I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, namely, that No.11 to be taken before No. 1, referring to the Domestic Violence (Free Travel Scheme) Bill 2025. This Bill seeks to provide a three-month free travel pass to survivors of domestic violence.

Today, I want to talk about the announcement of a ceasefire in Gaza, which is really welcome news after the two years of horror we have had. The scenes of relief, joy and families being reunited with each other we have witnessed over the past few days have been really heartwarming. These scenes have given us all a sense of relief, but we cannot and must not allow any complacency to set in because we know that peace is incredibly fragile. Days after the ceasefire, journalist Saleh Aljafarawi was killed. He was killed after we watched him celebrate with such joy following two years of reporting on this genocide. We have heard this morning that five Palestinian men have been killed in Gaza city. These killings represent a potentially very serious breach of the ceasefire. What we need now is a ceasefire monitor for ensuring this fragile peace is protected. The Government should actively lead within the international community on establishing this. It is vital for maintaining peace and accountability on the ground.

The suffering endured by the Palestinian people has been incredibly immense and we must not, as an international community, abandon them at this stage. The atrocities committed since October 2023 have violated countless human rights laws. There must be accountability for Israel's ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and the levelling of Gaza. We all know the popular chant "no justice, no peace". Without justice, there can be no lasting peace. Accountability measures and access to justice are critical pieces for a lasting and just peace in Palestine and in the region more broadly.

I ask today that the Government bring the occupied territories Bill back to the Dáil and Seanad as soon as possible. This is actually a crucial element to establishing accountability for the Israeli state's illegal occupation on stolen land. It is time to show our true commitment to the Palestinian people. We need to have an immediate move by the Government to pass the occupied territories Bill in full, including goods and services, as recommended unanimously by the foreign affairs committee.

I also welcome the news today that the Government is committed to increasing funding for humanitarian aid to sustain this peace. That means we need to ensure humanitarian aid flows freely and safely to those who need it most. The funding the Government has announced must help scale up support for the likes of UNRWA and the WHO because these are the organisations with the infrastructure and capacity to deliver large-scale relief within Gaza today. We need to have a debate in the Chamber about what this ceasefire means for Gaza and Palestine and what opportunities lie ahead for Ireland in supporting accountability.

Before I call Senator Black, I welcome Senator Andrews back. Senator Andrews, you are most welcome back to Seanad Éireann. We are glad you got back in one piece.

I second the amendment. I also welcome Senator Chris Andrews back to the Chamber as well. I, too, welcome the ceasefire today. I absolutely endorse everything Senator Patricia Stephenson said. On behalf of the Civil Engagement Group, we send our condolences to Senator Teresa Costello and her family on the passing of her father recently.

Today, I want to speak on voting rights for those abroad. Before I do, I pay tribute to the late former Senator for the diaspora, Billy Lawless from Galway. Billy was the chair of the executive committee of VotingRights.ie and one of several cofounders. As we all know, he emigrated to Chicago in 1998 and created a very successful restaurant business. There, he became a leader in immigration reform. I have to pay tribute to him but I call for a debate on this issue. We have the most restrictive voting rights policies in the world here in Ireland. Allowing emigrant citizens to retain their right to vote is established in most nations, including many of our fellow EU countries. There are 800,000 citizens living in the North of Ireland and more than 1 million emigrants living around the world. That is an awful lot of Irish people being excluded and deprived of their right to be heard in their own home country.

Even our own Constitution states, "It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born on the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation." Some of the restrictions in our voting policies include the requirement to be on the island to vote on election day and the amount of time emigrants can be away from Ireland. Once a citizen leaves Ireland for only 18 months, they are dropped from the voting roll. It is important to look at both of these policies and ask whether, in the times we are living in, especially with the type of digital flexibility we have now, it still makes sense to hold these restrictions over our citizens or whether it is time now for change. As we are ten days away from voting for the future President of Ireland, at the very least we need to be opening up these conversations to discuss and explore what options we have and what in direction we as a country can take our voting rights.

I will be co-hosting a briefing on voting rights tomorrow in the audiovisual room at 4 p.m. in conjunction with VotingRights.ie. I have invited a number of experts in this area to share their knowledge with Oireachtas Members and allow us to have that extremely important discussion. I hope Members will come along tomorrow. I would also like to have a debate on the issue in this House if possible.