I think the Deputy's initial instincts were correct. "Brilliant", he said.
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It is rare that an Opposition Deputy would say we were "brilliant" when he got out of bed first thing in the morning.
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Ireland is number one in the world in terms of participation in third level education. That is the measure of this Government's commitment to students in third level education in terms of supporting students with reduced fees over the last number of years, improving the various maintenance and SUSI schemes for students, and building more accommodation, which is currently under construction in a whole range of programmes. We support students in this country; the statistics show that. In respect of the measures the Minister brought to Cabinet today, it is to develop a standardised design in relation to State-backed student accommodation. We need flexibility and choice in the range of accommodation that is on offer. There is significant State-backed student accommodation already built and in place and being built. Students use the existing rental market for rental accommodation also. The measures we brought in last week will strengthen protections for renters overall.
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The Deputy said 70% of services trade with Israel.
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The Bill only affects the occupied territories so I think the Deputy is conflating two different things there. The Tánaiste has asked the Attorney General for legal advice in respect of services. Obviously, there is a clear difference between services and goods in terms of tracking, tracing and manageability. It is quite a good Bill in terms of linking it to the customs legislation, which can make an offence under the Customs Act in terms of goods coming from the occupied territories. We will be the first country in Europe to introduce such an Act, and I think that is important. In addition to that, getting a European focus on the occupied territories, which we are now doing, with about nine other countries-----
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-----in terms of asking if the European Union is compliant with the ICJ opinion in respect of the illegally occupied territories, and then the EU-Israel association agreement, where we are also pushing strongly.
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First of all, I would like to point out that the European Union is the single greatest donor to Palestine. It is an important point, although it never gets said.
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In real terms, the most effective contributor now to Gaza is the European Union.
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I am not happy with the fact that we cannot get unanimity across the 27 EU member states.
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To abolish or put into abeyance the EU-Israel association agreement would require unanimity among the 27, and the Deputy knows that. About ten members-----
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We have asked for a review. We asked over a year ago for a review. There may be opportunities to suspend elements of that agreement that would not require unanimity. That is being pursued by Ireland and other like-minded states in respect of this. The Deputy knows that countries like Germany, Hungary, Czechia and others have a long-standing historic position of support for Israel. I regret that, I disagree with it, but the European Union is an association of 27 member states.
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First of all, I anticipate that the advices will be available to the Government as the Bill is going through. There is a pre-legislative process and that will be the first instance of this. The Deputy-----
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I am saying it will be available to the Government in terms of whether we can include it or not. The Government will make its position, based on that advice, clear to the committee before it concludes. The Bill is vastly improved from what it was. I pay tribute to Senator Black for her initiative on this issue and her constructive engagement with the Government. Deputy Murphy is good at pontificating a lot but he has never condemned Hamas in this House for what it did on 7 October.
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Sorry, Deputy McDonald, why is what I said pathetic?
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The Deputy has not spoken to me about this case before now. Perhaps he can send the details to me. I am not clear whether the local authority has been approached in respect of this case and whether Jennifer was on the social housing list. It should be very possible to accommodate an 88-year-old in a council house. I do not know the background but it seems to me there is an obvious solution.
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I thank the Deputy for raising this issue, which he has raised with me previously. I certainly am open to doing as he proposed. The Government would be very positively disposed to working on such a proposal.
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I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. I fully subscribe to his analysis of the importance of this programme. I will liaise with the Minister for Health, who is sitting beside me, and other Ministers to see whether we can free up some resources to commence the development of a team in the midlands.
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First, I did not strip Monaghan hospital of anything. It was the North Eastern Health Board that was in place at the time.
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Sinn Féin had members on it. I cannot believe in one sense that the Deputy is back again at this-----
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The thing that should unite us all is the safety of patients and the people who go through our hospitals.
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Anybody who knows anything about emergency care knows the first thing to get right is the first response. We have dramatically transformed the quality of first responses in this country over the past 20-odd years. That is the first point.
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Second, the quality of healthcare is key to any patient.
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What is very important is that the right care is made available at the right time for the patient to guarantee the best outcome.
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The Deputy wants to go back to worst outcomes and an era when we had very deficient medicine.
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I would need the full background details. The ratio could be high in some classes but not in the entirety of the school in terms of how it organises its numbers. The Deputy indicated the numbers are declining in both schools. A question arises as to whether that is a permanent feature of the area. There are different approaches one can make to the Department in respect of whether it is possible to do something. If the numbers are going to increase again into the future, it might be possible to get a temporary stay in terms of teaching numbers. I will follow the matter up with the Minister.
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I will engage with the Minister for housing on the specifics. Is this a series of houses?
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I will talk to the Minister.
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Again, I do not have the specifics or the background. Has the school applied? Is it in the process? It has applied.
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That does not make sense. It is either in the system or it is not.
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Is it at stage 1, stage 2 or stage 3?
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If the Deputy gives me the details, we may be able to progress the matter with the Minister. Has it been sanctioned?
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I think the Deputy probably knows.
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As the Deputy will know, this is a major project. The plan is to build a 16-classroom primary school on a very challenging brownfield site with modern multistorey facilities spanning Dominick Street, Dominick Place and Granby Row. Ongoing issues recently led to a temporary pause on construction. The contractor was formally notified on 23 May under the contract's suspension of works provision. This pause gives space for a conciliation process to conclude, allowing a clear path forward to be mapped out. The site is in an area of archaeological interest-----
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It is an area of archaeological interest that involves a protected structure owned and occupied by Youth Work Ireland. A number of issues have arisen. These include issues with services on the site and electrical lines and services related to the adjacent Luas line, which had not been apparent until excavation began. There are issues with the foundations of an adjoining protected building, which need careful consideration. There is a whole load of issues here that need to be addressed.
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Again, I will consult the Minister for Education and Youth. Progress has been made on the site. I obviously do not know the up-to-date position the Department has communicated to the school board but I will pursue it with the Minister.
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First of all, I am not shamefaced.
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I am not. That is all I will say for now.
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The Deputy said a few things that are wildly inaccurate and wrong. She deliberately conflated trade with Israel with trade with the occupied territories, as did an earlier speaker. We need to be clear on what we are talking about. The occupied territories Bill is about the occupied territories.
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You are not clear.
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No sort of-----
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I do not need----
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Standard practice is not to afford members of Government the courtesy of being allowed to respond.
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I make no apologies for challenging the false assertions that have repeatedly been made in this house by those on the far left who are consistently trying to create-----
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For example, no aeroplanes are being facilitated to transport weaponry to Gaza or the Middle East. How dare people make the assertion that they are when they are not?
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I have condemned-----
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The Deputy said "airports".
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That was deliberate. People have said that publicly as well. Deliberate attempts to create a misleading narrative on all of this are being made all over the place. Ireland has done more on this issue than any other country within Europe but we unfortunately do not have the power to stop Israel. We want Israel to stop. We have asked Israel to stop. We have asked the European Union to create leverage. That is what we have done. The Deputy is shamefacedly always trying to blame others.
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She is trying to drive a wedge between the Irish people and Members of this House. That is wrong and regrettable.
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