Pauline Tully
Cultural and Educational Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I acknowledge that there have been huge improvements on what is available for women, compared with a few years ago when there was nothing, but still far too often conditions affecting women are seen as a specialty or mystery when there is a range of supports and advice that women could receive through primary and community care services.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire chuig an Seanad. I welcome the Bill. We will be fully supporting it. It makes sense. It will reduce barriers for women and make access to contraception easier, which is always going to be welcome. It will also ease pressure on primary care.”
“We need to look at a better public transport system, especially looking after our older people in isolated communities. Even to support our rural pub, we need to look at some sort of incentive for a taxi service that is affordable for people, so we can maintain our rural pubs and look after our older people.”
“Community and voluntary services on the ground, which are vital for providing supports and services to many sectors of the community, including older people and younger people, are not seeing sufficient funding to help them to keep running, to recruit and retain staff within the youth sector, for example, to maintain buildings if they hav…”
“The motion that we have put forward is very broad and covers many aspects that affect us in rural life. I too am astounded by the amendment tabled by the Government because it does not call for anything, which gives the impression that everything that is needed is there, yet many colleagues across the room here ask for more gardaí in thei…”
“Sláintecare is being rolled out too slowly, so we need to see proper resourcing of community healthcare. It avoids people ending up in acute healthcare settings, which are overcrowded. I see a dangerous trend where many people are being referred from areas such as Cavan and Monaghan to Dublin for acute care.”
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“We really need to see that increased capacity to facilitate students to get to school and get them into the good habit of using buses and public transport. I would love to hear more details about the DEIS+ plan. Will applications for DEIS be reopened? There are many schools that do not have DEIS status and it is very hard to understand why because their neighbouring school does and it is the same area and same profile. Such schools would welcome another opportunity to apply for DEIS status. On disability, all of the main disability organisations have expressed their disappointment with the budget. All of them advocated for a cost-of-disability payment. That has not been provided. A sum of €10 per week is not sufficient to address the significant needs. The price of groceries and energy continues to rise.”
“I will guarantee that people will perhaps prefer to work in a school environment than in those teams because, unfortunately, due to being understaffed, it makes those teams a very difficult place to work and many people are not opting to work in those. I want to see the proposal working. We had statements on school transport last week and I know there is mention of increasing capacity by 100,000 by 2030. There was no increase this year and there is no increase for next year, by the looks of things. There were 173,000 students accommodated this year and 170,000 places were mentioned during the budget debate, so we are perhaps talking about a little less, but I presume the number is in or around the same, but there is no increased capacity.”
“We know that the CDNTs and the primary care sectors are not working at the moment because they do not have the staff to provide the services that children need to benefit in life and in school. Given children spend most of their day in the school setting, having therapies on site would be a really good idea. I have advocated for this for years, as the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, knows because we were on the disability committee together and we discussed this very often. Having therapies in school is the right way to go, but it is how quickly we can do that. Where are the therapists going to come from? They cannot be found to fill vacancies in the disabilities sector in the community.”
“On the school capitation grant, yes, there is a €50 increase for primary schools and a €20 increase for post-primary schools, but it is not sufficient and falls short of what is needed. There are increasing costs, years of underfunding in the sector, the cost-of-living package for schools is off the table and, increasingly, schools must go to the financial support services unit for assistance. Therefore, the budget allocation will not address the needs of schools and the chronic underfunding of schools. I welcome having therapies provided in schools. That is the right way to go. I would love to have more detail on that and how quickly it will be rolled out because, again, that is an urgent need.”
“We have one of the highest pupil-teacher ratios in all of Europe yet this has not been addressed in this year's budget. There was talk about reducing the pupil-teacher ratio to 19:1. Many classrooms have more than 30 students which is not fair on teachers or students. It is particularly not fair on students who may have an additional need and are in mainstream and trying to keep up. It is increasingly difficult to do so in a large classroom setting. I know not all classes are the same and that class size depends on the number of students and their ages, but there needs to be an effort made across the board to reduce the ratio to benefit all of the school community.”
“We know of schools that require additional classrooms at the moment and they are being held up by the building section in the Department for months and maybe years. I am not sure about using community centres and the idea behind that. I can see the sense of combining schools with preschool education. There needs to be more collaboration and co-operation between those two sectors, but I do not feel the proposal will address what is a very urgent problem at the moment. I believe that expanding the building blocks scheme would have been much better for existing providers to allow them purchase existing buildings and renovate them. The scheme would also deal with the large degree of vacancy in many of towns, villages and communities. On education, the programme for Government contains a commitment to reduce the pupil-teacher ratio.”
“I want to raise a number of issues concerning yesterday's budget and the first issue concerns childcare. We know we have more then 40,000 children in need of a childcare place now. I regularly have parents on the phone to me or they come into my office crying because they cannot find a childcare place, particularly for young babies and children up to the age of two, which means they cannot return to work. The situation affects people across the board. The Government has proposed that there will be extensions to schools and community centres to address this. I really do not understand this proposal. How long will such work take? I ask because childcare places are urgently needed.”
“As someone said to me, they do not feel they have anything to lose at this stage. That is also worrying. I do not think they are asking for an awful lot. They are looking for the Health (Amendment) Act medical card, which would give them increased medical supports, more than the enhanced medical card, for example. Medical supports for survivors and priority on the housing list are things that are very important for them. The last thing we want is for any one of them to be back in an institution in later life. If we could provide medical supports and caring supports, they could remain in their own home and be able to live a comfortable life. They have already suffered enough at the hands of this State.”
“I want to raise the hunger strike being undertaken outside the Dáil by five people who are survivors of industrial schools. It has been going on since 21 September. I know many other Senators have raised their concerns in this House. I am very concerned about their health and the ongoing health issues they may endure later as a result of this hunger strike. I acknowledge there has been some engagement with the Minister for education, Deputy McEntee, and higher up in government. That door has been left open for engagement but I do not think any commitments have been made that would persuade them to come off their hunger strike. Maybe whoever is involved can dig a little bit deeper to give them some commitment to persuade them, but they are very headstrong and committed.”
“These are often families with young children, or it could be an elderly person going the hospital. It sometimes happens in the morning as well, with people trying to get to work or college in Dublin. A lot more students going to DCU use public transport to get from Kells or Cavan to DCU because they cannot get accommodation in and around the college. I have written to the NTA on numerous occasions. Officials keep telling me they review this on a regular basis, and they are going to increase the capacity but nothing ever changes, and it is something that has been going on for years. It is very frustrating. We want an adequate bus service. It is regular, but capacity is not adequate at certain times of the day, and that needs to be addressed. I am asking for this to be raised with the Minister for Transport.”
“I raise a transport issue, which I have raised a number of times both here and in the Dáil. I have written to the NTA on the issue but it still has not been resolved. It relates to the 109X bus from Cavan to Dublin. It is an hourly bus service going through Kells and on to Dublin. I am hearing from passengers and bus drivers that there are regularly people left stranded because buses are full to capacity at certain times of the day. This particularly happens when the bus is leaving Dublin in the evening and heading back to Cavan. People at bus stops in Drumcondra and near the Connolly Hospital Blanchardstown are often the ones left because they are the last to get on the bus and the bus is full. That means they have to wait an hour or maybe two hours.”
“However, as was said, there is another flotilla on the way there. We need to see what can be done to ensure the aid from that flotilla gets through. We need to keep on trying to break the barrier that Israel has put up and to help the people of Gaza.”
“It is reported that the immigration authorities have already begun conducting hearings on their deportation and detention orders in Ashdod port. These proceedings were initiated without prior notice to their lawyers and are denying participants access to legal counsel. I do not know if that is true, and perhaps the Minister of State can establish if it is. I do not know if it involves participants from other countries or is relevant to all of them. That is a very serious violation of the rights of those participants. They are entitled to legal aid and advice, and they should be granted access to that. I want to see the safe return of all of the participants, although I would rather see their right to continue with the flotilla and to create that humanitarian corridor into Gaza. I do not think that is going to happen right now.”
“As a country, we need to issue a public warning to Israel that the actions taken overnight against the flotilla are unlawful. It has no legitimate right to create a blockade to stop humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. We also need to sanction Israel. We need to use every lever of power available to sanction it, and that includes the occupied territories Bill in its entirety. It has been delayed and delayed for years. It needs to be enacted. We need to support the arms embargo. We need to stop weapons from travelling through our airports and airspace. They are going to Israel to kill Palestinians. We are complicit in the genocide if we do not stop that. It needs to be stopped without delay. I am concerned by a message I have received about some of the participants who have been abducted and brought to Israel.”
“I note the Spanish Prime Minister called it out today as a breach of international law and has called for the EU to break off all relations with Israel right now. I agree with him. As a country, we should be doing the same. The Minister of State mentioned that there is another flotilla that includes an Teachta Barry Heneghan. Will the Irish Government send observers or any sort of support to that flotilla? Will we encourage other members of the international community to do the same and ensure they are safe to get through? Countries need to come together in a much more forceful way and not just leave it to the civilians of those countries. Governments also need to put together aid and try to break the wall that Israel has set up. We cannot allow this to continue in the way that it has.”
“It was a time of worry for all of us because we did not know what was happening to him or where he was, and even his family did not know. He has since been kidnapped or abducted. I do not think “detained” is the correct word because he was in international waters on a peaceful mission. He was not a threat to anybody else, nor were any of the other occupants. They were doing what was right. They were trying to break an illegitimate blockade and get vital food and other aid to the people of Gaza. The Israelis had no right to do what they did. Their propaganda is outrageous. They have been at this for weeks in trying to paint the flotilla as anything other than peaceful, and trying to tie it to Hamas is another example of that. It is totally wrong.”
“They were there representing the voiceless, which the international community has failed to do so far. They were bringing food and aid to beleaguered people who are desperately in need of it. Those people are suffering a man-made famine and a genocide created by Israel. It has been done in front of the eyes of the world for the past two years but nothing concrete has been done about it. I do not know if other Members saw the videos of the Israeli ships surrounding the flotilla, shining blinding lights on the occupants, spraying them with water and then boarding the boats. They told people to drop their phones in the water and we lost communications. Communication with Senator Chris Andrews was lost last night.”
“I thank the Minister of State for being here. It is important that we have these statements today to discuss what happened to the occupants of the Global Sumud Flotilla last night and this morning, and to call it out as a crime against international law. I want to start by commending all of those who were on the Global Sumud Flotilla. I send solidarity and greetings to them and hope they are safe and okay. I want to particularly send them to the Irish citizens aboard, including my comrade and friend, Senator Chris Andrews. As Members have stated, this flotilla was bringing hope and inspiration, not just to the people of Gaza, but to the people of the world who are looking on at this situation and feeling helpless. The people on the flotilla represented the best of us.”
“I move amendment No. 2: After the words “calls on the Government to:” to insert the following paragraph: “- implement the Bovine TB Action Plan while taking into consideration the concerns of farmers in relation to the Plan; - provide funding to increase the maximum valuation for TB reactor cattle to provide adequate compensation to farmers; - oppose the Mercosur trade deal and defend the interests of Irish family farms;”.”
“It must align itself with the other member states that are opposed to the deal. I welcome the Minister's statements in that regard. He said that was the position the Government was taking. I wonder if there has been any clarification of the position of the Government's MEPs. There seem to be different opinions, although I am open to clarification on that point. The Fine Gael MEP Nina Carberry is on the record as opposing this deal while Barry Andrews from the Fianna Fáil group is supporting it. What is the position? The Mercosur trade deal is bad for Irish agriculture and Ireland and should be opposed strenuously.”
“South American beef production is associated with the clearing of the Amazon rainforest, as well as lower and less well-implemented environmental safeguards generally. It is not acceptable that South American beef costing half the price of Irish beef will be on the menu of restaurants throughout Europe. Ireland exports 90% of its beef around the world. We are the fifth largest exporter of beef. Irish family farms will be impacted if cheap beef and poultry, which will push Irish produce off the shelves, are introduced into the country. Once it starts, what is to stop the volume of South American beef and poultry being imported increasing? The Irish Government must be clear and stand up to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in opposing the ratification of this deal and defending Irish agriculture.”
“Sinn Féin has been consistent in its opposition to the deal. We will continue to stand with our beef and poultry farmers in opposing this deal. Six years ago, I chaired a meeting in Cavan-Monaghan with farmers and farming organisations who at that stage were worried and opposed to this deal. They have not changed their opinion in that time. We all know the issues with the deal in respect of animal welfare standards and traceability, as well as the environmental consequences of deforestation. Some 99,000 tonnes of South American beef and 180,000 tonnes of South American poultry will be imported to the EU as part of this deal. Irish farmers must comply with environmental regulations, traceability, animal welfare and other laws with which their South American competitors will not have to comply.”
“I second the amendment. Like my colleague, there is nothing in this motion I would oppose. I generally support it. I want to concentrate my remarks on the Mercosur deal. Trade deals between the EU and other countries continue to threaten Irish agriculture. That is particularly true of the Mercosur deal, which will see the importation of South American beef into the EU. That will have a negative effect on Irish beef farmers and Irish exports. Irish agricultural produce is recognised as being of the highest quality and produced to the highest standards worldwide. The Mercosur trade deal, unless it excludes the importation of South American beef, would negatively affect the Irish economy and Irish family farms. The Mercosur trade deal is a bad deal for Irish and other EU farmers, and always has been.”
“They need legislation that values social enterprises central to tackling inequality, building rural and regional economies and driving the green transition. Social enterprises already lead the way from childcare to recycling, from housing to renewable energy, but what they need now is certainty, support and respect. Sinn Féin will continue to press for stronger supports so that social enterprises can thrive and deliver for all our communities. While I welcome the policy, it needs to be much more specific in what resources it offers to social enterprises in our communities.”
“That is just one example of a social enterprise in Cavan and of the difficulties it faces. There are many others in similar situations that fall short of various criteria within the various schemes. Enterprises like these need staffing supports in the first three to five years in order to be able to survive and become sustainable into the future. Sources of funding for social enterprises need to be more flexible so that they can respond to the specific needs of each individual social enterprise. Otherwise, we run the risk of losing them from our communities and that would be a significant loss. In conclusion, I welcome the recognition of social enterprises but words are not enough. Communities need real delivery and proper investment.”
“The Cottage Market Cavan is committed to creating local futures and building a sustainable planet-friendly community but it does not meet the criteria for CSP funding for staff. In light of this, it has been directed towards the Tús and community employment, CE, schemes but they are either full or, because The Cottage Market Cavan does not have a permanent business location, their support cannot be availed of. The Cottage Market Cavan is recognised as a fantastic organisation for the county. It is continually asked to run events. It works extensively with all the agencies in Cavan: Cavan County Local development, the local enterprise office, Cavan County Council, LEADER, etc. It is extremely challenging for this enterprise to continue without funds for staffing.”
“I am unclear about what the issue is but I hope that it could be addressed. Funding for staff, available through the CSP, is crucial for the sustainable growth of any social enterprise but not all social enterprises meet the CSP's criteria. For example, there is The Cottage Market Cavan. It is a social enterprise that provides a supportive route to market for small-scale growers and food producers, crafters, artists and community groups. People can either attend one of its events or go online and order a local green box, which is full of produce of one's choosing from farmers and food makers in Cavan and the other Border counties. People can collect their green boxes in either Cavan town or Ballyconnell on a Friday. Its online farmers' market and seasonal events represent what is local to Cavan and surrounding areas.”
“For example, the policy recognises the work of the community services programme, which supports community-based organisations providing an annual co-funding contribution towards the cost of employing a manager, an administrative worker or a caretaker, with one of its core aims being to promote and encourage social enterprises to become self-sustainable. The community services programme is invaluable to those who can access it. However, there is a disparity in the allocation of the funding through this programme. I am very concerned that County Cavan has the second-lowest spend per head of population on community services programmes, as it only has four active CSP projects whereas neighbouring counties have many more. For example, Monaghan has 11, Leitrim has 17 and Roscommon has 19. Why is this happening?”
“The Trading for Impact policy recognises the huge contribution of social enterprises. These are businesses that put people and communities before profit. They create jobs, support the most marginalised and drive local development and climate action. The policy sets out welcome goals on awareness, sustainability, the green transition, engagement and impact measurement. The policy falls short, however, as there is no clear legal framework. It leaves social enterprises in a grey zone. There is no long-term funding model, just short-term grants that block actual growth. There are 57 actions but little guarantee of resources.”
“The new combined inhaler costs €85. That is quite steep. Many people cannot afford it and are relying on the blue inhaler only, which is not sufficient to keep the condition under control. We also need to see a severe asthma registry similar to that which exists for cystic fibrosis sufferers. The Asthma Society of Ireland has stated that it would compile such a register and sustain it, but that it will need funding to do so. There is also a special biologics treatment for those with severe asthma, but it is not currently available in Ireland. It does not work for every asthma sufferer, but it could be introduced and rolled out here. We also need to see capacity increased at the severe asthma clinics. The final point I will make is that increased investment in the warmer homes scheme would have major benefits.”
“Part of the reason is that a survey done recently found that one in four people with asthma had to forego their medication in the past few months because of the cost. They could not afford to buy their medication and thus ended up in hospital. With access to the right medication and healthcare, we would see significant cost savings to the State. There would be fewer hospitalisations, less unscheduled GP visits, less absenteeism from work and study and less asthma-related deaths. I ask that this be given serious consideration in the context of the budget. We are very close to budget day, and maybe there will be something in the budget for asthma sufferers. If that is not the case, it could be brought to people's attention that something needs to done about this. The subsidising of asthma medication would be welcome.”
“I want to raise the issue of how people with asthma are not properly cared for. Asthma is seen as an acute illness rather than a chronic condition. That needs to change. We have one of the highest rates of asthma in the world. Some 450,000 people in the country have asthma, and it is predicted that this could rise to 900,000 at some stage. Fifty per cent of those people do not have the condition under control. We also have the second highest asthma mortality rate among the 27 EU countries. It is predicted, on the basis of provisional figures from the Central Statistics Office that as many as 94 people may have died from asthma last year. Hospitalisation rates are quite high as well.”
“If more special classes could be opened in schools, it would mean children would not have to travel long distances past their nearest school to get the education they need, the most appropriate education, and they would be able to use school transport.”
“Could that be integrated? I know of families who would see the bus collecting the children from Ukraine who were living in the community to take them to school, yet they had no transport. This bus was going by their doors. There was space on the bus yet they could not use it. It is also better for the children attending the local school to be integrated as much as possible. There is a significant amount of money being spent on bringing students with additional needs to school. That is necessary but, in many cases, the children are travelling long distances. The Minister of State with responsibility for special education knows this better than me.”
“One question I did ask was whether there is an intention to invest in the school fleet because if we are to increase the capacity by 100,000 by 2030, as was stated by Government, we are going to have to find buses somewhere. We must invest in it and have an integrated system. I always thought it was a waste to have school buses dropping children to secondary and primary school, only for the buses to sit there doing nothing for the bulk of the day and then go back at 3 p.m., or 4 p.m. for the secondary school students, and that was it. An integrated system whereby the buses do the school bus runs but also provide other Local Link services would be a better way to go. We talked about drivers aged 70 having to retire as well. That is something I support being looked at. Special transport was put on for Ukrainian children.”
“It started at the same time as every other year; 25 or 26 April or something like that was the closing date. Maybe of that could be brought back a few months, Bus Éireann and the Department would be aware of exactly how many students are applying for school bus tickets. Officials from Bus Éireann appeared before the Joint Committee on Education and Youth prior to the recess. We were talking about school transport, and I asked the question of how much of the fleet or buses that actually bring students to school are owned by Bus Éireann, and they told me 5%. I was actually very shocked. It is 5%. I thought they might have said 50% or something like that, but it is 5%, so 95% of our school transport is reliant on private operators. I know Bus Éireann finds it difficult to get operators. I am not surprised when it is actually that amount.”
“If he was to go to his nearest school, he would have to walk a number of miles to get the bus to that school. The bus to the school in question was not even his second nearest, because he would have been entitled to the ticket there as well, but his third nearest, but all the schools were relatively similar distances. Again, it is poor organisation that he could not actually attend that school the bus was going to past the front door. Parents have got very short notice of either a service that was not running, and I know sometimes things can happen and a service has to be pulled at the last minute, or the fact that their students did not succeed in getting a ticket this year. I actually thought the registration process might have started earlier and it did not.”
“The point I am making was that even if she was late in applying for whatever reason this year, I have come across situations where parents have been late in applying before and Bus Éireann will say that, when everybody else is catered for, it will see if there is any room on the bus for them. Therefore, some students who have applied late still end up getting tickets. In this instance, if people are relying on a remote area grant, they are being discriminated against because they are not considered if they are late. I am aware of another situation where a student was getting his concessionary ticket - a bus pass basically going from the front door to the school - but the school he was going to was not his nearest school and he lost his ticket.”
“However, last year, the oldest of the children was starting school, applied for a bus ticket, was told that, yes, he was eligible, but there is no service, but he was never informed that he was entitled to the remote area grant. He was able to get a lift with a neighbour to the school last year, but that neighbour has now finished school and is no longer travelling. This is a single parent who does not have transport. She is on disability allowance and cannot afford to pay for transport to the school. As a result, they are missing out on school. I have emailed the Minister of State the details and perhaps it could be looked at.”
“At the moment, not all students who register get tickets because there just is not the capacity. There is a lot of movement as well because of the housing issue. Families regularly move and have to reregister for tickets. I raised with the Minister of State last week the situation in Belturbet. That is ongoing, obviously. I am hoping he will be able to assist in some way in helping those students get to school where they are not having to pay huge amounts of money every week on a private provider. I also have another situation where two boys in a family are attending secondary school. They applied for tickets and were told they are eligible but there is no service, so they should be entitled to the remote area grant. Bus Éireann is claiming that they applied late and, therefore, are not entitled to the grant this year.”
“There were 14 pilot projects launched last year and there does not seem to be any increase in those and they are not being reviewed yet, which is disappointing because I really think that if the pilot projects are looked at, they are a good idea to integrate school transport with other transport routes that exist in the community like Local Link, etc. I still have parents contacting me whose children did not get tickets at the last minute and who want concessionary tickets and who got them for the past number of years but did not get them for this year. Senators have been talking about how people can register for a ticket as they start school and they will get it for the eight years, but that can only happen if the capacity in the system is increased.”
“The review of the school transport scheme that happened a few years ago was very welcome. It was badly needed. It did take a long time, but it was eventually published about 18 months ago. It made a number of recommendations about reducing the distance people had to live from their school to avail of school transport and that they had to attend their nearest school. I was expecting that some of the recommendations might have been implemented for this school year and maybe we would not have the same number of problems when the schools resumed. Unfortunately, however, that was not the case because none of the recommendations have been implemented as yet. I know a commitment has been given that they will be by 2030.”
“However, I am conscious that it was drafted by the American President and has been seen by the Israeli Prime Minister but has not been seen by any representatives of the Palestinian people. I know they are considering it and I hope they can agree to it but I am really concerned that it may be something to which they cannot agree because it has almost been issued as an ultimatum - if the Palestinians do not agree to this, America will support Israel in what it is doing, full blast. I am really concerned but hopeful that it can be resolved. I also hope that the Minister and the embassy will keep a close eye on matters.”
“It is guilty of genocide. The UN has said so, as have many other countries. We have words of support for Gaza and words of condemnation for Israel but that really is not enough. I acknowledge that the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Deputy Harris, has been in touch with Senator Andrews, as have some people from his Department. I urge the Minister and the embassy in Tel Aviv to be on high alert over the next few days to support the Irish citizens on board the flotilla and their families, just in case something happens. Hopefully, nothing will happen but I urge them to be prepared just in case it does. On the peace deal being considered, I am hopeful that this will lead to something. I hope it is something that all sides can agree on.”
“In 2011, he was kidnapped and kept in an Israeli jail for a week. However, he feels that the stakes on this one are higher, not just for the participants but for the people in Gaza as well. He is concerned. Israel has been quite threatening in its language. It launched drones at some of the ships last week and, thankfully, no one was injured. It has tried to paint the flotilla as anything other than peaceful and this may be used to justify future violent action by Israel against the flotilla as it gets nearer to Gaza. Ordinary people like Chris and others from across the globe should not have to do this. Governments should really have come together to open that humanitarian corridor some time ago. We have all been watching the scenes on our televisions for the last two years. Israel is guilty of war crimes and has been called out for it.”
“I start by being associated with the condolences to the family, friends and former colleagues of Dr. Martin Mansergh. I acknowledge his significant contribution to the peace process which led to the Good Friday Agreement. I also want to be associated with the condolences to Senator Clifford-Lee and her family on the untimely death of her mother. I raise the issue of the global summit flotilla on which my party colleague, Senator Chris Andrews, is aboard. They are now within two day's sailing from Gaza. He and the participants are still as determined as ever to open a humanitarian corridor to bring aid to those besieged in Gaza who are suffering and enduring a genocide and a man-made famine. It is not the first flotilla Chris has been on. In fact, he has been on three before.”
“I do welcome the motion and I do welcome that the Government has stood up and recognised the State of Palestine. I welcome that more countries are doing so. I also welcome actions such as calling it out by not taking part in the Eurovision and sporting events if Israel is taking part, but that is not enough to stop this genocide and this indiscriminate murder of a whole nation of people. We need to see action. We need to see the occupied territories Bill passed straight away. I want to send solidarity greetings to my colleague Senator Chris Andrews on the flotilla and all of the others. It should not be civilians doing that. It should be this Government and other governments with them taking that action.”
“Israel has actually attacked Gaza indiscriminately. More than 66,000 Palestinian people are dead, most of them in Gaza, and 20,000 of them are children. Journalists, academics, medics, and humanitarian workers have been killed. It has been indiscriminate and nothing has happened. People have been shot in the head, children included, buildings are collapsed on people, there are shrapnel injuries, and they do not have the medical capacity to deal with these injuries in their hospitals. They are short of aid and they are short on food. Israel is being emboldened all of the time. It has been emboldened in particular by the support of the USA, and not just from Trump, although that has made it worse. Biden was no better when he was there.”
“I welcome this motion. There is nothing in it that I disagree with. I welcome and want to see the amended version of the motion passed here today. It needs to be much stronger than it is. While I welcome that Fianna Fáil is bringing forward this motion at this late stage, part of me is cynical and wondering if this is an effort to counteract its presidential candidate Jim Gavin's disgraceful remarks last week when he said it was "unconscionable" that the bombing is still taking place and that he believed the Israeli army’s “military objectives have probably been reached” with that military campaign. What world is he living in? Israel has not been engaging in a military campaign since 7 October, and by the way 7 October is not something that happened in a vacuum; this has been going on for over 77 years.”
“Bricin's had a place and was willing to take the student. The principal informed me that in April the school was told a service could be provided if there was a sufficient numbers of students. That came from Bus Éireann, to clarify. I can get further details from the principal and send them to the Minister of State.”