Micheál Martin

I thank all the Deputies for the issues raised. Deputy Bacik asked the initial question about therapists. Approximately 461 were approved by the Cabinet today. That was sweating the existing asset, if you like, within our third level system, seeing how many additional places we can provide in addition to those already in place across a range of therapies. The Minister for Further and Higher Educat…

There will be engagement between the Department of Health, the Minister for Health, the HSE and CORU because there is an issue around recognition of qualifications for those who travel from overseas, even from the United Kingdom and within the European Union. It takes too long, given therapists are crucial. In other professions such as medicine it happens much more quickly in terms of mutual quali…

I apologise. On dysplasia, I did not know that and was not aware of it. I will relay it to the Minister for Health. To Deputy Dempsey, I say independent living is important. She is correct a lot of parents have real anxiety about later life and if anything happens. That is something we are focused on. I spoke about Waterford, I think. To Deputy Ward, we are working to do everything we can to get p…

I propose to take Questions Nos. 20 to 31, inclusive, together. On 10 April, I announced the new phase of the Government’s shared island initiative in a keynote address to the fourth shared island forum. Our programme for Government sets out an ambitious agenda for building a shared island, backed by a further €1 billion commitment to the shared island fund out to 2035. Already on 25 February, th…

I thank the Deputies for raising a variety of issues. Deputy Shane Moynihan asked about the sports front. There has been a range of investments. Casement Park is a significant one, with a €50 million allocation. There is also the sports club electric vehicle, EV, charging scheme, which got into difficulty in terms of procurement and the roll-out of public EV charging points in community sports clu…

But they do not see it as a hard border.

We have been criticised on the opposite side, on the other side of the scale. There have to be rules around migration. I think the Deputy's view is that there should not be, which is fair enough and he is entitled to have a view, but I think his view is that there should not be any rules at all.

That is not sustainable. I thought he was talking about asylum seekers coming North and South.

Anybody who is legally resident in Northern Ireland can travel to the South.

Deputy Coppinger raised an important issue. Gender-based violence is not nationality focused, or exclusive to any person irrespective of race, creed or colour. It is something we need collectively to rid out of society. It takes a lot of work. We have policies relating to it in this Government. As Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, did a lot of good work in this area. Her successor, Deputy Jim …

The Deputy said this is a moment for the Government to articulate its leadership in human rights, or words to that effect. The Government has been demonstrating its leadership in human rights for quite some time and since this war began, consistently and strongly. We have been consistent in our support of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination and in condemning the war crimes…

-----between the Government, the Opposition and the people of Ireland in respect of what Israel is doing in Gaza and undermine the integrity, commitment and good faith of the Government. The Deputy bandies around words such as "facilitate" and "complicit in" genocide, which are false. There is a false narrative being peddled by the Deputy. The latest now is this issue of the Central Bank's role i…

-----but the truth does not matter in this. The issuer, the State of Israel or the Israeli Government, does not become regulated. We are not regulating or endorsing anything.

As soon as night follows day, when this happens something else will come on the agenda.

I would love to get to the bottom of it because it is unworthy. We should be seeking to work together to see how best we can persuade Israel and how best the international community can.

An rud is tábhachtaí ar fad ná-----

-----gur chóir go mbeadh an Tigh aontaithe i gcoinne an méid atá á dhéanamh ag Iosrael.

Children are being slaughtered.

Innocent civilians have been slaughtered.

No one in this House should be looking for a pat on the back.

No one in this House should be seeking some sort of moral superiority over others in this House.

The focus must be relentlessly on the policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu and the Israeli Government, which is made up of extreme far-right elements, who are committing genocide in Gaza right now. Let us call a spade a spade. The Deputy knows the most effective way is-----

-----to persuade as many member states as possible within the European Union and the United States to pull their support from the State of Israel as regards what it is doing now.

I am speaking now.

I have possession of the House now.