Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 25 Jun 2024

I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 6, inclusive, together.

Climate change is among the most pressing global challenges of our time and addressing it is a central ambition of the Government. As a committed partner in global efforts to combat this shared threat, Ireland has adopted challenging emissions reduction targets at both EU and national levels. We also face our own domestic challenge of adapting to the climate changes we are already experiencing and the more severe changes that we know are coming.

The Cabinet committee on the environment and climate action oversees implementation of the programme for Government commitments in relation to the environment and climate change. The committee last met on 10 June and its next meeting will be scheduled shortly. The committee considers the wide range of issues that require action in Ireland's transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and sustainable future. The Government will continue to be ambitious in these areas and will work with sectors, communities and households to ensure this transformation is done in a way that is both fair and collaborative. Much work has been done since 2020 and we are starting to see these efforts bear fruit through reductions in emissions. However, we still have a great distance to travel in the years ahead. The Cabinet committee will continue to oversee these efforts, including the implementation of the climate action plan as well as other environmental and energy commitments in the programme for Government.

I want to bring up the issues of district heating and communal heating systems. This not the first time I have brought up the issue of Carlinn Hall in Dundalk. We talk about district heating systems and communal heating systems, which is what is there and which is operated off gas. Obviously, there are particular laws and planning changes that need to happen because I do not believe these are particularly good systems. To facilitate a switch to geothermal or a heat pump system, we need to look at the support scheme for renewable heating and at updating it.

With regard to delivering on district heating, I am told by experts in the field that there is a need to look at the support scheme for renewable heat, SSRH, and to update it, so that we can actually deliver what we want, which is a more perfect district heating system using waste heating, whether from pharmaceutical companies, distilleries or other industrial operations - making use of waste heat to deliver a solution for communities and residents. Hopefully, with the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland and a number of other stakeholders, we can get a solution for Carlinn Hall. I would like to think the Government would be involved and would be able to facilitate this into the future. We need to look at the SSRH.

Two weeks ago the Taoiseach gave me two commitments, the first being that he would personally contact the chief executive of Uisce Éireann to request a timeline for the resolution of the dirty water issue in Cork city. The second commitment was that he would discuss the matter with the Tánaiste. They say that a week is a long time in politics but it is a longer time again when one has discoloured water coming out of ones taps. Being a patient and courteous chap, I did not want to ask the Taoiseach for the report just one week later. Instead I waited the two weeks, which I am sure is a lifetime for a fellow like the Taoiseach, who is just brimming with new energy. Has the Taoiseach any updates for me and, more importantly, for my constituents on his dealings with Uisce Éireann and with his Tánaiste on a timeline for sorting the dirty water situation in Cork?

The marine protected areas legislation has been on the priority legislation list for 20 months and it still has not even been published. The Minister of State, Deputy Malcolm Noonan, was asked about this in January of this year and he said it would be published in the first quarter. It still has not been published. Ireland has the lowest proportion of its marine environment protected of almost any country in Europe. Averages are 40% and some are at 50%, which is well in excess of the 30%. Ireland, however, has 9% of our marine area protected when there are very serious threats to marine life, marine biology and biodiversity. The biodiversity crisis is as urgent - or possibly even more urgent - than the climate crisis because if we destroy ecosystems in the ocean, we destroy the basis for human existence.

I want to know when that legislation will be published and an assurance that the reason it is not being done and we do not have the level of protection we need is that certain private developers have their eye on sensitive sites that almost certainly would be protected if we had the marine protected legislation. For example, there are the very sensitive sandbanks on the Kish Bank and the Codling Bank that are very rich spawning grounds for fish and so on. There are other similar sites that private developers have got their eyes on. The environment and biodiversity must come before the profits of private developers.

International mining companies, including a subsidiary of the world's largest lithium producer, Ganfeng Lithium Corporation, are on the Taoiseach's doorstep in west Wicklow. They are prospecting for lithium and mapping for a mine at Moylisha Hill. Local people and campaigners I met are very worried about the impact this will have on the Wicklow Way, on biodiversity and on water quality. An aquifer that runs underneath Moylisha Hill supplies all local bore holes and rises at streams that feed into the Barrow and Slaney Rivers, and which go into local areas of conservation. The garden of Ireland cannot be allowed to become a sacrifice zone for mining companies. These same companies are responsible for huge environmental destruction in other countries, mostly in the global south, where they mine lithium.

Will the Taoiseach intervene with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications to have the licence that was granted to the company for lithium exploration withdrawn? Will he schedule a meeting with the Protect Moylisha Hill campaign group? I have to run to speak at another meeting but I will check the transcript for the reply. I thank the Taoiseach.

The Lough Neagh-Bann river basin extends into Louth, north Meath and Monaghan. Lough Neagh is a toxic mess now. Any living thing that goes near it will either die or get sick. It is one of the biggest environmental disasters to have ever happened in Ireland, North or South. The farm nutrient management scheme was introduced in the North of Ireland where £200 million was spent to fund animal waste storage. Aontú has seen internal documents from the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs in the North, specifically an email sent by the former Minister, Edwin Poots, in March 2020, wherein he confirmed that a mere 700 on-site interim inspections were conducted on the tanks in question out of nearly 4,000 tanks installed. A court case was taken in connection with this matter and the judgment stated that there was still a lack of surety concerning whether the limited number of inspections that did take place were even compliant with regulations. The Ministers for agriculture in charge of the project included Arlene Foster, Gordon Lyons, Michelle Gildernew and the current First Minister, Michelle O'Neill. What steps will the Taoiseach take to ensure that this issue, which affects our shared environment North and South, will be properly investigated?

I thank the Deputies for raising these issues.

Starting with Deputy Ó Murchú and the issue of Carlinn Hall in Dundalk, this is a matter he has raised before in the context of how we need to have a better support scheme for renewable energy and district heating and, ideally, for the optimal use of waste heat. I will speak directly to the Ministers involved in this regard and ask them to consider what the Deputy said.

Turning to the issue raised by Deputy Barry, truthfully, I raised this issue as recently as this morning with the Tánaiste and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy O'Brien. I believe the Minister for housing is due to meet with Uisce Éireann today. I did highlight that I regularly get asked in this House by the Deputy about the water situation in Cork. I wrote, as recently as last week or in the past ten days, I think, to the chief executive directly, as I promised I would. I have my office checking now if I have received a reply but I will send the Deputy a copy of the letter I sent. I do know how serious this situation is for the Deputy's constituents and I will seek an urgent response to my letter if one has not been received so far.

I will, truthfully, have to find out for Deputy Boyd Barrett where the marine protected areas legislation is at. I too see that it is on the priority list for publication, but I ask the Deputy to let me check what the timeline in this regard looks like. I will come to him in writing in regard to this matter.

Moving to Deputy Murphy, I will be very happy to meet the Protect Moylisha Hill group. I have met its representatives at several events in my constituency over the last period of time and I was planning on having a more substantial meeting with them as a constituency TD. I will certainly be happy to do that.

I thank Deputy Tóibín for raising this matter. He might share with me, if he is happy to do so, any documents he has received. I will certainly have our relevant Departments look at this matter. I do know that at the most recent meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council, which took place before I became Taoiseach but which I attended as a Minister, the specific issue of Lough Neagh was discussed and how the two Administrations on the island of Ireland could co-operate in terms of what is a very serious environmental catastrophe. I am grateful for the Deputy's insight in this regard and happy to take a look at the matter.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 to 18, inclusive, together.

The Cabinet committee on housing last met on Thursday, 30 May. The committee is scheduled to meet again on Thursday, 11 July. The committee works to ensure a co-ordinated approach to the implementation of Housing for All and the programme for Government commitments regarding housing. At almost the mid-way point of the year, we are confident that the significant increase in the delivery of new homes in recent years will continue throughout this year. Over 5,800, or 5,841 to be specific, new homes were completed in the first quarter and construction has started on more than 51,935 new homes in the 12 months to the end of May. The development levy waiver and Uisce Éireann connection charge rebate, introduced last year and recently extended, have, in my view, helped to fast-track greater activity and have made more housing projects viable.

The future delivery pipeline is also strong. Planning permission was granted for almost 38,000 new homes in the year to the end of quarter 1 of 2024. There are now 22,000 new social homes at various stages of design and construction. On State lands, building continues apace on sites in Cork and Dublin, with many more large-scale housing developments proceeding to planning or construction later this year and in the years ahead. The affordability initiatives under Housing for All are continuing to make homeownership a reality for thousands more of our citizens. Over 4,000 individuals and couples have availed of the first home scheme since its launch. There were over 800 approvals in quarter 1 of this year, an increase of almost 40% compared with the same three months last year. So far in 2024, there have been 3,500 claims under the help-to-buy scheme, which is an increase of 28% on the same period in the previous year. The success of these schemes is also evident in the first-time buyer mortgage data, which shows that 6,522 approvals and 4,921 drawdowns, respectively, were recorded in the first quarter of this year.

Tackling vacancy and dereliction must remain a continuing focus for us all. Some 8,100 applications have now been received for the vacant property refurbishment grant, with over 5,000 approved and 375 grants drawn down nationwide. To further extend its reach, the Government recently approved an extension of the local authority home loan to support both the purchase and renovation of homes which are eligible under the grant. We are also making progress on key reforms, including the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which completed Report Stage on 12 June and is due to commence in the Seanad on 27 June. The Bill, once enacted, will enable house building at scale and the development of critical infrastructure at pace. The draft first revision of the national planning framework, which will be published for public consultation shortly, will be accompanied by the completed peer-reviewed research undertaken by the ESRI on structural housing demand.

Work is already ongoing to translate this demand into revised Housing for All targets, including tenure-specific breakdowns from 2025 onwards. These targets will be published this autumn and the annual update to Housing for All will be focused on scaling up delivery to achieve those revised targets. It will also consider a number of the recent recommendations from the report of the Housing Commission. That report has been sent to the Housing Agency to analyse in terms of costings, timelines and prioritisation. Finally, the Housing for All quarter 2 progress report will be published in July.

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply and acknowledge its content. An issue, however, is imminent, with the situation where people have been given notice to quit their rental properties or, sometimes, have had an extension over and above the normal waiting time for eviction. They are going to be removed from their homes. It is going to be done in the next four weeks, to put it at its widest. Some evictions may come before then. We do not have the ways or means to provide emergency accommodation for such families at the present time. These families include a lone parent, a woman, more essentially, with small children. Other people involved are living in very small and cramped accommodation. This is all coming to an end now. We need now to have an emergency response, whether that is provided through system-built houses or whatever in a particular location. This is an issue all around the country and not just in one area, and it is a very serious one. It is the most serious issue I have ever come across in my lifetime.

On top of this, we have the vulture funds pressuring people. I had one such discussion this morning with one well-known one, Pepper.

Along the same lines, we still have a devastating housing crisis with multiple facets to it. One of these is the cliff edge of thresholds when it comes to social housing income thresholds, where people find themselves threatened with the possibility of homelessness through no fault of their own but then discover they have now gone over the threshold in this regard, even though they may have been on a housing list for years. It is a cliff edge because once people are denied the possibility of social housing because of income, they are also denied HAP, but in many cases they are disallowed from cost-rental housing on affordability grounds.

On income grounds, they fit, but on affordability grounds, because their income is not sufficient, they do not fit. This must be addressed as a matter of urgency. There is also the trap I mentioned to the Taoiseach previously whereby those who go into emergency accommodation are no longer allowed to get the HAP.

In addition, I am aware of a family of eight where one of their kids is working as a junior doctor in one of our most well-known hospitals.

Yesterday, Daft.ie released its latest house prices report. Shockingly - or not shockingly - it showed house prices continuing to spiral out of control. In the year to June, the average price of a home increased by almost 7%, to €340,000. In Dublin city, average house prices have hit €543,000, up almost 5%. In Louth, average house prices are now almost €300,000. That is up 7% in a year.

We all accept the affordable housing targets are too low. They are not being met and too many of the homes are not affordable to the majority of working people. In my constituency of Louth, there were no affordable-purchase homes in 2022 or 2023. I brought up the issue of Cois Farraige this year. A cost of €305,000 is not an affordable house in County Louth. Only five out of 26 applicants met the criteria. The time was extended and more people applied but what was meant to be ten affordable houses has ended up being five affordable houses. We know that house prices continue to rise. They are up 35% since the onset of Covid, and show no sign of falling in any way, shape, or form. The Government must look at the scheme as it is not working. The local authority in Louth and its officials say there is an issue with the criteria. This is not the first time I have raised the matter, but we need somebody to look at it and to come up with a scheme that will work and provide affordable housing.

According to Daft.ie, the average price of a house in Cork city is now €364,000. This is an increase of 9% since last year. In other words, the average price of a house in Cork city has increased by €30,000 in the space of one year. There are many thousands of young people with good jobs in Cork who do not take home more than €30,000 a year. How are these young people meant to have any hope of ever owning a home when prices rise by sums greater than their annual income? How can the Taoiseach look those young people in the eye and tell them that the Government's housing policy is working?

I want to ask the Taoiseach about the rough sleeper count published recently by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. The number of people living on the streets in Dublin has increased by 54% in the past year. There are now 128 people sleeping rough. That is 128 people without a bed to sleep in and without somewhere safe to go home to. It is 128 people without any shelter, who have been failed by this State. This does not include the numbers of people who are seeking international protection who are sleeping rough or living in tents. Other European countries, for example, Finland, have succeeded in eradicating rough sleeping. There is no reason we could not do the same here in Ireland. What is the Taoiseach doing to eradicate rough sleeping?

First, I welcome the good work that has been done by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. Although we have a lot more to do, a lot of houses have been built. A lot has been done by the local authorities under the Derelict Sites Act and so on. However, we are now getting to a different phase. I am aware of applicants for social housing who have been removed from the housing list without being made aware of it. Letters are sent to applicants, but they are posted to old addresses and the applicants do not receive them. I am aware of people who have been on the housing list for four years and who, because the review is only being done every year or two, could be taken off it. They are losing their time on the list. This is becoming an issue for me. Common sense must prevail here. I could have the proof that they are on the list, yet I cannot provide it. As other speakers have stated, I am aware of people who are borderline in terms of qualifying to go on the local authority housing list but there is no leniency or bit of help for them. They really need to be put on the list.

I wish to raise another issue that I believe is serious. The HMD 1 form must be filled out in the case of an applicant or their child having a medical condition but it is now getting to the stage where doctors do not have the time to fill in the forms. They say it is not part of what they do any more. If a doctor does fill in such a form, a person could be waiting for weeks. These are issues that are coming to local authorities every day and they are not being addressed. Common sense must apply in local authorities.

I want to again raise emergency accommodation with the Taoiseach today. I do so for two main reasons. The first is that I am generally concerned about the standard of these buildings but also about capacity issues. I note from a previous response that responsibility for the provision of emergency accommodation and related services for homeless persons rests with the local authorities. Unfortunately, from the work I have been doing, it appears they are struggling and are in crisis mode. I mentioned that to the Taoiseach previously. At this point, the system is not working. At this stage, I speak to the homeless action team nearly daily. There is a number of people who I cannot get into emergency accommodation. They are in cars or staying with families. The best way to put it to the Taoiseach is that they are at breaking point. We hear about these cases and each one of us takes them home with us. That is a point that has been made to me. Is there anything the Taoiseach can do in respect of oversight?

There is also a need for inspections outside of the Dublin region. A write-up was done recently about a local case relating to having 24-7 security on a premises. I am assured by the council that it is in fact in place but another constituent has raised the same issue with me. Perhaps I could send the Taoiseach a note in respect of that. There is a major issue with capacity and standards in emergency accommodation.

There are a lot of issues there. In direct answer to Deputy Durkan's question, and to a number of others, in terms of what we are doing and what we can do, we are building housing again at a level that we have not seen in a very long period. I know that cannot come fast enough for people looking for a roof over their head, people wondering if they can move out of the box room and people worried about insecure tenure, but there are real encouraging signs now. In the first five months of this year construction commenced on almost the same number of houses that were built in all of last year.

We are going to set new housing targets that are going to raise the bar. Only a couple of months ago, many people scoffed when I talked about needing to build 250,000 more homes between 2025 and 2030. They are beginning to see that it is now achievable and necessary. The Housing Commission states we need to do even more than that. We are seeing a system that is now going to be able to deliver that. The new housing targets will be set out later this year. As I outlined in my original answer, we will be showing in granular detail the composition and mix of that in terms of social, affordable and private housing. In the meantime, we will continue to invest in emergency accommodation and emergency solutions as well for the likes of the constituents referred to by the Deputy.

On the rough sleeper count, I look forward to directly meeting some homeless organisations myself on this shortly because I do want to see what we can do to make more progress on rough sleeping. Deputy Cian O'Callaghan is correct, we should not in any way, shape or form – not that we do – accept that this becomes a kind of norm or acceptable part of our housing system. We are better than that as a country. I can tell the Deputy some of the things we are doing to provide more emergency accommodation. We are also increasing the homeless funds for local authorities. There is clearly a need to do more, but also perhaps to understand more in terms of the practical measures that we can take.

I am very much open to doing this.

The point made by Deputy Murnane O'Connor regarding local authority lists comes up in my constituency office from time to time as well. We need to look at an entire overhaul of how people apply for social housing. People who live in a certain part of my county might be on the border with another county; they are on the list for one county but not the other. If they miss their application form, they have a row to get themselves put back on the list, with the two or three years lost being added back. Some work on this is under way, but I will seek an urgent update for the Deputy and others as to where it is at.

Deputy Boyd Barrett and others referred to thresholds. Deputy Boyd Barrett raises this regularly. We raised the thresholds for social housing recently. Deputy Boyd Barrett responded that this was not enough. We will consider what more can be done. There are definitely anomalies in the system such that people fall between stools in terms of not qualifying for one thing or going a little over in respect of the other. I am engaging with the Minister for housing on this matter.

On house prices, we have seen a number of reports in recent days. We have seen the Daft report and the CSO's residential property price index, which is seen as the authoritative source of data. The CSO has found that prices are 9.6% above their highest level at the peak of the property boom in April 2007 and that Dublin residential property prices are 1.8% lower than the 2007 peak. There is one thing that is not often spoken about when it comes to house prices and that is income levels. Since 2007, average weekly earnings have increased by more than 30% compared to an increase in house prices of more than 10%. This is not me suggesting in any way, shape or form that housing or housing affordability are where they need to be, but we need to look at matters in the round when we quote data. Research by the Central Bank shows the price-to-income ratio was 5.5 in 2006, 4.7 in 2018 and is now 4.6. This shows that while house prices are still far too high for far too many, the level of fluctuation is, perhaps, not as is often presented with raw data.

Deputy Wynne spoke about oversight of emergency accommodation and specific issues relating to County Clare. I will bring these queries directly to the Minister for housing and ask that he might raise them with the local authority and perhaps come back to Deputy Wynne's office.

I propose to take Questions Nos. 19 and 20 together.

I was very pleased to have had the honour to meet with the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Ireland on 6 June. The ambassador told me it was the first time a Palestinian representative had been welcomed to the office of the Taoiseach. The ambassador was very gracious in acknowledging the work of the Government and Ireland in the context of recognising the State of Palestine, describing the step we took jointly with Spain and Norway as a source of strength, hope and light for the people of Palestine that put her country on a different level in the world’s perception. I reiterated that Ireland’s foreign policy is guided by international law and human rights and that this also guided our decision to recognise the State of Palestine, which deserves to take its place among the nations of the world, an objective now shared by the overwhelming majority of member states of the United Nations.

We spoke about ongoing efforts to secure an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional and immediate release of hostages. The onus is on all parties to engage constructively in these efforts to bring about a ceasefire plan and to work to bring this devastating conflict to an end. We spoke about the appalling humanitarian situation in Gaza, especially the desperate catastrophe unfolding there. We also spoke about increased tensions in the West Bank and the activities of violent settlers there. We discussed concerns that the current conflict will result in the radicalisation of young people, both in the occupied territories and in Israel.

The ambassador assured me that the people of Palestine, like people everywhere, want nothing more than to live in peace and security, to raise and educate their families, and to see a better future for young Palestinians than this and previous generations have known. I assured her that recognition was not the end of a process, and that Ireland will continue to work with all who wish to see a peaceful and secure Israel living alongside a peaceful and secure Palestine. Only a peace based on a two-state solution can be just and lasting. We will continue our work with Arab and European partners to support the Arab Peace Vision, and to generate momentum towards achieving the two-state-solution. Our immediate focus remains on the urgent pursuit of a ceasefire, the release of hostages and a surge in unhindered humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

"It is incredibly disappointing to know that in the university I’ve been attending for years that the research of peers is potentially being used to promote and assist in a genocide". Those are the words of UCC student Ainsley-Kay Rucker after the UCC boycott divestment sanctions group discovered links between UCC's Tyndall Institute and the Israeli war machine. Tyndall is part of the PHORMIC Horizon Europe project. This is a consortium of eight partners working to develop programmable photonic chips. The Israeli partner is Mellanox Technologies. Its parent company, NVIDIA, makes chips that are used in the Lanius military drone, which is produced by Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems and used in Gaza. Will the Taoiseach join me in calling on UCC and all Irish universities to sever their links with companies that are part of the Israeli war machine or which profit from Israel's bloody occupation?

It is and was a welcome step, belatedly, to recognise the Palestinian state. If it is not going to be more than hollow symbolism something has to follow that assists the Palestinian people in liberating themselves from a regime that is capable of committing what the International Court of Justice believes is a plausible genocide and which most reasonable people think is a genocide.

Any reasonable assessment of Israel's behaviour over its entire history is that it seeks to normalise the utterly indefensible. It seeks to normalise ethnic cleansing, the annexation of territory and the brutal military action in territories that it occupies and that it has besieged for 17 years. Now what it is doing is normalising the massacre in Gaza. There is chatter about peace but Israel just says it is not doing peace or a ceasefire and that it will keep going.

It is the impunity that Israel has enjoyed for normalising horror, massacre, ethnic cleansing and apartheid that allows it to continue to think it can ratchet this up. At what point does the world say that the state capable of this is not a normal state, is not the sort of state we should be trading with and is not the sort of state in which our universities should be doing business or engaging in partnerships with arms manufacturers providing Israel with the means to do what it is doing? Is there any level of atrocity that Israel has to commit before we say it has gone beyond the realm of normal political practice and maybe we must reconsider our relationship with the state in the way we eventually did with apartheid South Africa? I am just asking whether there is a point because at this moment it is all words. There are no sanctions or actions. There is nothing to deter this regime from continuing to massacre Palestinians.

I commend the life of Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh, the voice of the GAA and, at times with a touch of magic, the voice of Ireland. I also recognise the contribution to journalism of Tommie Gorman, particularly at what was a very difficult and important time for Ireland as regards the peace process. I had a great conversation with him one day on the basis of shared Sligo connections. I want to remember both men. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha dílse.

When we speak about Palestine and Israel we only need to switch on the news and we can see there have been two air strikes in Gaza city on two Palestinian schools. This is the reality that Palestinians deal with. In Ireland, we have been on the right side of the argument. We all welcome the recognition of the State of Palestine, but we need to follow up on this. We need to see sanctions and divestment.

It does not matter to me whether that is by means of Sinn Féin's legislation or some other way. We need to make sure it happens with all agencies, colleges and organisations with which there are any connections.

On the Government's engagement with Arab and European partners, how can we progress matters? That is about calling out and putting pressure on Israel and about putting pressure on those who are still arming and equipping Israel as it massacres the Palestinians. We still fear what lies ahead. We need to be part of positive action, and there needs to be action. We need to impose sanctions and see what we can do with our partners to do more. That is what the world needs us to do.

While I acknowledge, on one hand, that Deputy Boyd Barrett welcomed, albeit he said we did it belatedly, our recognition of the State of Palestine, I do not believe that anyone sees it as hollow symbolism. I accept the point and the debate about the need to do more and the questions as to what comes next and how we can continue to apply maximum pressure. These parliamentary questions relate to engagement with the ambassador. From speaking to the ambassador, the President of the Palestinian Authority and many leaders in the region, including presidents, kings and prime ministers, I do not think anyone sees it as hollow symbolism. Israel does not see it as that either. It was a significant step that Ireland, Norway and Spain took, and certainly one that goes beyond symbolism.

I have clearly said that the world, Ireland and the European Union, of which we are a part, need to do more. That is why we are looking for a review of the trade agreement between Israel and the European Union - the association agreement. It has been a consistent policy of the Government of Ireland since March that this should be reviewed. I made the point again last week at the European Council and I will make it again on Thursday and Friday next at the European Council. For people looking in at home and those watching the scenes of horror relating to the unfolding humanitarian catastrophe, I do not want anyone to think that the Government believes that we have done our bit by recognising the State of Palestine. We need to continue to work multilaterally to apply the maximum amount of pressure to bring about the conditions required for a ceasefire. There is a ceasefire plan now and it needs to be followed. There is an opportunity to stop the violence right now with that ceasefire plan. No plan is perfect, but the importance of it is that it would stop the violence, the killing and the brutality, get the aid in and the hostages home and provide space for the political dialogue that is always required to bring about peaceful settlement. We know on this island that ultimately the way peace is achieved is through the ending of violence and through dialogue and settlement.

I was not aware of the specific issue of the Tyndall National Institute and UCC. That is the honest truth of the matter. I will look into it. Universities have been actively considering these matters. We have seen it happen on a number of university campuses, led by students. I have never felt it is my role to direct university research, because of academic freedom and such, but I know universities reflect on it seriously for the reasons Deputy Barry raised and due to the views of their students and staff who have clear views on this issue.

I assure Deputy Ó Murchú - I do not wish to repeat myself - that we continue to look with partners into what more we can do to help to bring about an immediate ceasefire. We have taken a number of actions, some of which the Deputy welcomed, including divestment. His view is that we need to do more. I will take a look at the specific Sinn Féin proposals and come back to him in writing on where they may or may not work.