Ireland's recognition of the state of Palestine is an historic step in the struggle for freedom, self-determination and human rights for the Palestinian people.

I commend all those who campaigned for this over many decades.

Today, the people of Gaza continue to endure slaughter, displacement and starvation inflicted upon them by an Israel that acts with impunity. Israel's attacks on Gaza are war crimes. Ireland can and must take an active role within the international community in pushing for an immediate and full ceasefire and to hold Israel to account. The Government must follow today's important announcement by enacting the occupied territories Bill and taking the lead in Europe in pushing for sanctions against Israel. Will the Government take these important steps? Will the Taoiseach outline the arrangements for the formal recognition, which I understand will take place next Tuesday?

I thank the Deputy. I genuinely welcome that the Government and the Opposition in Ireland speak with one voice on this matter. It is important for the people of Palestine and for Ireland that we recognise the state of Palestine. I acknowledge the Deputy's long-standing support for that. I assure her and the House that we will continue to work at every possible opportunity for an immediate ceasefire. I will do that at every avenue, every conversation and every engagement. The Tánaiste is doing that. Every member of the Government and the Opposition should use every forum and lever available to them to do the same.

I outlined our view on the occupied territories Bill. It is a legal position based on the advice we have. I also outlined how we intend to progress that and how we will continue to try to win the argument at a European level.

The recognition by the Government will formally take place effective next Tuesday. I suggest we should, with the agreement of the Business Committee, have statements in the Dáil next Tuesday on it.

In 1987, when Beaumont Hospital was founded, the population of Fingal was approximately 140,000. It is now 330,000 and is expected to grow to 400,000 by 2030, yet we are still fully reliant on Beaumont Hospital. Last week, in the town of Swords where I live, we found out that the long-overdue HSE primary care centre is now in doubt because the developer says it cannot be delivered at the agreed price. As a former Minister for Health, the Taoiseach knows how important a primary care centre is. Swords is the largest town in Ireland without a primary care centre and the pressure on Beaumont Hospital is unsustainable. Can the Taoiseach please give some comfort to the people of Swords and south Fingal that they will be able to avail of a primary care centre in their town as soon as possible?

I can. I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I fully agree with him. I am aware of the size of Swords and the population expansion being seen there. I am of the view that if there are challenges in the delivery of any such primary care centres, we will have to come up with alternative ways of progressing them. I accept the need for the people of Swords and south Fingal to have that primary care centre. I will ask for a direct update from the Minister for Health.

I will ask the Taoiseach about the provision of autism spectrum disorder, ASD, classrooms. Two years ago, the NCSE recommended two new ASD classrooms for a school in Glasnevin in my constituency. However, the planning and building unit is not responding to any of its calls and has not responded for more than a year now. Is there an unwritten policy that only reconfigured classrooms, where there is already some existing space in a school, are getting the go-ahead and not those that require new modular builds? That seems to be what is happening. There seems to be a policy of quantity over quality.

If that is an unwritten policy, it has not been approved by the Government and somebody would need to scrap that policy pretty quickly because we are in urgent need of more additional autism classes. What the Deputy outlined has not been my experience in a couple of projects I worked on in my constituency, but that situation must be very frustrating if a school puts up its hand to say it is willing to assist. I will directly inquire about this and come back to the Deputy.

Everybody welcomes the formal recognition of the state of Palestine. I also recognise and welcome the departure of the Israeli ambassador. Although she has been called back by her country for discussions, we should formally expel her and keep her out. The reason, as the Taoiseach more or less acknowledged, is that after seven months of genocidal massacre in Gaza, the Government has been forced to recognise the state of Palestine years after it said it would do so. There are also years and years of illegal occupation, of apartheid, and rule by a state that does not have the right to exist. This is not a normal state. The State of Israel needs to have sanctions imposed on it, it needs to be boycotted, and the Israeli ambassador needs to be expelled from this country. Much more needs to be done, not just for the people of Gaza but for the entire people of Palestine. We want peace. Everybody wants peace, but we will not get it unless the Government puts the absolute strictest sanctions it possibly can on the apartheid State of Israel to stop the massacre in Gaza.

I do not want to be overly argumentative with the Deputy, but I want to check. She did not say that Israel does not have the right to exist?

Apartheid does not.

To be very clear, it is the Government's position-----

Israel is an apartheid-----

-----that there is a State of Israel and a state of Palestine, based on the 1967 borders.

We do not agree with that.

The Deputy may not agree with that. I am articulating the Government's position on what recognition means today and that both states have a right to exist in peace and security, as do the Israeli and Palestinian people, their children and their children's children. We intend to keep diplomatic relations with Israel.

As equals.

We keep diplomatic relations with countries we vehemently disagree with. Those diplomatic relations are often very important in relation to our citizens.

We just spoke about how the health recruitment freeze is affecting the seven-day cardiac service, but it is also stopping other initiatives in the national hospital space. A large hospital in the country was able to transfer 220 patients who receive bimonthly infusion therapy into a community primary care setting because it had specialist nurses to help it do that. The patients remain under the active care of the hospital management teams but the topline results are demonstrated by this initiative. It reduced the hospital drugs bill by €850,000, freed up 1,760 appointment spaces in the schedule, saved 3,520 nursing hours and treatment bed-share options, allowing those to be offered to other patients, and it saved the pharmacy significant compounding time. This could be done at a national level, and could possibly affect up to 2,500 patients, but it is a fact that the embargo is stopping the recruitment of nurses to assist that process, which I make the Taoiseach aware of.

I thank the Deputy for making a constructive suggestion regarding how innovation is helping patients and being cost-efficient. The health service is funded this year to grow its staffing levels by 2,200 additional staff; it is 3,000 when disability services are included. I will ask about the service the Deputy referenced and its particular benefits from a cost and patient point of view.

Once again, I return to the issue of disability services and school places in south Tipperary. Last week, I handed a number of letters to the Tánaiste from very concerned families who cannot get school places for their children with autism. This continues, with many children still without a school place.

This week, I was in receipt of a letter highlighting the urgent action required to support Scoil Chormaic special school in Cashel. It is a wonderful school with wonderful staff. Scoil Chormaic is a special school providing education to 219 children and young people with more severe and complex special educational needs. The staff of Scoil Chormaic have now come together to highlight the difficulties they are having in getting the essential and necessary resources required. They believe the processes are far too onerous and long. The needs of children have become more complex but resources have not increased with that need. For example, in respect of dual diagnosis and behaviours of concern, resources are lacking or there are none at all. We need supports for such schools, as well as for school places in general, but this particular school badly needs extra resources.

I thank the Deputy for his question. There is a very important focus on special educational needs services being provided throughout the country. I will follow up directly regarding the school referenced by the Deputy. The matter was also raised in the Seanad this morning. I will come back to the Deputy directly on it. We are investing. The NCSE is working very closely with the Department of Education and all schools throughout the country. I will come back to the Deputy on the specifics of that school.

Before I start, will the Palestinian flag be flown at Leinster House next Tuesday?

It will.

Thank you. The fishing industry in Ireland has been in serious and rapid decline since the introduction of the Common Fisheries Policy. Due to this, fish factory workers, who once worked ten months of the year, are now lucky to get six weeks' work in factories. This decline has meant that it is no longer possible for workers to work up enough stamps. They are forced to apply for jobseeker's allowance rather than jobseeker's benefit, which impacts on their income. Although scarce, the work carried out by factory workers is vital and important. Without it, we would not have fresh fish in our shops or supermarkets. These workers need to be supported to carry out this work, but many are leaving the factories because of the decline in hours and the fact that they are now forced to claim means-tested jobseeker's allowance. Support will benefit factory owners as well as workers and is very important. Will the Government introduce measures, through social welfare, to support fish factory workers to allow them to continue providing this vital work?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue of factory workers and the benefits support for them would have for the whole sector. I will ask the Minister for Social Protection to look into his suggestion and to revert to him directly.

If we told people there was a medicine that could reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 33%, they would take it. If we told people that there was a tonic that could reduce the risk of type 3 diabetes by 40%, they would absolutely take it. If we told people there was a tool that could reduce the risk of depression by 30%, they would absolutely take it. This medicine does exist. It is called physical activity. We need to incentivise it. Physical inactivity costs the State approximately €1.5 billion per year. Yesterday, we heard a presentation from the Irish Physical Activity Alliance calling for a tax relief for gym memberships and physical activity. I ask that we support this call. It would lead to healthier lifestyles and longer lives and would save the State a fortune. I ask the Taoiseach to support that call.

We will certainly look at any good ideas in advance of the budget. Obviously, we should all exercise. I include walking around your local park and exercising in your community in that. We have introduced a number of important measures, including the bike to work scheme. It is a novel idea that is certainly worthy of consideration. I will ask the Minister, Deputy McGrath, to consider it.

Will the Taoiseach provide an update on the sports capital programme to the House? I welcome the recent allocations for sports capital equipment. It is great news for many communities and for the volunteers in sports clubs around the country. There seems to be a bit of confusion, however. There was a list detailing amounts and club names circulating online yesterday. On closer inspection, it seems it was a list of the amounts sought rather than the proposed allocations. Will the Taoiseach provide clarity to the House as to when we can expect allocations under the capital side of the sports capital and equipment programme?

People in Wicklow are very interested in the sports capital programme as well. I inquired about this myself only the other day. My understanding is that the sports capital funding allocations are likely to be made in the autumn, probably in September or October. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and the Minister of State, Deputy Byrne, to confirm that to the Deputy. As Deputy Griffin has said, we have made an announcement regarding sports equipment grants. The bigger scheme will follow in the autumn.

The Housing Commission report, which is devastating for the Government, called for a radical strategic reset of housing policy. In Limerick, a significant amount of land is in the control of the Land Development Agency. These are lands that could and should be used for the development of social and truly affordable housing that working families can access. In 2022 and 2023, the Land Development Agency failed to deliver a single home in Limerick. It has lots of plans and projects but will not deliver anything in the near future. I ask the Taoiseach to instruct the Land Development Agency to transfer some of these lands to Limerick City and County Council, which has been much more successful in delivering homes for those who need them in Limerick when provided with the funds needed. We cannot wait for the Land Development Agency while thousands of people in Limerick do not have a home. Will the Government release funding to Limerick City and County Council and instruct the Land Development Agency to give some of the State-owned land to the council so that it can start building the houses that are desperately needed? We need delivery and this is something the LDA is not providing.

This will be the benefit of a directly elected mayor for Limerick because this sounds like something the local authority and LDA should work together on. I will certainly ask the Minister for housing to follow up on Deputy Quinlivan's suggestion and revert to him.

Will the Taoiseach clarify whether it is common practice for GPs to put medical card holders who are applying to become patients of their practices onto waiting lists rather than giving an outright refusal, thereby preventing these medical card holders from getting the three refusals required to ask the HSE to step in and appoint a doctor for them? Is this issue specific to GPs in Kildare? Applicants are without an assigned GP while on the waiting list. What legislative measures can the Minister for Health take to alleviate the situation? I have put in parliamentary questions to the Minister but he sends each one on to the HSE, saying that it is an operational matter. I really do not care whose remit it is. I mean that. I just need to have this resolved. I note the Taoiseach had a lovely green chart at the beginning of Leaders' Questions. Does the Minister have something similar, which would allow us to see the failure in this area?

I am not sure whether he has charts-----

I am not sure either.

-----but I can sense the Deputy's frustration in trying to get an answer to this question for her constituents in Kildare. I will ask the Minister for Health to revert to her directly to clarify the issue.

I will raise the issue of inflammatory bowel disease, IBD, services in Cork with the Taoiseach. Over the last few weeks, I have been liaising with the HSE on this issue but it is appropriate to raise it again here today. The IBD service at CUH is led by three consultant gastroenterologists and two academic consultants. One clinical nurse specialist provides support for more than 2,000 patients with IBD who attend that clinic. In 2023, the IBD service was supported by two clinical nurse specialists but, as one is on maternity leave, the responsibility and workload of three clinical nurse specialists and two advanced nurse practitioners have fallen on one clinical nurse specialist. In a reply to a parliamentary question, the chief executive of the HSE has stated that this decreased staffing is a direct result of the recruitment moratorium and that a risk report has been filed in this regard. I understand the need for the moratorium but, when an issue like this is affecting 2,000 people, there surely has to be some flexibility.

The entire reason the Government provided the HSE with a budget that allows it to expand staff numbers by 2,200 in the HSE and by more than 3,000 when disability services are factored in was to ensure that service delivery issues like this could be considered. I will certainly ask the Minister for Health and the CEO of the HSE to revert to the Deputy directly on the specific query he has raised.

Will the Taoiseach tell us the date on which the call for the next round of the excellent urban regeneration and development fund, the fourth such round, will be made? The people of Carrigtwohill and Cobh in my area are very interested in this because it is an excellent fund.

I fully agree with Deputy Stanton. As I travel around the country, I see many projects that have benefited from the fund. I am sure there are many in his own county of Cork. I do not have the specific date but I will ask the Minister for housing to revert to Deputy Stanton directly.

I will ask the Taoiseach about staffing levels in UHL. The Government has said that it is committed to doing everything it can in this regard, hence Mr. Justice Clarke's report, which is due out soon and which I presume will recommend a level 3 hospital given the Minister's statement in recent weeks. There are 183 nursing positions vacant despite some derogation from the embargo. What is going to be done about this? There is another real issue that is even more important. A recent missive of 19 April stated that all temporary higher appointments in UHL will be blocked and reversed. Anybody acting up, which is normal across the HSE, in UHL will no longer be allowed to do so. This applies to approximately 60 people in UHL, including some who work in the emergency department. Will the Taoiseach please get on to the Minister and investigate this matter? Not only are there 183 nursing vacancies, but now all of those who were acting up until that date have gone back to their normal jobs. Many senior positions and other positions are therefore vacant because of this unilateral decision, which is in breach of the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003 and the Payment of Wages Act 1991. If the Government is doing everything it can to solve the issues in the mid-west and at UHL, why in the name of God is it doing this?

I thank Deputy Kelly for raising this issue regarding temporary higher appointments. I will not pretend to have been aware of it because I was not. I do not doubt what he has said. I will ask the Minister for Health to come back to the Deputy on the matter directly. I have a note here that shows the very significant increase in staffing at the hospital. I will send it to the Deputy but I know he is well aware of that increase. I will ask the Minister for Health to revert to the Deputy on the specific issue he has raised.

Last Friday, 18 modular homes arrived in Coole, County Westmeath, although there is no planning permission to erect them. There are almost 100 international protection applicants on the site at the moment. Westmeath County Council has said there is no planning permission for these homes and it has issued a letter to the developer instructing it to stop works. If the homes are for international protection applicants, the developer needs planning permission. However, if looking for a loophole in the law, the developer can say they are for Ukrainian families and, if it has an agreement with a Government Department, it will not need planning permission. Will the Taoiseach tell me which it is? Deputies Peter Burke and Robert Troy were on site and stated that the developer does not have an agreement with a Government Department yet Taggart Modular states that it has a contract with the Government for these modular homes. Will the Taoiseach tell me and the people of Coole, County Westmeath, what is the truth? Is it any wonder that good people and communities right across the country are up in arms when there is no communication, engagement or dialogue from the Department? It is turning good people and communities against one other.

I do not agree with the Deputy's assertion that there has been no communication. We have been very clear that there is no contract for modular homes at this location for either Ukrainians or international protection applicants. There are approximately 100 international protection applicants staying at the site already. That is recognised and members of the community have been supportive of them. However, there is no contract in place for modular homes for Ukrainians or international protection applicants. That is as crystal clear as I can make it.

National parks are a bit like buses; you wait 25 years for one and two of them come along at once. The addition of Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí and Páirc Náisiúnta Bhrú na Bóinne to our store of national parks will be one of the enduring legacies of this Government. While I am unequivocally in favour of these new designations, I cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that there is not actually a legislative underpinning for our national parks. The national biodiversity action plan sets as one of its objectives to ensure the legislative framework for biodiversity conservation is robust, clear and enforceable. One of the sub-targets is that the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, should publish legislation to provide a legal basis for our national parks. Can we instigate and expedite this process under this Government? I am not sure I can trust the next government to do as good a job as the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, would do in this regard.

Will you not be in it?

That is terribly defeatist, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh.

Not at all.

I am glad the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, is doing an excellent job, as, of course, is the Government on many issues and we look forward to putting that case to the people in due course. On the important point that the Deputy has made on national parks, the progress that has been made and the need to look at legislative underpinning, I will speak directly to the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, as will the Deputy, I know, and the Minister, Deputy O'Brien, and we will revert to the Deputy.

I ask the Taoiseach to give us a date for when works on the health centre in Freshford, County Kilkenny, will commence?

I cannot do so but I thank the Deputy for raising this important matter. I will raise it with the line Minister and get an up-to-date answer for the Deputy on the date.

The announcement that Ireland will formally recognise the state of Palestine next Tuesday is an historic moment for both Ireland and Palestine. I want to commend today all those who have campaigned, marched, petitioned and stood up for international law and the reality that the only route to a lasting peace in the Middle East lies with a free, independent and sovereign Palestinian state. The state we will now officially recognise has long endured oppression, occupation and apartheid. Today, the people of Gaza face a relentless genocide. I hope that the occasion of recognition will be marked in this House with statements, the flying of the Palestinian flag and the attendance of Palestinian representatives. More than that, I expect the Government will take the next logical steps. Israel must be held to account and meaningfully sanctioned for the ongoing gross violations of international law in Gaza and across Palestine. Ireland must be a world leader not just in recognising a Palestinian state but in securing a viable free Palestine and a lasting and just peace.

I share Deputy Carthy's view that we should have statements in this House next week with Palestinian representatives and with the flag flying. I note that the Ceann Comhairle has indicated that is his intention, and I welcome that fact. There will absolutely need to be justice and accountability in respect of the atrocities and the humanitarian catastrophe that is unfolding in Gaza; of that, there is no doubt. The immediate priority for the Government and for all governments and all peoples has to be for an immediate cessation of violence and for the humanitarian aid to flow. We are seeing people being starved to death in Gaza at the moment. The Government's priority is to continue to work for an immediate ceasefire in every possible forum and avenue available to us, continuing to pursue that at a European level also and continue to support every effort around humanitarian aid.

I am sure the Taoiseach, as a former health Minister, is concerned about an article in The Irish Times on Monday on accessibility to cancer drugs. I will just quote some of what the oncologists said. They said public patients are facing huge delays in accessing cancer drugs and that a two-tier health system exists in the context of cancer drugs. They stated that less effective cancer drugs are being prescribed to public patients as a result of the delay in reimbursement of drugs. I am sure the Taoiseach agrees this situation is very unfair in the context of cancer treatment. Can we fix it? There should be equality when it comes to cancer care and access to cancer drugs.

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. When it was raised with me recently, I committed to reaching out to some of the doctors and oncologists concerned who have voiced views on this as I would like to hear from them directly. We have allocated significant resources for additional new medicines in 2021, 2022 and 2023 and this has seen the introduction of 61 new cancer medicines. A further €30 million is available this year. The total spend on cancer drugs in the past three years is now over €600 million. This year the HSE will launch an application tracker to increase transparency in the medicines assessment process. I will get the Deputy a direct update on the matter.

I am extremely concerned about the future for children with additional needs in this country. In the past week, I have been informed of children who have been referred to primary care for speech and language therapy or for occupational therapy, OT. They have been told the waiting time to be seen is anything from 12 months to four years. One parent whose six-year-old son was referred by his teacher for speech and language therapy has been told the waiting list is 18 to 24 months. Another parent whose daughter, who is due to start school in September, cannot even say the names of her friends and needs speech and language therapy has been referred by her community nurse and is on a 12-month waiting list. Another parent of two children requiring speech and language therapy and one requiring occupational therapy has been told there will be a four-year waiting list. These situations all involve separate primary care centres within the county of Cavan but I am sure Cavan is not an outlier in this regard. What plans does the Taoiseach have in place to address this severe shortage? The staff are excellent but there are just not enough of them.

I share Deputy Tully's view that the staff are excellent and I also share her view that there are not enough of them. The relatively good news is that we have just completed phase 1 of a recruitment campaign into our child disability network teams which will see more therapists, more speech and language therapists, occupational therapists and physiotherapists. We are about to see the HSE launch a second phase of recruitment. I will get the Deputy a note on what that should mean for Cavan.