It is the sum of all fears as the parent of an 18-year-old, a 21-year-old, a 23-year old and a 24-year-old. Your heart is in your mouth when they go out and you just want them to come home. My heart and my deepest sympathies go out to the families and friends in the communities who have lost those five beautiful young people. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse. I want to raise again the issue of the triple lock. The Cathaoirleach and I have sat on the defence and national security committee and have heard expe…

I raise the difference between political ambition and political entitlement. It has come very much to the fore during this presidential campaign. Ambition is when you are not happy with the state of affairs and the status quo and not happy with your role and status in life. To change that situation, though, you put the work in. We have seen two candidates who have put considerable work in over the past number of weeks. It is a bruising contest. Entitlement, then, is when someone is not happy with the status quo , b…

Well said.

I thank the Minister of State for coming here this morning. I am raising this matter on behalf of James, Sheila and Kieran Sexton. They are Cork based. They find themselves in a very difficult position because they do not have children. James and Sheila are a married couple. James’s brother Kieran has returned from London, as many Irish people do over the generations. Kieran has come home to the family home where he has, at the age of 58, been diagnosed with an incurable cancer, lymphoma, and he is trying to get hi…

Unfortunately, we live in an era of moral legalism. It may well be the case that the Attorney General argues that it does not breach the Equal Status Acts, but it is clearly wrong. In a time of moral legalism it has never been more difficult to tell the difference between what is right and what is wrong. I put it to the Minister of State that it has never been more important that we draw a distinction between what is right and what is wrong. I heard it very clearly in his answer. An amount of €854 million is not an…

I wish to mark this occasion by welcoming the release of the remaining hostages to their families in Israel. In this House - with the leadership shown by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and this Government and that which preceded it - we have had many dark moments recognising the loss of life in Gaza and the ongoing genocide, which has now come to what will hopefully be a permanent halt. At this current point, I really hope it will be a permanent ceasefire. I wish to raise the issue of the whistleblower, Mr. Noel McGree…

I appreciate that. I have the email from Noel McGree asking me to speak about this on behalf of his family. I appreciate the sensitivity and tragedy of young people losing their family home. Transparency International Ireland recognises that whistleblower reprisal is a feature internationally, but it is almost a universal feature of speaking truth to power in Ireland. As a House, we should do everything in our power to support those affected. If possible, we should have a debate at some point on whistleblower repri…

I wish to make some comments in light of the budget. While I welcome the modest increase in spending on disability and caring supports, the Government still has not come to grips with the fundamental human rights-based approach to disability that is necessary. The question of political judgment has been bandied about in the past number of days. I argue that political judgment on disability rights still has not got the message after last year's referendums. Let us see what happens in this month's presidential electi…

I welcome everybody from the Dublin Dental University Hospital to the Chamber, in particular Rebecca. It was lovely to meet her. I am working with her dad who has taught me everything I know, or at least some of the things I know. I am delighted to hear the Government is not going to oppose the motion. Frankly, it is something that one could not oppose. It is a categoric and ethical imperative to support the work our colleagues are doing in the Dublin Dental University Hospital. This is a rare occasion when we see …

Hear, hear.

Well said.

I want to address the issue of neutrality and the triple lock. In the presidential election campaign, we have had a debate and interviews with the candidates, particularly the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil candidates, on the campaign trail. The issues of the triple lock and neutrality have come up repeatedly. Much of what has been articulated consists of misinformation. I am not going to say disinformation, because that is active deception, but it is factually incorrect information about the status of the triple lock. …

I thank the Minister of State for being here. I appreciate it very much. I know it is not only the day, but also the week, that is in it. I understand the pressure he is under. This is a grave matter I wanted to raise with the Minister of State. I have been approached by a number of very senior therapists in the HSE West and North West region about something contrary to the Children First Act and the Criminal Justice (Withholding of Information on Offences against Children and Vulnerable Persons) Act. As part of an…

Apologies. There is now a pattern of retaliation and reprisal visited upon that team and the most senior of the therapists has had his role severely curtailed. There is this kind of reprisal for people who stand up to do the right thing. We are well aware of this pattern of reprisal and retaliation in the public service. That has a further danger because it sends a message to other professionals in the area that if they raise a concern, they are likely to be subject to hostile scrutiny. It really compounds what is …

I thank the Minister of State. I am very reassured to hear that the CEO of the HSE, Mr. Gloster, shares the concerns of these three therapists. To look at this in the round, they were so concerned that they reached out to a public representative looking for help. My background is in researching systemic and systematic sexual violence in the Defence Forces. When reprisal is visited on the person who discloses such sexual abuse, the problem persists. That is why we have had 25 years of ongoing abuse of women in the D…

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 51 be taken before No. 1.

I thank the Cathaoirleach for his accommodation. I have two matters I want to raise. One is the issue of 12 Palestinian families from Gaza who were invited here. They were medically evacuated from Gaza in extremis . These are very sick children who were invited here by the Cabinet, which agreed to their medical evacuation. They arrived just at the beginning of the year. Now that their treatment is under way, they are being told they are going to be decongregated and moved to different parts of the country. This has…

I move: “That Seanad Éireann: - condemns outright all of the violence perpetrated in and around the Gaza Strip from 7th October, 2023 to this time; - condemns outright any proposal, including that of the Israeli defence minister, Israel Katz, for the displacement, concentration, or removal by the IDF of the population of the Gaza Strip to any restricted areas or places within the Gaza Strip, or for their expulsion or displacement to any other territory or state; - reconfirms its support for a two-state solution for…

Bienvenue en Irlande to our French allies and great friends. Vive la France. It is great to celebrate France and Ireland; the Iiberté, égalité, fraternité, and now sororité, that exist between our countries. Today also marks the anniversary of the massacre at Srebrenica. I was proud to serve in former Yugoslavia with the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe and to be part of the peacebuilding in the former Yugoslavia, in Banja Luka and Prijedor. This reminds me of the genocidal actions of the Israel…

On a point of order, I think there is a clear inference there of a conflict of interest. I think it is unfair-----