I add my voice to the calls for statements on the situation in Israel. We see that the European Union is going along with it. Is this the position Ireland will also maintain? We have to assert our independence at the UN Security Council to add our voices to stating this is wrong and should be stopped.

What is the relationship between Israel and the European Commission then?

Not agreed.

I object to No. 9 a , a motion re financial resolution on the Private Security Services (Amendment) Bill, on Wednesday's business. This came before members of the Business Committee for answer at 10 o'clock this morning. It is shoddy treatment of the Business Committee and the Dáil that something would come up at such short notice to be agreed. The principle is wrong and for that reason, we should object to it.

I am grateful for the opportunity to contribute to the statements to mark Europe Day. Sunday, 9 May was Europe Day. To mark the occasion, the Government paid for a four-page spread in the Sunday Independent . I assume similar content was bought in other Sunday newspapers. Perhaps the Minister could enlighten us at the end of this discussion as to how much that cost. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, wrote about peace and solidarity. Mairéad McGuinness, the European Commissioner…

-----for the €120 billion worth of fish we gave the EU and allowed its members to take out of our waters before the year 2000. In that same period, we received €45 billion in CAP payments, Structural Funds and every other kind of fund from Europe. Even at that time, in 2000, the deficit was €75 billion in our favour, and that figure has only grown in recent years. It is vital to remember that. We have talked about how great Europe is and how it has delivered peace across the world. The asylum and migration policies…

On 16 February, the Tánaiste's colleague, the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien, brought a memorandum to Cabinet announcing the establishment of the independent working group to examine defective housing. To date, there has been no publication of either the membership of this working group or its terms of reference. This is despite the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, promising that the group would be up and running in quarter one of this year and the programme for Government promising it…

Tairgim: Go gceadófar go dtabharfar isteach Bille dá ngairtear Acht chun an Bunreacht a leasú. I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Constitution. I am delighted to introduce my Private Members’ Bill on the constitutional amendment on the right to vote at 16. I am introducing this Bill today to coincide with the Scottish and Welsh elections, in which 16 and 17-year-olds are voting. I note the great work already done by Senators Fintan Warfield and Lynn Ruane on trying to bri…

Tairgim: "Go dtógfar an Bille in am Comhaltaí Príobháideacha." I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

We, Donegal people, often call our home county the forgotten county. It has no rail service, poor public transport, poor or non-existent broadband infrastructure and it has experienced years of under-investment and neglect from this and previous Governments. Last week, finally, there was a good news story with the launch of the Donegal Place initiative. Donegal was to be positioned as a great place to live, work, invest, explore and study. Those of us from Donegal and those who have travelled there already know thi…

It would be useful if what was agreed at the meeting on Saturday was carried out. It was agreed that Dr. Holohan would take part in an interview on local radio yesterday to discuss the situation. That did not happen. It was agreed that walk-in centres would be announced yesterday. They were announced after the Garda announced its confidential telephone line through which people could inform the Garda where incidents and breaches of Covid-19 restrictions are taking place. As far as I am aware, Donegal is the only pl…

The financial threshold to qualify for entry onto the Donegal County Council housing list is €25,000. That threshold is for a single applicant or couple and, as the Minister knows, there is a small increase for children. It is simply far too low. What can be done as a matter of urgency to raise this threshold, especially given that Donegal County Council has finally received an increase in the funding allocation for housing? It is not enough and it is too little too late, but small increases are welcome. The fundin…

It is to be hoped the situation will be reviewed. I would not have much faith in the review and I do not think it will deliver anything further. Last week I had to tell a mother with three children that she could not get on the housing list because her income was far too high, at €26,000 a year. It is ridiculous. This affects people right across the board. This is a cynical way for this Government and previous Governments to massage the figures for people who depend on social housing. In Donegal there are 1,849 peo…

The reality is that there were 30 houses delivered in Donegal. I was there on the day the Minister launched the estate. There are 1,600 people on the housing list in Donegal town but only 30 houses. That is shocking. The list is not accurate because it does not take into account the people who are just over the income level to get on the housing list and cannot provide housing for themselves. There is also a ridiculous situation in Donegal whereby landlords will not sign up to HAP or RAS. Applicants are left hangin…

I congratulate the Minister, Deputy McEntee, and her husband on the birth of their baby boy. I wish them all the best. This afternoon, there is to be a briefing by the Saolta University Health Care Group on the implementation of the recommendations of the review of gynaecological services in Letterkenny published last August. This briefing comes following a recent announcement that the Health Information and Quality Authority, HIQA, is to carry out a review of governance arrangements for gynaecological services at …

This regulation relates to Europol, its cooperation with other parties, its data processing as part of criminal investigations and its role in innovation and research. These regulations and directives are technical, convoluted and designed to ostracize citizens around Europe. How inaccessible are the European Parliament and the Council in the business they conduct? There must be a better way of doing this. Europol is located in The Hague, the Netherlands, and states that it supports “the 27 EU Member States in thei…

It is the other way around. The disgraceful way in which this motion is being rushed through brings the whole Oireachtas process into disrepute. Legal advice was sought by the housing committee on section 73(2) of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2018. It states the Minister shall "have regard to any resolution, report or recommendation of any committee of [the] Houses of the Oireachtas". The Oireachtas was not alerted to the fact that the Minister “shall” have regard to recommendations from any committ…

On Thursday, 25 February 2021, I was delighted to join with the many other co-signers to the introduction of the Residential Tenancies (Student Rents and Other Protections) (Covid-19) Bill 2021. It is a great example of the left working together with civil society groups on an important housing issue. The Bill, tabled by Sinn Féin, was developed in conjunction with the USI. As awful as the Covid-19 pandemic has been, in some ways it has brought opportunity and we should ensure we make positive societal and policy c…

I welcome the Minister of State to the House for the conclusion of this debate. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue with my Second Stage speech on the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021. Last Wednesday, when first speaking on the Bill, I referred to several issues, including how disenfranchised the general public are in these discussions because of the technical nature of these debates. I also said climate action campaigns have been fairly middle class with many measures targe…

I have been asking the Business Committee for this debate and thank it for accommodating the debate today because it is important we discuss this issue. The White Paper publication happened to coincide with the opening of a new direct provision facility in County Donegal. I would like to say a céad míle fáilte to our new Letterkenny neighbours. Last month, the first of 60 families started moving into the new own-door accommodation in Port Road, Letterkenny. This self-catering, own-door accommodation is being hailed…