues we have regarding domestic or gender-based violence, anyone who has heard Natasha O'Brien or Bláthnaid Raleigh speak could have absolutely no more doubt. This should not be surprising to us. I commend those women and many others. The Minister has put a great emphasis on this issue but we all need to accept that, as a society and a State, we are nowhere near to where we need to be, even if we are talking about women's refuges and the fact that nine counties do not have the…

More than 37,900 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed over the past nine months, including nearly 15,000 children. On some level, what we have all seen happening on our TV screens is unreal. Israel has refused calls for a summit of the state parties to the EU-Israel association agreement to discuss its compliance with its human rights obligations under the summit. The Commission President has blocked the commissioning of an independent review. The Taoiseach has obviously endorsed and supports a second term for Urs…

Regarding US support in the early stages of and throughout the entire period of the peace process from the Good Friday Agreement right through to Brexit and the issues that it caused, including the fear of a hard border in Ireland, it would be fair to say the US was on the right side. Joe Biden and the Democratic Party have a huge issue in their campaign against Trump at this point, but we need to recognise the abject failure of US foreign policy, particularly in supporting Israel. The Taoiseach said we want to see…

I received a letter from BD, or Becton, Dickinson and Company, which is a global medtech company with an operation in Drogheda. I believe this issue was raised with the Taoiseach earlier. Deputy Munster and I were contacted and I spoke to Councillor Joanna Byrne about the matter. There is a great deal of shock and fear in Drogheda and other parts of County Louth. BD plans to cease and exit operations in Drogheda by the end of quarter 4 2026. A consequence of this decision is the possibility of redundancies at the D…

We obviously dealt with some of the changing circumstances in the world and geopolitics. We know the huge pressure our peacekeepers are under. We know there are changing circumstances in Lebanon because of the genocidal actions of the Israeli regime against the Palestinian people. Many of us have been worried for a long time about the escalation. While we are happy to have a chance to at least discuss this motion, I have already heard a number of colleagues say they do not believe we are dealing properly with the i…

Amendments Nos. 1 and 9 are related and may be discussed together.

Amendments Nos. 2 to 8, inclusive, are related and may be discussed together.

Can we speak to the amendments, please?

Very quickly.

Very quickly.

Can we finish this-----

At this stage, this over-and-back argument is not serving any purpose.