I welcome everyone back on this the first Order of Business of the autumn term. It is to be hoped it is not our last term. I call on the Leader to outline the Order of Business.

Welcome back to everybody. The Order of Business is No. 1, Planning and Development Bill 2023 - Report and Final Stages, to be taken at 3.15 p.m. and to adjourn at 9 p.m., if not previously concluded. The sitting shall be suspended from 6 p.m. to 6.45 p.m.

I welcome everybody back. I think this is going to be an interesting term, if not an exciting one as well. I extend my sincere sympathies to the family of Robert Deegan, who was killed in battle last Thursday in Ukraine. Robert lived in Athy but he spent his youth in Newbridge, living in The Oaks where he went to the local Patrician Secondary School. I knew Robert. He was involved in the campaign to get a skate park in Newbridge. This was a project I championed and I met many young people around the town regarding it. Robert was a very fine young man. We eventually got the skate park, due in no small measure to Robert and his friends. Robert was a former member of the Army Rangers and was the youngest ever to qualify for this elite unit. The military background is very strong in his family. Both his brother and his dad were in the Army. Our thoughts and prayers are with Robert's parents, Rachel and John, and with his wider family and friends.

Last week, many of us had the opportunity to go to the National Ploughing Championships. We were blessed with incredible weather this year. I have to give a shout-out to all the organisers, particularly Anna May McHugh. It was such a wonderful microcosm of Irish rural life in particular. I met many young people and students from Dublin who came down and really enjoyed it. We extend our gratitude to Anna May and the team for a terrific experience.

If the summer in Kildare was defined by anything for me, it was by, sadly, the illegal encampments in the Curragh. I spoke about them prior to the recess but things have only got worse. I received a lot of photographs showing the waste that was spread all around the Curragh and the damage done to local sporting facilities.

The day before yesterday I saw a photograph of a beautiful small dog whose leg was very badly damaged by glass and rubbish on the Curragh. It had to be brought to the vet and have surgery immediately. It is an ongoing issue and needs to be dealt with as a priority.

The last issue I will mention is South Kildare Schools Smartphone Alliance. I had the pleasure of attending the launch last week. Some 15 schools have come together in south Kildare and parents have adopted a voluntary code on their children not having smartphones, which thereby supports other parents who may feel under peer pressure. It is a wonderful project. I wish it well and I hope others will join.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir. Just to assist her on the issue regarding the Curragh, it has been selected as a Commencement matter tomorrow and she will be able to raise it further again.

I thank the Cathaoirleach.

In welcoming colleagues back I must strike a sombre note, a really tragic note, by saying that over the summer things have gravely deteriorated in Gaza to the extent we have 40 dead that we know of and 120 as an indirect consequence of the lack of supplies and hospitalisation. I have this information from NGOs. Some 120 are collaterally deceased, making a total of 160. We have so many injuries and the place is razed to the ground. It is a horror, it is genocide and it is shocking. There is no other word for it. There have been so many efforts to achieve a ceasefire and it is clear there is no serious intent there. It is shocking. It has escalated, to some extent, to the West Bank and to Lebanon over the past number of days, with 580 deaths yesterday. It is a horror.

I ask the Leader for a very urgent debate on it. I cannot think of any greater humanitarian crisis. There is Sudan and Ukraine, which are shocking crises too, but let us take this. I request a debate on it with the Tánaiste to talk about where Europe is at now and where Ireland is at. Clear, targeted sanctions against Israel are necessary. Cessation of the supply of munitions is necessary. This has to escalate on an international stage as a crisis to be dealt with. It would seem there is no real serious intent to have peace and that has to be shocking state of affairs that needs addressing. During the debate the Tánaiste could perhaps set out exactly what Europe is doing and what we can possibly input to that. In a general sense both the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have been unambiguous on this issue, but we need a set of targeted responses now. It has to end. It is shocking, getting worse and looks like developing into a full-scale regional war.