Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The first issue I raise on behalf of the Fianna Fail group is the ongoing genocide and starvation in Gaza. Since 2 March, no humanitarian aid has been delivered to Gaza, with a global hunger monitor warning that more than half a million people, which is a quarter of the population, are facing starvation. RTÉ News is reporting that the United Nations aid chief, Mr. Tom Fletcher, has very strongly criticised the Israeli-initiated and US-backed humanitarian aid distribution plan for Gaza. Mr. Fletcher described the plan as a "fig leaf for further violence and displacement" of Palestinians in the war-torn territory. He called it a "cynical sideshow" and a "deliberate distraction". He said those words in an address to the UN Security Council. We are all concerned by and occupied with our helplessness in the face of this starvation and genocide and the human tragedy taking place. This House must call again today for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid. Anything less than that is inhumane. The Fianna Fáil group reiterates that call.

The National College of Ireland, located in the Dublin docklands in my constituency, is an incredible centre of excellence in education. Everybody associates the college with third level education but its early learning initiative is incredibly special. I give a huge shout-out today to the home visitors from that early learning initiative, particularly those who visit the north inner city. They go out to support very young people, including infants - our youngest citizens - and their parents. They support them in social ways, medical ways and with a whole holistic approach to their wellness and well-being. They do so to increase their capacity and confidence and ensure they succeed in those early days, weeks, months and years.Being a parent is probably the most challenging job any human being can undertake. The home visitors are there with new parents and new babies in those early days, weeks and months. They give them support in a way that is accessible to them, is meaningful to them and adds real value. I want to give a huge shoutout to the home visitors in the north inner city. As I am speaking here today, they are probably visiting parents and their children in their homes.

I return to the subject of our post offices. We all know that there are over 960 post offices in Ireland. They provide not just a postal service but huge social value as well. I ask the Leader to arrange a debate with the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Deputy Peter Burke, to come to the House and have a debate on the future of the post offices. Our own colleague, Councillor Tom O'Callaghan, is a postmaster. Postmasters throughout the country have done enormous work campaigning to save our post offices. The House should support them and we should have a debate on the future of the post office network.