Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail)

We started with Senator Fitzpatrick, leading for Fianna Fáil, talking once again about the very distressing scenes and news coming from Gaza, including wilful starvation and the murder of more than 50,000 people, 70% of whom are women and children. Every day in Gaza, at least ten children lose at least one limb. Just think of the lifelong consequences for them. Yesterday, we saw the horrific shooting in Washington of a young couple who were about to get married. An Irish diplomat was present. We also saw the Israeli defence forces shoot - I will not say "at" - around a diplomatic corps, including some young diplomats from Ireland, which, again, was shocking and appalling. We need to use every single opportunity to call all of that out.

Next Thursday, the Tánaiste will be in the Seanad to discuss Gaza and give us the timeline for the occupied territories Bill. This is something we are all engaged about and with, and want to see progress on. We will all have the opportunity to speak. It will take place slightly earlier at 9 a.m. next Thursday. That is important. I will also reference the decision, which was mentioned by the Senator, to review the EU-Israel association agreement to examine compliance with human rights. This is something that Ireland first called for last year. Spain joined with that call. We must do everything to let Israel know that the world is watching and what we find absolutely unacceptable. The Taoiseach spoke about this last night. He said that he would do everything to ensure that work was put in place and the recommendations would be implemented. Increasingly, there is more support for that stance, but having had the opportunity in a different organisation, INPACE, to speak about Gaza, I was quite shocked at the level of support for Israel. Europe is not speaking with one voice and we need to speak with one voice.

Senator McCarthy spoke about the sadness and tragedy of addiction, marginalisation and homelessness for those suffering from addiction, and the waiting list for detox beds. He is right that it is important to give people a second chance, and an opportunity for recovery, to build their own lives and to rebuild the lives of their families. It is always important to have hope and to give that opportunity. The Senator is hosting a briefing in the audiovisual room at 12.30 p.m. I certainly encourage anybody who can go to it to do so.

Senator Ryan spoke about a serious accident at a junction in her constituency. I am glad that no fatality occurred but these are all warning signs. She mentioned the fact that Cork County Council was constrained by funding. A staggered junction is a very expensive thing to do. We will ask the Minister to attend to speak about the current funding for road safety and the criteria that are used. That is something that would be of interest to all.

Senator Costello spoke about Citywise. It is wonderful to hear about organisations such as Citywise that operate a very proactive and positive model supporting young people and their families and catering for children both out of school and after school. She mentioned that approximately 500 young people attended the Durkan Centre. It is so important to positively endorse that work. The annual awards she mentioned support the encouragement and determination of young people. I commend all of those involved. Senator Craughwell spoke about the situation involving one of the members of our diplomatic corps, Feilim McLaughlin, in Israel. We are served by excellent diplomats all around the world. I have had the opportunity, as have others, to meet people in different missions. We are extremely well served. The incident that happened yesterday, where people set out to intimidate those who were trying to find a pathway for peace and a way for us to support the vulnerable, was shocking.

Senator Tully spoke about a large multinational taking over a store in Cavan and the fact that local suppliers were told they had to take a 40% cut. That is shocking. The model we all want to see right around the country is one where we have food security, there is sustainability of supply and people are paid fairly. That is why a commitment was made by the Minister of State, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, when he was Minister for agriculture, to set up a department to address the cost of supply and ensure everybody was getting a fair price. This case should be referred there. Senator Tully called for a ban on below-cost selling. I agree that we need to have a debate with the Ministers for agriculture and enterprise and to perhaps widen it out to the new and important position that was created approximately two years ago.

Senator Murphy O'Mahony spoke about the concerns of the farming community, and rightly so. When we are at this point in the procedure and we are looking at potential changes in CAP, it is nearly like looking down the barrel of a gun for those who operate within the agricultural sector. It is getting more difficult. We need to ensure that the CAP funding is ring-fenced for agriculture and food security. We will invite the Minister, Deputy Heydon, to attend.

Senator Andrews spoke about the situation with Kneecap. While I may have a reservation about what happened yesterday in terms of bringing them in, I have to say I would not support anybody flying a flag for Hezbollah and I would not support anybody using the term "Kill Tories" in his or her songs. I was listening to a piece on this on "Morning Ireland" this morning, and it was interesting. It said that, no matter what, Kneecap were taking it in their stride, it was adding to their notoriety and they were not going to lose any concerts because of it. While I was surprised by what happened, we still have to call out people who support terrorists and have a chant, bearing in mind that two MPs were murdered in the UK over the past few years.

The Senator also spoke about post offices, as did my colleague Senator Fitzpatrick. It is a shame to see the office on St. Andrew's Street closing on a Saturday. It is a very fine post office, one of the finest that we have in the country. We are seeing the Rathmines office being sold off. Senators Andrews and Fitzpatrick spoke about the presentation we had with the Irish Postmasters Union yesterday, which said that the equivalent of €3, or one cup of coffee, per citizen per year would support post offices. There is no option but to do that. Post offices are a lifeline in many communities, urban and rural. The service they give is second to none. When I had to go to buy a Leap card, because Newbridge is finally covered by the Leap card system, I was delighted to find I could get it in the post office. I could go in on a Saturday and get it. Long live all our post offices and our postmasters. They do a wonderful job. We will look for a debate on it.

Senator Rabbitte raised a good point regarding apprenticeships in the education and training boards. It has been wonderful to see the apprenticeships that have been added and developed over the past number of years. We know that there is a shortage in terms of health and social care. It makes sense to me to have apprenticeships in, as the Senator said, occupational therapy and speech therapy. We need to make those available. We will look for the Minister for higher education to attend the House. It is something that we can ask to be raised within the higher education committee.

Senator Conway spoke about the difference between Ireland and New Zealand. It is a very fine country and I was privileged enough to visit it once. The Senator compared the amount of airports and so on. We are in a different situation. Ireland has the land bridge, which facilitates us in going through Britain to France and so forth, and we have a very good ferry service. That said, we need to look at the viability of all of our regional airports. We will ask for a debate on that. Many of them got funding last week, I believe. The sunny south east is a beautiful part of the country. We want to encourage people all around and outside of Ireland to go into Waterford and explore it.