I thank the Minister for his contribution and his wrap up. One would be mistaken for thinking what the Minister is saying sounds good but the practice and the reality on the ground is what will test it and what will show what is actually happening. There is nobody that knows exactly what is happening like the Ombudsman's office does and the Department should be engaging with it, even at this stage, to get its feedback, see what is happening and see what more needs to be done to ensure that children are safe and are…

Due to the ongoing war in Ukraine and the significant crash in crab prices, shellfish producers are currently left in an unprofitable position with greatly reduced turnovers. Live markets are under severe pressure from the extra product that is being funnelled into them to try to compensate for the problems with the cooked crab market. The inshore sector desperately needs financial assistance to sustain itself through the winter period. Without financial assistance, hundreds of farmers across Donegal and the rest o…

On the planning and economic development Bill, will the Taoiseach clarify whether there will be a guillotine? Will all Members who want to contribute to the debate be given enough time to do so?

I send my well wishes to the teacher and child who were injured last week. I express my condemnation of the riots that happened last Thursday. Over the past year, we have seen far-right demonstrations at libraries, East Wall, a violent attack on the makeshift refugee camp on Sandwith Street and the protest outside the Dáil in September. It is disingenuous for the Government to suggest the riot was unexpected following decades of neglect in communities around the country and months of increasing tensions among far-r…

Due to the presence of defective blocks many homes across Donegal and the country are deemed to be not mortgageable. It is extremely disappointing the Government has not addressed this in the enhanced defective concrete block grant scheme and it has left families with much uncertainty and insecurity. Homes should be regarded as normal for lending purposes once remediation work has been completed. However, when the redress focus group sought clarification on this from the banking sector, it was told the matter is be…

But they are not.

That is the Rural Independent Group over there. This is the Independent Group. I just want to make that distinction because I think it is very important.

That is okay.

That is the way it is going to be so the Acting Chair had better get used to it. I thank People Before Profit-Solidarity for bringing forward this motion. I wholeheartedly support its calls for Israel to immediately cease all settlement activity, restore food, water, electricity and medical supplies and remove all other forms of arbitrary restrictions of movement of people that result in collective punishment. I particularly support the motion's call to close Shannon Airport to the US military by banning US militar…

Before I start, I want to be totally dissociated from any of the comments previously made in the Chamber. I think it was an absolute disgrace. I want to make that clear before I go on. I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on the report of the Consultative Forum on International Security Policy. It is no secret that-----

It is obvious you do not fucking listen to what anybody says because that is not what I said. Next time, open your ears instead of your mouth, you might fucking understand what people are saying.

It is no secret that I was very vocally against this forum and its set-up. The constitution of the panels at the forum was completely skewed towards those who are either opposed to Ireland’s current policy of neutrality, or those who seek to weaken it. Those with expertise on peacebuilding, arms control and humanitarian work were a significant minority on the panels and so you can understand why I am very sceptical of the report that came from this forum. We have said time and time again that if the Government want…

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Bill. I confess that I am not fully up to speed on it as I am not a member of the relevant committee and have not participated in the debate there. My knowledge may not be as full as it should be. It is my understanding that much of what is contained in the Bill arises from the high-profile redundancies in Clerys, Debenhams and the like. Workers had to fight for some recognition that they were an integral part of the companies being wound up and that thos…

I am sharing time with Deputy Connolly. I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to the Bill. It will put in place recent changes announced by the Electoral Commission and give the legal blessing of the Legislature. It will put into legislation the make-up of the next Dáil of 177 Deputies, which will reflect the constitutional imperative for one Deputy for every 20,000 to 30,000 citizens. On balance, the commission took an overly conservative position on the changes to constituency boundaries. In Donegal, the one…

I am happy to speak to the motion, and I highlight the motion tabled by the Social Democrats that is due to be taken tomorrow night as well. The benefit of debating two motions on the matter in one week is that it gives all of us in the smaller groups a chance to speak. There is no doubt the ongoing ethnic cleansing taking place in Gaza needs to be continuously addressed in this House. Every evening, we get more and more depressing and upsetting news on our TVs, and it is bizarre we are witnessing the slaughter liv…

Deputy Michael McNamara will speak as well, so the three of us will have three minutes each.

I thank the Labour Party for bringing this important motion forward. I support this motion and in particular, its calls for the immediate reversal of the recruitment embargo on health workers for a guarantee that home carers are paid, at a minimum, the new living wage rate of €14.80, for payment for mileage expenses and travel time between care locations; as well as for guaranteed hours and continuity of income for healthcare support assistants. The reality is that being a healthcare support assistant in this count…

Increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events is unfortunately a reality of the country's present and future. As we have seen in the last few weeks, such events will cause substantial damage and loss to infrastructure, nature and human health. It is essential we prepare and plan for this. Errigal College in Letterkenny requires an extension to double the size of the school to help meet the demand for post-primary school places in the town. However, the extension has been delayed indefinitely due to a …

I am supposed to be sharing time with some other Deputies. If they arrive, they arrive. If they do not, I will keep going. There is plenty of information here to keep me going for another while. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for the opportunity to speak today. I thank my colleague Deputy Connolly for bringing forward this motion. It is a very detailed, well-written and sensible motion, which is why the amendment put forward by the Government is incredibly disappointing and nonsensical. I will get to that late…

Vótáil.