There have been two femicides this week in Ireland, a femicide being the killing of a woman because she is a woman. The femicide count in this country has officially surpassed the total of last year and it is only July. We send our solidarity to the loved ones of Adina Constantin and Jamey Carney. Yesterday, the Taoiseach said that figures on violence against women are going in the wrong direction, but what has the Government actually done about them? The most basic thing the Government could do is properly fund th…

The Minister said there should be more resources. Why are there not? There is a budget surplus of €10 billion to €12 billion and the Minister is boasting, or saying, that it is sufficient to give €18 million to Cuan, which is the same as the racehorse industry gets. We have seen that this is a public health emergency. The rape crisis services should not be charities. They should be public services in our health service. Why should people have to go bag packing for a 24-hour helpline or whatever it is? The Too Into …

It is terrible.

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this really important topic about older and disabled people, and what kind of home they can have. The current system is completely unsatisfactory. Older and disabled people are generally in private nursing homes run for profit. I spoke to a parent before this debate about the situation in my constituency. Her son, who gets respite four nights per month, was not able to get that respite for months because a client with severe needs was being accommodated and the whol…

The Taoiseach is being very defensive.

Nobody has.

Transgender, non-binary and intersex people face discrimination and persecution worldwide. This Saturday, Trans & Intersex Pride will march in Dublin at 2 p.m. I have drafted a Bill, the non-binary and intersex recognition Bill, which I am hoping the Government will support, to give legal rights to such people. It recognises a non-binary gender in the gender recognition certificate - an X marker. It would allow parents the option of an X marker if their child is born with intersex characteristics, something that fo…

I do not sit on the housing committee, so this has come like a bolt from the blue for anyone who does not because of the suddenness of these changes. I will give some practical examples because this will cause absolute chaos for councillors and TDs who are at the coalface of dealing with the housing crisis. They are the least of my worries, obviously. I am worried about the people who will be affected. I am really shocked to read just now about all of the bodies that have condemned this legislation and the Minister…

Is the Minister saying the parents should be put in an IPAS centre?

You are unbelievable. You really need to get a grip on yourselves, the way you talk to the Opposition.

You are so sexist as well. It is only women you ever say that to.

Sorry, but I am not going to be polite to you when we have a crisis.

This is a brutal piece of legislation-----

-----so do not expect politeness.

A few things have come up in the news today to put this in context. Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, a renowned surgeon who heroically stayed with the people while they were being genocided by Israel is, unfortunately, probably near death. The man is unrecognisable and there has been an international campaign to have him released, which has unfortunately failed. He said, "They brought me here to kill me" and that he was not going to get out of there. The other news was a Palestinian goalkeeper who was also killed. Then we se…

I was on them.

In the previous amendment, the Minister of State was sort of reprimanding people for using particular words. I am sorry but he is not going to get a polite debate because we should be absolutely enraged about what is happening to Palestine and the lack of Government action. I urge everybody not to have a polite debate. This has been one of the biggest issues in this country and, indeed, the world for two and a half years. This Government has a chance to do something and it is choosing not to. It is not that the Gov…

Student Campus college in Limerick suddenly closed last week, leaving hundreds of international students and staff in limbo. I was contacted by people in Limerick to raise this issue. Approximately 250 students were already studying in the school, with reports that over 300 additional students had paid fees before travelling to Ireland. Students were left with uncertainty regarding their education, tuition fees and immigration status. Student Campus college on the interim list of eligible programmes, ILEP, approved…

Maybe it is time that the State get involved in this rather than leaving it to any private individual or private company to set up a language school, take money off desperate people who want to come here and learn English, and then just go away with that money. The Minister of State has said there is no function for the Department here. I only got this answer handed to me as the Minister of State started reading it. It really would be helpful if we could get these replies in advance. People were happy to take fees …

Just stay quiet and listen.