May I have order in the Chamber?

I raise a serious issue which has been escalating for several months at the Oberstown facility for young offenders. It is an excellent new-build which cost more than €50 million and which is very much focused on the rehabilitation and re-education of young offenders to give them a second chance, to which all Members will agree they are fully entitled and which we would like them to have. There has been, however, an ever-increasing number of serious incidents at the facility, with staff injuries. Local residents have become extremely concerned about these incidents. There are many old people in the vicinity living on their own, as well as many parents of young children. They are becoming increasingly concerned owing to several absconsions and a fire on the roof which caused considerable damage to the wonderful facility. There was an incident in which a staff member was locked in a room and held to ransom. Gardaí eventually had to go to the facility to release the staff member. The newspapers report that this day last week over €1 million worth of damage was caused to the facility. For several months it has been clear that whatever protocols are in place at the facility are not working. Staff feel threatened. I know many of them as I worked there as a general practitioner. Many of the staff have worked there for years but do not want to go back. Having been the Minister involved with the facility’s development, I know that it was difficult to get staff to work there. Accordingly, it makes it all the more important that they be retained and feel protected at work.

The facility’s board has apologised for certain failures in texting alerts, etc., when there have been break-outs and will seek to rectify them, as well as ordering a review of existing protocols. However, this needs to be done urgently as local people are concerned. I have written to the Minister responsible about the issue to seek a meeting with local residents to reassure them but all I have received so far is an acknowledgement. People in the area support the facility and have shown good will towards it, but they are deeply worried about the escalating incidents in the past two months. Given this and the money invested in the facility, will the Leader invite the Minister to attend the House to explain what has gone wrong at the facility and why there have been a significant number of incidents there? I believe the protocols in place do not allow staff to deal with young offenders. These are young men, aged 16 and 17 years, some of whom are aggressive and as large as many of us, if not larger. The staff need to be able to deal with these problems when they pass a certain point without having to resort to the Garda which has a significant amount of other work to do and can well do without being called to the facility continually. If the protocols were somewhat different, as they have been in the past, these situations would not get to the point they have.

The Senator’s point has been well made.

I want to raise the issue of apartheid. While we have a wide range of political views in this Chamber, I am confident that nobody here would defend an ideology of apartheid or racism. This summer, however, I visited an apartheid state, the state of Israel where I saw at first hand the people of Palestine under occupation and subjugation. Some 4.5 million Palestinians live under Israeli military rule on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, while Israeli citizens live in over 200 illegal settlements. The two populations are separate and unequal. Palestinians on the West Bank face more than 500 checkpoints, while Israeli settlers come and go as they please. Thousands of Palestinians have their houses routinely demolished each year as new Israeli settlements continue to expand. Israelis enjoy full citizenship and civilian courts, while Palestinians enjoy military courts, temporary citizenship and severe restrictions of their right to travel within their own country, even to see their own families. Up to 2,000 children have been murdered by Israeli forces since 2000.

I could go on, but time is limited. I wish to highlight this evening's protest outside Tallaght Stadium before the Dundalk game, congratulate its organisers and call on anyone going to the game to join in the red card protest against the apartheid state of Israel. Will the Leader invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade to come to the House? Israel has announced that a further 2,500 illegal houses will be built on Palestinian land this year; therefore, I would like to hear from the Minister what the Government is doing to oppose the Israeli plans.