Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)
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24. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a list of the Cabinet committees on which he sits. [1398/24]

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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25. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a list of the Cabinet committees on which he sits. [3712/24]

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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26. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a list of the Cabinet committees on which he sits. [4030/24]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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27. To ask the Taoiseach if he will provide a list of the Cabinet committees on which he sits. [4033/24]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 24 to 27, inclusive, together.

The Government has established ten Cabinet committees. These are Brexit and Northern Ireland, children and education, economy and investment, environment and climate change, EU and international affairs, Government co-ordination, health, housing, humanitarian response to Ukraine, and social affairs and public services. I am a member of all committees, as are the Tánaiste and the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Ryan. That is an awful lot of committees, so if anybody has a new committee or task force they think I should chair, I would appreciate suggestions on ones I should stop chairing.

Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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Last week, the International Court of Justice ruled that Israel has a case to answer on a charge of genocide. Who is the individual, outside of Israel itself, who has by far the greatest responsibility for funding and arming that Israeli assault? It is the man the Taoiseach intends to hand a bowl of shamrock on 17 March - President Joe Biden. Will his hand tremble when he hands over that bowl? Will he squirm when he poses for that photograph? How does he think that photograph will look to the people of Gaza who have lost sons and daughters to the bombs made in the USA and paid for by the Biden Administration? The Taoiseach will hand over that bowl of shamrock on behalf of the Irish people. To be clear, he will not do it in my name. Does he not realise that there are, at the very least, hundreds of thousands of people living in this State who will be disgusted by his action?

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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On the same issue, genocide is the worst crime that a human being, state or regime can commit. It is the unspeakable crime. Joe Biden has armed Israel to the teeth, specifically to support Israel's ability to continue the massacre for which it is now in the dock. Let us be clear that Israel is in the dock for genocide. The court has said there is a plausible case that it is guilty of genocide and, under the Genocide Convention, all signatories are required to do everything in their power to stop a genocide. Would the solidarity action not be to say we are not going to give Joe Biden a bowl of shamrock on our national day to endorse the genocide and massacre he is inflicting on the people of Gaza?

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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I raise the absolute scandal of how children with additional needs are failed by this State and left languishing on waiting lists for necessary therapies for years. I have figures, which show that almost 9,000 children across the country have been waiting more than 12 months, not for therapies, but for initial contacts from their CDNTs. A campaigner has done a tremendous amount of research in submitting freedom of information after freedom of information request to put this together. The story revealed by the figures is scandalous. The vacancy rate for occupational therapists is approximately 40%. It is approximately 70% for dieticians. It is more than 30% for family support workers, 30% for care assistants and 70% for play therapists. I could go on. Why are vacancy rates so high? What is the Government doing about them and why are there so many mistakes? There are an estimated 48 mistakes in the figures provided. How can we have accurate planning when we have so many mistakes in the figures?

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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On the St. Patrick's Day events in the White House, I have not yet received an invitation. If I am invited, I will accept and, as always, use it as an opportunity to speak to the US President and Administration about matters of interest and concern to the Irish people. Those conversations are not always pleasant ones. While we agree on the majority of things, we do not agree on everything. I point out that the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, has met President Biden in the past few months, and certainly more recently than I have met him. I do not think the President of Palestine would refuse an invitation to go to the White House to discuss matters happening in Gaza and elsewhere. I do not see why we would do so, on that basis.

With regard to the International Court of Justice, we support and accept the rulings it has made in recent weeks. We believe Israel must now implement those and protect civilian life. It is important to clarify that the ICJ has not found that Israel has committed genocide, nor has it called for ceasefire - we have. It has found that South Africa has a valid and plausible case to make. South Africa informs us it is preparing the case. It could be between three and four months before that case is ready to submit. At that point, it will be possible for us to make an intervention, either under section 62 or section 63. These are different types of intervention. It is not a matter of joining the case. That is a misnomer. It is not like signing a petition or liking a tweet. It is much more complicated than that. We would have to look at it carefully and in detail. We also need to bear in mind that there is no guarantee that the ICJ will find Israel guilty of genocide in two or three years' time. We need to make sure we are not on the wrong side of the law and the facts on this.

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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Of course. We are getting our own legal advice.