That is a new excuse.

The Taoiseach should start driving the roads.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil introducing legislation to provide for revised governance and accountability for the HSE is farcical. In effect, the most substantive aspect of governance I see is a chief executive whose grossly substantial salary facilitates their operating as a mudguard for the Minister of the day. Regarding accountability, with scandal after scandal in our health service, the one certainty is always that no one will be held to account and that there will be no transparency. This should not come as a su…

There has been underfunding.

I welcome all the ladies in the Gallery who have suffered long enough. I thank Senator Maria McCormack who has travelled the length and breadth of the country to be informed of endometriosis. I have said in the House before that this State has a sad history of failing women. The Government continues to fail women today when it comes to the diagnosis and care for those with endometriosis. It is accepted by clinical specialists that the true prevalence of this condition goes beyond the official figure of one in ten w…

I would like to acknowledge that the Minister is currently progressing legislative proposals on the guardianship rights of those who have murdered their spouse as well as the disclosure of counselling notes. It is important that we get the proposals right and it is welcome that they are progressing through the Oireachtas. I am delighted to hear that the Minister is visiting refuges, but an area that remains of particular concern to me, because it impacts my constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, is that of refuge spaces i…

The Taoiseach correctly described the failure of the European Union to come to a unified position on Gaza as a huge strain on the bloc. He also said that if it fails to do so, Europe will have no credibility. European Union Commissioner, President Ursula von der Leyen, today lacks any credibility on human rights or international humanitarian law. It was Ursula von der Leyen who, at the onset of Israel's onslaught against the civilian population of Gaza, through offering Benjamin Netanyahu unconditional and unqualif…

I welcome the students here tonight. We in Sinn Féin appreciate their efforts to go to college and better themselves. In a matter of weeks, students will be returning to their studies or setting off to college for the first time. What should be a time of excitement for so many will turn into a very stressful situation as they face the challenge of funding for so-called free education being impacted. Not content in recent weeks with weakening protections for student renters and driving their rents up further, the Go…

The people of Monaghan and Cavan deserve adequate health services and care within their community. In 2002, the Taoiseach, as Minister for Health and Children, refused to give a commitment to protect emergency department services at Monaghan hospital at that crucial time. In 2009, the hospital's emergency department was closed for good. The minor injuries unit lacks basic equipment. As a result, people in Monaghan are referred to Cavan hospital, where they face double the waiting time they previously faced, which c…

Who was over that?

I am going to keep at it.

That is not happening. Monaghan hospital is waiting years for an emergency department.

The Taoiseach needs to go to Cavan hospital, walk around it and see the people waiting in the emergency department.

People are waiting two weeks for a transfer.

The State has a long, sorrowful and shameful history of failing those within its care. Women, especially mothers, and children have endured the brunt of that long, sorry history. Whether we are talking about survivors of institutional abuse or the degradation of babies' organs; those responsible for delivering justice not only failed to deliver it but actively sought to deny justice. What invariably follows exercises in the pursuit of justice are attempts to delay and defer. Actions taken are rarely done in an acco…

I welcome that the Government is introducing legislation to address issues relating to the incorrect transposition of the EU copyright directive identified by the High Court and the CJEU. Legislation is necessary. We understand that. A more equitable distribution of royalties is absolutely welcome, but the Bill the Government has brought before the House is poorly thought out, regressive and ill-conceived in terms of the mechanism available to artists to vindicate their right to resolve disputes. The Government is …

I am simply aghast to see how the Government conducts its business with arrogance and incompetence. I recall some months ago there being a discussion on the role of inconsistent policy in driving investment away. In his press release last week, the Minister said this legislation is intended to introduce certainty. It is railroaded legislation in which we have already seen holes. It is poor legislation that will introduce a convoluted four-tiered rent pressure regime. It is unclear legislation, the detail of which h…

At least the Taoiseach admits it.

It is your job.

I acknowledge and commend the Irish Government on joining the case before the International Court of Justice against Israel taken under the Genocide Convention. I also commend the Government on the funding provided to UNRWA for humanitarian aid and for the recognition of the State of Palestine. However, that is where the commendation ceases. This Government has failed to implement a single solidarity economic sanction against the genocidal Israeli regime. Despite the Tánaiste having committed to pass the occupied t…