2. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on health will next meet. [10454/26]

Sentiment score: 0.00

Over the summer, I met with Kirsty and Barry, who told me a heartbreaking and deeply troubling story about how their son Brody had been treated at Children's Health Ireland, CHI. He was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, DIPG, in May 2024. This is a very aggressive brain tumour that is inoperable. Children are treated as palliative once they are diagnosed. He then had a very invasive and dangerous procedure of a biopsy. As a result of the biopsy, he had a massive brain haemorrhage. His brain swelled to such a degree that the back of his skull had to be effectively cut off. He walked into the operating theatre in full command of the use of all his limbs and so on. After the operation and the biopsy, he could only move one of his eyes and he never learned to walk again. The biopsy was unnecessary. There was no clinical benefit to having the biopsy. The issue is that this is happening widely. We appear to be doing much more biopsies-----

Sentiment score: -0.09

-----than other countries with no medical benefit in doing them. Will the Taoiseach examine this?

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Yes.

Sentiment score: 0.40

It was not in this case apparently, because it was a bank holiday. The MD team was skipped, apparently.

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Can we take the reply as read?

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20. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach to report on his attendance at the British-Irish Council summit. [10456/26]

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I presume the Taoiseach saw the news ten or so days ago about the UK High Court's ruling to the effect that the proscription and banning of Palestine Action as a terror group is unlawful and disproportionate. The court also directed that it should be overturned. It was heartening to see the scenes of many protestors being released from prison. They are heroes. They are not criminals. They are people who have put their bodies on the line to try to stop the war machine responsible for a genocide in Palestine, but there are still many Palestinian activists who are in limbo and in prison. The UK Government has maintained the proscription of Palestine Action and intends to appeal the ruling. In Ireland, many Palestine solidarity activists, including those in Palestine Action, are still being dragged through courts on trumped-up charges. What does the Taoiseach say about the slide into authoritarianism happening across much of the western world, which is driven by attempts to suppress criticism of the genocidal State of Israel, and the use of anti-terror laws?

Sentiment score: -0.15