Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:1. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [7937/24]
Ceisteanna ar Sonraíodh Uain Dóibh - Priority Questions
Programme for Government
Alan Dillon
Ceist:2. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Taoiseach to provide an update on the programme for Government. [9029/24]
Pádraig O'Sullivan
Ceist:3. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [9218/24]
Brendan Smith
Ceist:4. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [9335/24]
Jennifer Murnane O'Connor
Ceist:5. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [9336/24]
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:6. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [10350/24]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:7. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [10619/24]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:8. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [10622/24]
Mick Barry
Ceist:9. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach if he will provide an update on the programme for Government. [12453/24]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 9, inclusive, together.
When we published the programme for Government in June 2020, we said:
This is a Programme to recover our economy, rebuild our society, renew our communities, and respond to the challenges we face both nationally and internationally. This will be a Government of enterprise, creating new jobs, preparing for the jobs of the future, driving our economic recovery, and improving the quality of life for all our people.
I believe we are making good progress in that regard. Individual commitments in the programme for Government are advanced through the co-ordinating mechanisms of the Cabinet committee structure. The ten Cabinet committees established by the Government reflect the full range of policy areas set out in the programme for Government. Cabinet committees meet regularly to accomplish their work.
The strategy statements of all Departments reflect the national priorities outlined in the PFG. The Department of the Taoiseach is continuing to help advance the programme for Government commitments in the following significant policy areas: the implementation of Housing for All, including additional initiatives as necessary, to advance crucial housing-related commitments; continued engagement at EU and international level on the situation in the Middle East, including by calling for full observance of international law by all parties, working to build consensus at EU level to take a more proactive approach in assisting a negotiated two-state solution and lasting peace process, and increased funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, UNRWA; engagement with EU leaders to advance high-level objectives in the programme for Government, in particular economic and competitiveness issues, energy security, external relations, including with the UK, as well as continuing our strong, collective EU response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine; pursuing our international commitments, including strengthening our relationship with the US, and implementing the UN sustainable development goals; advancing the Government's commitments on shared island; ensuring implementation of New Decade, New Approach commitments, working with the relevant Departments, North and South, in advancing those goals; strengthening the British-Irish bilateral relationship, including with London, and the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland; implementation of the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021 and the Government's climate action plan; advancements in Sláintecare, improving access, outcomes and affordability for patients by increasing the capacity and effectiveness of the workforce, infrastructure and provision of patient care; oversight of implementation of the third domestic, sexual and gender-based violence strategy; oversight of the implementation of A Policing Service for the Future, a Government plan to implement the report of the Commission on the Future of Policing in Ireland; development of the well-being framework for Ireland and driving its integration into policymaking and budgetary systems; publication of Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework in February 2022; and the establishment of the child poverty and well-being programme office in the Department of the Taoiseach to progress commitments identified in the programme for Government that will have the greatest effect on the lives of children who experience poverty.
I wish the Taoiseach all the best personally. I know it is not an easy day for him but I wish him the best for the future.
In the programme for Government, the Government committed to reducing waiting times for assessments of need under the Disability Act 2005 by using the standard operating procedure the former Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, introduced in January 2020. However, parents became very quickly aware of the shortcomings of that approach and aware that the rights of their children were being undermined by an inadequate assessment. In 2022, as the Taoiseach will recall, the High Court struck down the standard operating procedure. The HSE was found to be shortcutting disability rights.
Now assessment of need waiting lists are longer than ever. Children are entitled to assessment within three months; few, if any, receive it in that timeframe. There are 8,900 children whose assessment is overdue, and most are overdue by more than three months. That is not to mention the other children, maybe more than 5,000, who were robbed of a proper assessment of their needs. These children's rights are being denied and they deserve better. The Government has spent time in office finding shortcuts around the rights of people with disabilities instead of planning to meet their needs. What is the Government's plan to tackle the backlog of assessments of need and to deliver fit-for-purpose, proper disability services for children?
Before I get to my question, I will clarify what I was saying earlier about the SET allocation. I have a scoresheet in front of me from a school principal. It includes weighting towards, as I said, illiteracy, innumeracy and the educational disadvantage or geographical location of a school. Nowhere in that assessment is there any provision for complex needs, as I stated. When it comes to brass tacks, that is the way allocations are scored and weighted. On that basis, I ask the Taoiseach once more to go back to both Ministers to ensure that schools are not being disadvantaged, as I am suggesting.
As regards my question today, it would be remiss of me not to take the opportunity on the Taoiseach's last day taking Taoiseach's Questions to raise for the last time with him the issue of rare diseases and, specifically, reimbursement. More than 40 stakeholders from patient groups and industry are coming in to meet a cross-party group tomorrow at 12 noon in the audiovisual room. I encourage the Taoiseach and anybody else here to attend tomorrow if possible. Ultimately, what will be spoken about there is how we are, as I have said consistently for three years in the Dáil, laggards in the European context when it comes to reimbursement of drugs. Given that it is the Taoiseach's last day taking questions, I ask that before he departs he look at the possibility of establishing a task force or some kind of specialist group that would look specifically into the whole area of reimbursement.
Was it laggards we were called? It was not blackguards, was it?
Laggards.
It was definitely laggards.
Very good. Deputy Paul Murphy, please.
There are 20,000 members of Fine Gael. They make up 0.4% of the population. They are people who - no offence to them - are disproportionately older, disproportionately richer, disproportionately-----
Is this relevant to the question?
To the programme for Government, it is. They are disproportionately more conservative than the average person in society. Does the Taoiseach think that it is appropriate for this group of 20,000 people to decide who will be the next Taoiseach to implement the programme for Government? Does he not think it is repugnant to the notion of democracy that it is those 20,000 people, and, disproportionately within them, the parliamentary party, who will get to decide, as opposed to the people? The Government was formed in an attempt to thwart the wish of people for change as expressed in the February 2020 general election. That is why Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came together in a formal coalition for the first time ever. Does the Taoiseach not accept that, on the grounds of democracy alone, it is time for the people to decide whether they want to continue with rule by landlord and for landlord or to vote for an alternative?
This is an out-of-touch Government and Deputy Varadkar has been an out-of-touch Taoiseach. Rarely was that seen more than in his interview on "The Six O'Clock Show", where he raised issues relating to care and disability and showed his Thatcherite colours. I suspect that was the moment the care referendum was lost. The Government, however, is about to repeat the mistake. Its Green Paper on disability reform, again aping the Tories, rather than dismantling barriers and forcing employers to make workplaces people with disability-friendly, points towards forcing disabled people into work under threat of loss of benefits. Will the Taoiseach not learn the lesson of the referendum campaign that the Government will rile the disability community in this country at its peril and scrap that Green Paper now?
We are running out of time for the Taoiseach to respond. I call Deputy Peadar Tóibín and then Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú.
The scale of the rejection of the Government's referendum proposals was colossal. It was absolutely incredible to see the most significant referendum losses happen to this Government. There is no doubt in my mind that trust in this Government is on the floor now. There is a political bubble in Ireland between the political establishment, many of the NGOs and some of the media. At the heart of the Government's carers proposal was a promise that it would do everything to help carers, but most people who are either carers or in need of care saw the reality of the Government's lack of delivery. They saw the fact that respite services were closed in many counties. They saw the fact that people could not get access to carer's allowance. They saw the fact that childcare centres are closing, nursing homes are closing and children are being put into unregulated State care and actually going missing. It is incredible to see Ministers such as Deputies Humphreys and O'Gorman promise that there will be a new dawn in terms of the provision of care after the referendum. The referendum is not needed. All that is needed is the Government will. Will the Government therefore promise now to deliver for those who are suffering the most in this country?
I wish the Taoiseach well, but I add my voice to what the rest of the Opposition said about the next Taoiseach and the Government, that is, that the decision should be made now and made by the people.
I want to follow on from Deputy Ó Laoghaire. We talk about the assessment of need backlogs and the people who cannot get assessments or therapies but we are not having the real conversation.
Even if we get the workforce planning right now, we know we cannot fill all of the positions in the children's disability network teams, primary care and everything that is needed. We know we have an issue with times in relation to the education system versus the health and medical options. We need to deliver a scenario in which we talk to the stakeholders, the therapists and psychologists, and come up with some sort of option for the best service we can offer as we strive to make sure we fill all of these positions. Otherwise, we will keep having the same conversation over and over again and fail a huge number of families.
We have a little under four minutes for the Taoiseach's response.
A Cheann Comhairle-----
No, you were not there on time, Deputy. I am sorry.
I am putting up my hand.
You were not here when-----
I had a question.
You did but you were not here when your question came up. We are out of time.
Other Deputies who did not table questions have spoken. Can I not-----
They had their hands up before you were here. You cannot come in at the end, when your question has been passed and we are running out of time, and consume the time that is required for the Taoiseach to respond.
Having submitted a question, seriously?
No. The question is grouped. The Taoiseach may answer it anyway.
The grouping was not over-----
Will you stop, Deputy, please, and have a bit of respect.
That is just out of order.
You are out of order.
You are out of order.
I am not going to get involved in a debate. I call the Taoiseach.
I thank the Ceann Comhairle. Deputies raised the issue of assessment of needs. I know we have a very big problem with waiting times for that. We all know it from our constituency clinics. The real struggle is finding enough clinically and appropriately qualified staff to carry out the assessments and provide all of the therapies. There are some big recruitment campaigns under way. Money has been set aside for them. Hopefully, it will make a real difference. It also demonstrates the pitfalls that can arise from putting certain rights in law. Unfortunately, this is an example of where a right put into law has not resulted in a right on the ground or in reality. Rather, it has led to people working in the disability sector spending their time trying to settle cases instead of providing better services and some budgets that would have otherwise been spent on services being diverted to damages. It is a pitfall we will have to take into account when people call for other rights to be put into law. Just putting a right into law does not mean it actually happens; not at all. That is not how it works, unfortunately.
On the SET model, I am advised that it makes an allocation based on a number of inputs, including enrolment numbers. Children with complex needs are recognised in the model by using school-level data from standardised tests to reflect the relative levels of overall need. The model seeks to distribute teaching resources in the fairest possible manner, taking into account as much evidence as possible in respect of individual schools and evidence in respect of possible use of resources. The standardised test results identify pupils who achieve below the average and may require some degree of additional teaching support. These are consistent and reliable indicators to identify additional learning need, particularly for those with the highest level of need.
On reimbursement of medicines, I am not sure I will be able to set up a task force in the next couple of weeks but I promise Deputy O'Sullivan that it is something on which we can perhaps work together. It is something I have been sincere about for a long time but I have not managed to unlock whatever the problem is. I will keep an interest in it because I do not understand or accept why any patient who needs a medicine that is available publicly in Britain or another similar jurisdiction cannot have it here. I think they should have them.
On Deputy Murphy's question, as I said earlier, our Constitution has been with us since 1937. It is clear. It is the people's document. The rules are there in black and white. The Taoiseach is elected by the Dáil, the Government is elected by the Dáil and the Dáil is elected by the people. The reason we have the current Government is not because of some sort of plot or conspiracy theory; it is because the parties in the Government - Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party - won 51% of the vote. That is why we are the Government. An election will happen within the next year.
On the Green Paper on disability payment reform, to be very clear, it is just a Green Paper for discussion, debate and consultation. It is not a set of proposals as of yet and is not an effort to reduce benefits, make savings or ape the welfare reforms in the UK. It is quite the opposite. We have introduced new benefits and increased benefits over the course of the past seven years.
Departmental Offices
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:10. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the parliamentary liaison unit in his Department. [7939/24]
Mick Barry
Ceist:11. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the parliamentary liaison unit in his Department. [9340/24]
Cian O'Callaghan
Ceist:12. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan asked the Taoiseach to report on the work of the parliamentary liaison unit in his Department. [10351/24]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 10 to 12, inclusive, together.
The parliamentary liaison unit in the Department of the Taoiseach assists the Government in its relationship with the Oireachtas. It works with the Office of the Government Chief Whip on issues that arise at the Business Committee and the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform, including Dáil reform proposals and amendments to Standing Orders. The unit helps the Office of the Government Chief Whip in the implementation of the Government’s legislation programme. The unit also assists the office of the leader of the Green Party in work relating to Cabinet, Cabinet committees and oversight of the programme for Government. The parliamentary liaison unit provides detailed information on upcoming matters in the Dáil and Seanad, highlights any new Oireachtas reform issues and provides assistance in establishing the new procedures arising from Dáil reform. The unit is staffed by one principal officer and one administrative officer. There are currently two vacancies, one for the position of a higher executive officer and one for a clerical officer.
Before last weekend, 130 asylum applicants were living in an inhumane condition in Dublin without on-site hygiene facilities, toilets accessible at night or washing facilities. In an attempt to hide Government failure on asylum accommodation, they were put on a bus and moved to the outskirts of Dublin to the site of a former nursing home at Crooksling. The conditions there were so bad that several of the men who had been ferried there felt they were better off on the street. This is another example of the Government's failure to conduct a community services audit prior to the placement of refugees in a given area. Government failure to ensure proper amenities and services are put in situ places communities across the State under enormous pressure, as well as, of course, the asylum seekers themselves. The Government has failed utterly and appears to be led by a policy that relies on speculators who make tens of millions of euro from the process. People want to do the right thing and support those seeking protection but State failure is putting intense pressure on limited services within communities. Why did the Government only recently start an audit of available accommodation places for international protection applicants? Is this audit now complete? What are its findings? When will we see the introduction of a fair, efficient and enforced immigration system?
I wish to speak up on behalf of 118 workers whose pay will be slashed on 31 March by the Government. They are public health services staff who are out sick with long Covid and have been on full pay as part of a dedicated scheme which the Government plans to scrap on 31 March. Many of them are nurses. They were on the front line and risked their health for us before vaccines were available and with insufficient PPE. Now, they suffer from fatigue, brain fog, migraine and other symptoms of long Covid. After the Government cuts their pay, their incomes will be down by 50% after three months. These people are members of households not just with mortgages but with significant added medical costs. This is cruelty. Is it going to be part of the Taoiseach's legacy or will he do the right thing and extend that scheme? I ask him to give me a direct answer. This is a pressing matter.
There was an announcement today about the opening of the mother and baby redress scheme arising from the legislation around that scheme. There is widespread anger among people who went through the mother and baby institutions over the arbitrary six-month rule and exclusions from the redress scheme. I have never heard an answer from the Minister or the Government as to that arbitrary six-month rule. I am an adoptee and any adoptee or psychologist, or anybody who knows anything about children, will know the impact of the regime that existed around taking children away from their mothers because they happened to be unmarried and that the damage and trauma start from the moment of separation.
That is the crime, if you like, and the trauma that may result from the forcible separation of mothers from children is the issue that needs redress. How, in the face of the testimony of survivors of these institutions and everything we know about the development of human psychology in children, can the Government even now stand over this six-month exclusion? It is shocking. As a doctor, the Taoiseach should know that. Does he have a response to that? Even at this late stage, the Government could do the right thing and extend the scheme to all those who were victims of that terrible regime and were forced through those institutions.
Throughout the referendum campaign, Aontú said that the care amendment was designed by the Department of Finance. We said the wording proposed in the referendum was designed to protect budgets. A leak of the Attorney General's advice and responses to freedom of information, FOI, requests that have subsequently been published by the Department of Finance basically give credibility and weight to our challenge during the referendum. The note to the Department of Finance says that the language was intended to avoid concrete and mandatory obligations to provide support to those who need it. The advice of the Attorney General also said that there was no certainty about what was meant by "durable relationships" and that it would lead to an increase in litigation in the future. Will the Taoiseach make sure there is an independent investigation into the leaking of the Attorney General's advice before the referendum? Will he hold an independent investigation into the fact that the Minister, Deputy Roderic O'Gorman, misled and misinformed the Dáil and the Irish people about the advice he got from the Attorney General and call for his resignation?
When will we get legislation for 100% redress for those affected by apartment and duplex defects? It has been almost two years since the Government received a report that revealed the scale of this problem. Up to 100,000 families have been affected as a consequence of a regime of self-certification introduced by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It has been more than a year since we had a very welcome political commitment by the Government that we would have a 100% redress scheme. However, we do not have a Bill, heads of a Bill or anything else to make that commitment a reality. There is an interim funding scheme which is welcome but it is not 100% redress. If we do not get the heads of a Bill shortly, it will not be in place before the end of this Government and a general election. Will it happen? This is having a real impact on people's lives. I will give a recent example. Marlfield development in Tallaght, next door to Deerpark, is affected by water leaking, mould and damage to ceilings as a result of unsuitable tiles installed by the developer. Not only is it bad for those who live in it, there are also the cases of eviction by landlords who are willing to sell to South Dublin County Council under the tenant in situ scheme to avoid the tenant entering homelessness, where South Dublin County Council has said "No". It will not buy the properties because of the problems with building, despite the fact that it already owns 12% of properties in the development. When will we have the legislation to deal with the underlying issue by providing 100% redress? Will the Taoiseach make sure that the tenant in situ scheme is used in these cases?
I raised previously the case of a fire station officer from Dunleer, John Molloy. The Taoiseach's office has responded to me about it. At the end of the day, the difficulty is that Mr. Molloy will turn 60 on 24 May. He is the fifth man in the minimum crew of five. Not only would we lose him with no one to replace him, we could also have an issue with the fire station. The Taoiseach said I would get an answer from the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform but we need some kind of interim fix if we will not have an answer from the Department quickly enough. A circular could be issued by office of the Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, as happened before. We need to find some kind of solution to allow John Molloy to keep operating and Dunleer fire station to stay open.
I thank the Deputies for their questions.
On IPAS and Mount Street, officials visited the tents on 16 March. Contrary to some reports, Crooksling has toilets, hot showers, personal toiletries, food, a bus service to Dublin and 24-hour security on site. Safetynet is providing health screening, which commenced on 18 March. There is a building where meals are served and men can charge phones and have food provided. Crosscare is also conducting support visits. That is essentially what is being provided at Crooksling at the moment.
I will have to come back to Deputy Barry with a more definitive answer on Covid-19 and long Covid, but my understanding is that Covid-19 is now being treated as any other respiratory virus would be treated and long Covid is being treated as any other chronic disease would be treated. It would be difficult to explain to someone who perhaps has multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease or some other chronic illness, why his or her employment rights are different from those of people who have long Covid. We have moved beyond the idea that Covid-19 is a different category of disease from other viral or post-viral syndromes. The suggestion is that people acquired long Covid at work, but that is not necessarily the case. Most people acquired Covid-19 in their homes where they spent most of their time. That may not have been the case for everyone, but it was generally the case.
The Minister set out the thinking behind the mother and baby institutions payment scheme on several occasions. It is an €800 million scheme, the biggest one of its nature ever. Redress is about more than financial compensation. It is also about birth information and tracing, medical cards and other practical supports that are being provided.
On Deputy Ó Murchú's question, I will follow up on the matter of Mr. Molloy. It would be strange if he was forced to retire and then rehired in a few months' time. We need a common sense approach to this if at all possible. I will follow it up with the Department of public expenditure.
Deputy Tóibín asked about the referendums. The referendums are over. They happened. The results have been accepted by the Government. On the leak of the Attorney General's advice, it was only one day's worth of advice. There was a lot more to it than the ten pages that were leaked and published. Those particular ten pages showed that the term "strive", in the Attorney General's view and in mine, was a strong term, was judicable, would have led to additional rights for carers and would potentially have left the State open to litigation and costs. If anything, it supported the arguments the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, made in favour of a "Yes" vote. Of course it was the view of the Departments of Finance and public expenditure to use the weakest language possible in order minimise the potential cost to the State. That is their job. It is the job of the Departments in charge of the money to warn the Government about the cost of anything we commit to do. It does not stop us committing to do it. That is why we chose strong wording, such as "strive", and that can be seen in the Attorney General's advice.
When it comes to durable relationships, no Attorney General will ever say that any new language in legislation or the Constitution is certain. If we were to get to the point where we publish advice from the Attorney General, it would have to be written in a different way because anyone who has been in government understands that the Attorney General will always say what to us is obvious, namely that it cannot be said with absolute certainty what a court will decide. That was presented in a very different way from the way the advice was read or read by me.
Deputy Paul Murphy's questions on-----
What about leak investigations?
That is not a matter for me now anyway. Leak investigations rarely lead anywhere unless they are willing to carry out searches of places and so on and I do not think the Deputy is calling for that. Perhaps he is. He knows where the search would start and I do not think he is calling for that and I do not think people who believe in a free press would call for it. To be very clear, I am not calling for that.
On the apartment defects, we expected the legislation this year and I will follow up on the issue around the tenant in situ scheme.
Middle East
James Lawless
Ceist:13. Deputy James Lawless asked the Taoiseach for a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the situation in Gaza. [7943/24]
Seán Haughey
Ceist:14. Deputy Seán Haughey asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen calling for an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement. [9015/24]
Mary Lou McDonald
Ceist:15. Deputy Mary Lou McDonald asked the Taoiseach if he will provide a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen on the situation in Gaza. [9140/24]
Mick Barry
Ceist:16. Deputy Mick Barry asked the Taoiseach for a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the situation in Gaza. [9341/24]
Richard Boyd Barrett
Ceist:17. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Taoiseach for a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the situation in Gaza. [10615/24]
Paul Murphy
Ceist:18. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Taoiseach for a report on his joint correspondence, along with the Spanish Prime Minister, to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the situation in Gaza. [10621/24]
I propose to take Questions No. 13 to 18, inclusive, together.
The Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez, and I wrote a joint letter to the European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, on 14 February expressing our deep concern at the deteriorating situation in Israel and Gaza, and particularly its impact on women and children. With the risk of an even greater humanitarian catastrophe posed by Israeli military operations in Rafah, and all that occurred and continues to occur in Gaza since October 2023, we asked that the EU Commission undertake an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement. Article 2 of the association agreement provides that "relations between the parties... shall be based on respect for human rights and democratic principles in their internal and international policy and constitutes an essential element of this Agreement".
Given the urgency of the situation, we hope that the Commission will undertake the review as soon as possible and if it considers Israel to be in breach of its obligations, that it will propose measures to the Council for adoption. Such measures could include suspending the agreement, in whole or in part. It would then be for the Council to decide how to proceed.
Our letter also addressed several other important issues. We reiterated our total condemnation of Hamas' indiscriminate terrorist attacks on 7 October and we called for the immediate and unconditional release of the remaining hostages. We also expressed our concern at the alleged involvement of staff members of UNRWA in the Hamas attack but said that UNRWA must be allowed to continue its vital work in Gaza and that EU support for UNRWA must be maintained. As the House will be aware the Government has increased our national contribution to €20 million. Our letter also recalled that the International Court of Justice has ordered Israel to take immediate and effective measures to ensure urgently-needed basic services and humanitarian assistance are provided in Gaza. These orders are binding.
President von der Leyen has acknowledged receipt of the letter. I expect the Commission to revert with a substantial response to our serious concerns as soon as possible. The request for a review of the association agreement at EU level was discussed at the Foreign Affairs Council, FAC, on 19 February, which was attended by the Tánaiste. I will raise it again at the European Council meeting later this week. We will continue to raise Ireland's concerns about the desperate situation in Gaza at every available opportunity. We urgently need a lasting ceasefire, the release of all hostages and the provision of much-needed food, medicine and utilities to the people of Gaza.
Finally, as we set out in our letter, a two-state solution represents the only way to end the cycle of violence and to bring peace and security to the people of Israel and Palestine. We will continue to work with the EU and our Arab and international partners to secure precisely that outcome.
I wish the Taoiseach all the best on his announcement this morning. In regard to the question, I hope that review will take place as soon as possible. It is clear that the Taoiseach delivered a very strong message in Washington regarding the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. As we know, aid agencies have warned of an imminent famine in the enclave. An unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. The EU's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, has spoken about how starvation is being used as a weapon of war by Israel. The international community has finally woken up to this appalling situation, better late than never. Humanitarian aid needs to get into Gaza by land, sea and air. Ireland is to be commended on its continuing funding of UNRWA. Canada and Sweden have resumed funding of the agency and the EU Commission is now providing €50 million to it. The EU has also opened up a corridor from Cyprus. The US promises to build a port to ship in vital aid and Jordan is co-ordinating airdrops with other countries. However, Israel must open up the land crossings.
In his talks in Washington, did the Taoiseach get any grounds for hope that a sustained scaling up of the delivery of humanitarian assistance could be organised? Could Ireland offer any practical assistance to get aid into Gaza, perhaps by working with other countries?
More than 13,000 children are among the 31,000 people killed in Gaza in a little over five months, with 72,000 people injured. Having completely exhausted food supplies and coping capacities, more than 1 million people are struggling with catastrophic hunger and starvation. Famine is imminent. In the past number of days Israel has denied UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini entrance to Rafah, while also subjecting the 1.5 million people seeking shelter there, to overnight missile attacks. Those responsible for cold-blooded massacre, war crimes and genocide currently enjoy what is among the most preferential diplomatic, economic and trading relationships with the EU of virtually any non-EU country, worth billions of euro each year.
The joint letter from the Taoiseach and Prime Minister Sánchez of Spain seeking an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations under the EU-Israel association agreement, was a welcome intervention. While at various points the EU or individual member states have been quick to initiate reviews of Palestinian NGOs or funding of UNRWA, any attempt to pressure Israel to end its onslaught and adhere to international humanitarian law has proceeded at a woeful pace. If I picked up the Taoiseach's words correctly, he has not received a response to the letter from EU Commission President von der Leyen. Will he confirm that? Has he received any feedback form any sources as to whether a review will be conducted? Has a process begun? At what pace will that proceed in order to reach some form of conclusion?
There are four further Deputies to speak. I call Deputy Mick Barry.
I want to challenge the Taoiseach on a point he raised earlier when he said that my approach had not assisted the people of Gaza and had zero effect. By implication he is talking about the approach of socialists. By implication he is talking about the global protest movement of which we are part. His statement is not correct, in my view. Why did the man with whom he was spending time on Sunday at the White House, Joe Biden, change his position to the point where he now opposes a ground assault in Rafah? It is because of the pressure he feels from below, namely, the huge protests in US cities, the big number of votes he has lost in the Democratic primaries and the big number of votes he is fearful of losing in the general election.
The protest movement in the United States certainly would have been boosted had the Taoiseach boycotted the events last week. However, even if he had not, and had made a criticism of Biden and the US, as Sally Rooney says, not just of the bombers but those supplying the bombs, the protest movement would have been boosted as well. It is a pity that he failed to do so.
On the point he challenged me on, I do not think he has right on his side there.
The Taoiseach rejected our call, and the call of huge numbers of people across the world, to boycott Joe Biden because of his complicity with the genocidal massacre that Israel is committing and the fact that he has armed Israel to the teeth and enabled it to commit that massacre. Did the Taoiseach ask him to stop arming Israel? Mary Robinson echoed the calls of millions of people throughout the world who are saying that were the United States and western governments to stop arming Israel, it would not be able to continue with this. That is the truth, is it not? It gets all the weapons, made in the USA, and billions in US aid. Did the Taoiseach ask him directly to please stop arming Israel and enabling its ability to commit a genocide? I suspect he did not. Mary Robinson asked him to. We asked him to. To my mind, he should have. To compare this with apartheid-era South Africa, is there any point at which a boycott of a state that is committing the crimes that Israel is committing against the Palestinians justifies the sort of boycott that was imposed on apartheid South Africa?
I remind members we need to leave time for the Taoiseach to respond.
I want to ask the Taoiseach about the weapons coming through Irish airspace. They shot up in October of last year. They went from an average of about 100 exemptions for the carriage of munitions of war on civil aircraft per month, to about 200. There were 190 in October, and they have stayed at a consistently high level since then. What happened in October? There was 7 October and then the genocidal onslaught by Israel on Gaza.
At the very least, it seems strange and coincidental that the carriage of munitions on civil aircraft through this country increased dramatically at the time the war in Gaza started. It seems likely, on the face of it, that there is a connection between the two, but we do not know, do we, because the Government refuses to inspect aircraft. It gives permissions but it does not inspect. Will it inspect the aircraft at Shannon Airport and elsewhere?
It is obvious that Netanyahu's Israel is operating a policy of slaughter, starvation and famine. That is how he intends to ensure that not only will there be no Palestinian state, there might not be a Palestinian people. We all dread what is ahead in Rafah. Sinn Féin welcomed the Taoiseach's letter to Ursula von der Leyen. As Deputy Ó Laoghaire stated, it is somewhat shocking that there has not been a reply to that letter. If the humanitarian conditions of the EU-Israel association agreement are not being breached at this point in time by Israel, then nobody will ever breach any humanitarian conditions. Does a review require unanimity? Another meeting of the European Council is coming up. Weak and late though it may be, will there be a call for a ceasefire? Attention must be drawn to the fact that not only have Germany and others supported Israel politically, they have supported it in the weaponry sense.
It is also about what Ireland can do. We know prelegislative scrutiny of the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill 2023 is under way. That is something we can do now It is a means of ensuring the State does not put any money into illegal settlements. Has progress been made in respect of recognising the state of Palestine? Do we have any takers in Europe or elsewhere who will join us in doing that necessary work?
As regards the humanitarian situation in Gaza and funding for UNRWA, we call on all states to restore their funding for UNRWA pending the outcome of the investigation about possible collaboration. The EU has done that and has restored funding and we want other countries to do the same.
As regards my talks in Washington, yes, we talked about the US putting more pressure on Israel to allow more trucks through, and that is being done. The US also has proposals to build a temporary jetty or port to allow more aid to get through. I think we all agree that it needs to go through by land, however; there is only so much that can be done by port and air. We have had conversations with Jordan about how we might be able to help in a practical way, but the main way we can help is through money and political pressure, and that is what we are doing.
As regards the Sánchez-Varadkar letter to President von der Leyen, that has been followed up on. It was discussed twice at the Foreign Affairs Council. The discussion was led by Vice-President Borrell. He asked ministers for a political steer on it and as to how to proceed and there was not a consensus. Some countries took the view that a review or action should be initiated in order to put pressure on Israel. Other countries took the view that should not be done. In the absence of consensus to move things forward, things have not moved forward, but I will raise it again tomorrow in my discussions with Vice-President Borrell and President von der Leyen.
On the point raised by Deputy Barry, I am happy to clarify that when I referred to his approach, I was referring to calls for boycotts of our allies, such as the US and President Biden. I do not think that would have a productive effect. The slot would just have been filled by somebody else, quite frankly. I do not think it would have resonated around the world. I do think the protests are important and effective. The protests that have happened around the world have been helpful, frankly, on this issue to those of us who are trying to get much the same outcome as the Deputy, albeit a two-state solution rather than a one-state solution, which almost nobody on the ground actually wants.
As regards my discussions with President Biden, I discussed US military aid for Ukraine and Israel. President Biden made it very clear that Israel has its own military strength and that the US would continue military aid for Israel in order that it can defend itself against the many countries that do not recognise it and would wish to attack it.
Did the Taoiseach ask him not to?
As regards former President Robinson, she did not contact me in advance of the meeting with President Biden, certainly not directly. There was no letter, call or missed message. She may have done so indirectly, but that would have been very late in the day.
As regards recognition-----
Did the Taoiseach ask him to stop sending weapons?
We discussed the matter.
Did you ask him not to send weapons?
I believe I did, if that is what the Deputy is asking-----
Yes.
-----but it is kind of a moot point when somebody says to you the opposite.
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