Children are on the brink of starvation in Gaza as a consequence of Israel's blocking of humanitarian aid. It is blocking food, water and medicines. More than 500 people have been slaughtered in Gaza in recent days alone. What people might not know is that the Irish Government has made Ireland complicit in funding this genocide. The Irish Central Bank oversees the sale of Israeli war bonds. These are directly used to fund the genocide in Palestine. Tomorrow, Deputy Pearse Doherty and I will introduce legislation which will end the sale of Israeli war bonds through the Irish Central Bank. We ask the Taoiseach to work with us.

Israel acts with impunity because it can and because the world refuses to act. Ireland cannot be complicit any longer in genocide. Ireland cannot facilitate the funding of this genocide.

Hear, hear.

What is happening in Gaza is absolutely appalling. I noted a quote earlier from a Dr. Potokar in Gaza who said that "if Cambodia was the killing fields, then Gaza now is the slaughterhouse." What is happening to innocent civilians in Gaza is beyond any moral compass, particularly the children who are being slaughtered and the children who are starving. It needs to come to an end.

The weaponisation of aid is a war crime and I said that. It is very regrettable that the Deputy says the Irish Government is funding genocide. I cannot really comprehend why the Deputy says things like that. I argue the Deputy does it for politics but it smacks of that only. It lacks sincerity.

The Central Bank operates under European regulations. It does not have the authority to do what the Deputy says it should do. It is fundamentally wrong to take the tactics the Deputy is taking.

It has asked for direction from the Government.

I find it morally repulsive as well.

It has asked for direction from the Government.

The news from Gaza is getting worse and worse each day and as famine takes hold, we all fear that Israel's announcement that it will allow aid into Gaza is as illusory as it was the last time. Gaza needs 600 trucks every day and just five were let through. Meanwhile, more and more children are being killed and maimed with surgeons speaking about the horrors of having to amputate the limbs of tiny children. Whole families have been killed under this brutal, genocidal bombardment.

The human suffering in Gaza requires us to do all in our power. My colleague Deputy Duncan Smith asked a very clear question earlier about a timeline for the passage of the occupied territories Bill - a Bill behind which we can all unite. I ask again whether the Taoiseach can give us that timeline and whether he can say what his Government is doing at United Nations level to bring about more pressure on Israel to ensure we see a ceasefire and a lasting peace.

As the Deputy knows, at UN level we have been doing quite a lot working with other like-minded countries, particularly co-sponsoring the motion that led to the International Court of Justice's advisory opinion in respect of the illegal occupation of Palestinian territories. We intend to continue to work with like-minded states. There is a conference coming up in June in New York, organised by a number of countries - France, in particular - and Ireland will be there to support the initiatives that will be taken at that particular conference.

We have been involved in the International Court of Justice. The Attorney General, on behalf of the Government, made a submission to the court in respect of that advisory opinion. We have also co-sponsored a resolution, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly on 18 December, seeking to implement the court's advisory opinion. The Minister for foreign affairs is progressing the occupied territories Bill and has made comments in respect of the timelines for that some weeks ago.

The Taoiseach probably saw the figures yesterday that showed that the average rent in this country is now over €2,000. My question is simple and straightforward. The Taoiseach and his Government accept that the housing crisis is no longer just a crisis. It is an emergency. How, in that context, can he agree with the Minister for housing, who said, as quoted in the Irish Examiner yesterday, that the Government will be making changes to the rent pressure zones? How can the Government agree to lifting rent caps in the middle of a housing emergency? Renters need to know. Given what is going on, there should be a commitment to keep the rent caps and the rent pressure zones in place for a minimum of three years to give renters some security. Regardless of the questions of institutional investors and supply, renters need that.

The Deputy said he supported the Housing Commission's report, and the Housing Commission report recommended changes to the rent pressure zones. I do not know why he is condemning the Government for even considering the recommendation of the Housing Commission in respect of that issue.

Because we also said there needed to be a period of time.

Regarding real investment in dwellings, the Irish economy registered the fourth largest increase across the 27 EU countries between 2020 and 2024. The House may be interested to know that a recent Economic and Social Research Institute publication in 2024 comparing housing supply across Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales found that Ireland and Northern Ireland had the highest rate of housebuilding per capita and that Ireland and Scotland had the highest rate of publicly built housing. There is significant investment but it simply is not enough. That is why we need the private sector investment. I know the Deputy is against pension funds and institutional funds, but I do not see how we can get to the €20 billion investment required if we do not bring in substantial private sector investment to supplement record levels of public expenditure on housing, the likes of which we have not seen since the 1980s.

The rent caps. That is what I raised.