Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. Tá trí cheist agam faoi chlár an Rialtais. Tá ceann amháin faoi thuairisc McMahon, ceann eile faoi chearta mhuintir na Palaistíne agus an ceann deireanach faoi chearta an lucht oibre. I put the question about the McMahon report to the Tánaiste last week and did not get any sort of satisfactory answer. The draft programme for Government contained a commitment to implement the McMahon report into direct provision but it was removed from the programme that was published. The Taoiseach may recall that Uachtarán Higgins raised his concerns last weekend about direct provision. He described the McMahon proposals as reasonable and practical and said if they were implemented it would mean considerable progress. Mr. Justice McMahon described the refusal to allow asylum seekers the right to access the labour market as absolutely heart breaking and immoral and he described their treatment by the Government as narrow and mean and urged an amnesty for those who are here for more than five years. I have visited the direct provision centre in Mosney several times. No one should live there for months, never mind years, yet some children have lived their entire lives in that place. Will the Taoiseach consider a one-off amnesty and will he reinstate the commitment on the McMahon report to the programme for Government.

The Taoiseach will be aware there will be a strike tomorrow by Tesco workers. The company is trying to force long-serving workers to accept a new contract with less money and worse conditions of employment. Will he acknowledge that the programme for Government fails to defend the rights of workers and their families and will only assist unscrupulous employers that want to make bigger profits? There is no mention of a living wage. There is a vague commitment to tackling the problems caused by the casualisation of work but nothing about "if and when" contracts. Will he consider introducing fair hours legislation as recommended by the ICTU?

There is a programme for Government commitment to recognise the state of Palestine as part of a lasting settlement of the conflict but in December 2014 the Oireachtas voted in support of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination. That was a substantial and very positive development. It was unconditional because people either have this right or they do not and this Oireachtas believes that the people of Palestine quite rightly have that right. The peace process has been very limited and there has been no real progress. The UN has reported the killing of 25 Palestinian children in the last three months of 2015. By the end of December 2015, 422 Palestinian children were imprisoned and since October 2015, 204 Palestinians and 28 Israelis have been killed. We can assist the process and the minority Government can accept the will of the Oireachtas by formally recognising the Palestinian state by doing what many other Governments have done, by upgrading the Palestinian mission in this State and add our moral support to the need for a peace settlement in that region.

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