Before coming to the Order of Business, I propose to deal with a number of notices under Standing Order 31.
Requests to move Adjournment of Dáil under Standing Order 31.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the chronic overcrowding of classrooms in our national schools; the failure of the Government, in particular the Minister for Education and Science, to meet the commitments made in the programme for Government to reduce class sizes, and the total inaction on addressing the staffing needs of smaller schools which has resulted in more than 6,500 parents in County Clare alone signing a petition calling for an end to this shameful situation.
I seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 31 to raise a matter of national importance, namely, the urgent need for the Government to revisit and revise its policy on relations with Israel and in particular to end its policy of preferential trade relations with Israel in order to hold Israel accountable for its persistent human rights violations in Palestine, especially in light of the increased intensity of attacks by Israel. These attacks amount to the collective punishment of Palestinians, which is a war crime — the attack last Friday on a beach killed seven Palestinians, including three children, and the missile strike on Gaza city today killed nine Palestinians, including two more children. It is important that we double Irish aid to the Palestinian Authority on foot of the reduction of EU aid which the Government failed to prevent.
Having considered the matters raised, they are not in order under Standing Order 31.