Ruth Coppinger

My position is not that Irish athletes should have to take a decision not to participate. Israel should be kicked out of all sporting competitions, in the same way Russia was. Does the Minister of State agree with Russia being banned? I would like an answer to that question. Failing the authorities taking action, because they are hugely corrupt, players and athletes may have to take a decision, an…

That was four years ago.

We are asking the Government to act.

I heard the Minister of State on the television last night and I have to say it was mealy-mouthed, disingenuous and lacking in any moral fibre. What he said was that the Palestinians think we are great, that we are doing so much. He went on to dispute the idea that this match meant anything. I spoke to ordinary Palestinians who live in my area, some of whom have been the victims of the genocide an…

I want to send my sympathy and solidarity to the man who was brutally attacked in Belfast, and to all affected by the subsequent racist violence. I am going to refer to it in my Questions on Policy or Legislation. I will raise with the Taoiseach again the issue of gender-based violence, which he and the Government acknowledge is an epidemic. It is largely unreported. One of the key reasons is the…

I think the Minister's remarks could certainly be interpreted that way. They show a complete lack of understanding about the impact of this issue and also about how therapy works wherein people can often blame themselves; they can take on guilt or they could say that maybe it was their fault and all sorts of things. I am not going to go into all the details again. I am just going to state what is …

I condemn the horrific attack on the man in Belfast. I hope he recovers and I send my solidarity and hope the perpetrator is brought to justice. However, I also want to condemn the horrific violence that is being wreaked in the North since that attack. It is straight from the far-right playbook to use an horrific tragedy or incident when it is a person of colour who is the suspect in a violent ass…

I am actually embarrassed for the Minister of State, to be frank. I remember in 2019 Fianna Fáil jumping up and down on this. It was Fianna Fáil that introduced the concept of this Bill and now here they are with a bit of an occupied territories Bill in a bit of the occupied territories. There is no moral backbone to this Government whatsoever, be it about trade, football or anything at all. Of ou…

I ask Deputy Kelly to withdraw this amendment for a number of reasons. We are giving out about things being added onto this Bill. Here is another important issue being added on at this Stage. I do not agree with the amendment. As much of a nuisance as it is going in and out of this Dáil on many an occasion, I do not agree we should curb civil liberties and the right to protest late at night witho…

How much time is left?

Okay.

How much time have we got left?

There are other Deputies who wish to speak.

The situation is disgraceful that we are in. We are rushing and rushing on very important things. Everybody has already raised, including Deputy Carthy and others, about how important this issue was to the justice committee. This should not be happening. It is disgraceful. I have not seen a Bill being pushed through with so many different things in it in this way at this time. It could have been e…

My amendment allows for that.

People can consent to give their notes.

10. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on housing will next meet. [38903/26]

25. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on disability will next meet. [38904/26]

How can it be that a school that made it to DEIS plus status, St. Francis Junior School in Priorswood in Dublin 17, can lose a teacher at the same time, bringing the pupil-teacher ratio from 17:1 to 22:1? This cannot stand. The school was recently given DEIS plus status but the board of management, staff and parents are absolutely devastated to learn that they will lose a mainstream class teacher …

What the Minister of State said there was lovely but it does not deal with the problem. What is the point of giving a school DEIS plus status and taking away a teacher? It makes no sense. The Minister of State needs to intervene here. This is one of the most disadvantaged areas in terms of social problems and the different minorities represented. Some 40% are from the Traveller community. This is …

Maybe the school should close the ASD class.

Should hundreds of people lose their peace and quiet in order for a cup of coffee to be flown over them and delivered to a particular person? This week has seen major setbacks for commercial fast-food drone delivery in Dublin West and Cork. In Dublin West, Fingal County Council refused retention of operation for Manna at its base in Coolmine. Many submissions were made by residents. This was the s…

We all do.

The Government has not done it yet.

11. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on infrastructure will meet next. [36988/26]