McEntee addresses INTO as Gaza protests greet her Galway appearance
The Minister for Education was greeted by primary school teachers calling for Government action on the Occupied Territories Bill as she arrived at the union's annual congress in Galway this morning.
Helen McEntee made her first address as minister for education to the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) this Tuesday morning as almost 1,000 delegates gathered in Galway.
On Monday evening, the union passed a motion endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, and expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people while adopting a resolution that 'utterly condemns the ongoing genocide in Gaza.'
The motion received strong support from those attending.
Protesters standing outside the Galmont Hotel on Tuesday morning held placards and chanted: "Occupation no more."
Addressing the conference, minister McEntee said: "Too many children in the world are living in poverty, are experiencing war and upheaval from the safe haven of their homes."
In particular, the children of Gaza, she said, who are "living through unimaginable pain" and experiencing hunger and loss like you could never imagine.
I think again of the late Pope Francis who phoned Gaza's Holy Family parish every evening since October 2023 and his views were very clear: war is a defeat."
"Make no mistake, what we are seeing on our television screens every single evening is a war on children unfolding before our very eyes."
The Government is "absolutely committed" to its objectives and goals.
"There must be a permanent ceasefire agreed. All hostages must be released, peace must be negotiated. Above all else, this barbarity on our children must end."
Read More
INTO congress endorses Boycott Divestment Sanctions campaign in support of Palestinian people
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Journal
41 minutes ago
- The Journal
Irish activists traversing Egypt to reach start of major March to Gaza protest
IRISH ACTIVISTS ARE among thousands of participants starting to walk in the Global March to Gaza today, which has seen large numbers travel to Egypt to hold demonstrations at its border with Palestine. Participants who have arrived in Cairo will travel by bus to the Egyptian city of Al Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, where they will begin a 48km march to the Egyptian side of the Gaza border near Rafah. Organisers say their goal is 'absolutely not' to try to forcibly enter Gaza but to try to negotiate the opening of the Rafah terminal with Egyptian authorities to deliver humanitarian aid. However, Egypt has been creating hurdles for the movement, detaining more than 200 activists who had arrived in Cairo to attend the march. The world's leaders don't and won't act to end the starvation and slaughter of the Palestinian people. So people from around the world are coming together to march from #Cairo to #Rafah , starting today, to break Israel's blockade of Gaza and to #FreePalestine ! — Global March To Gaza (@globalmarchgaza) June 13, 2025 Several dozen Irish activists are among the thousands who have travelled to Egypt for the March, including People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy, who arrived in Cairo last night and is travelling to the start point of the march. 'We're on the way,' Murphy said this morning, speaking to The Journal . Advertisement He said that it is 'still not entirely clear whether we'll be prevented from marching by the Egyptian authorities or not, but for now we're making progress towards Rafah'. Murphy said that the focus of the movement is on 'lifting the unbelievable starvation of the Palestinian people' which has 'half a million people on the verge of starvation' as a result of Israel blocking Gaza's access to food, water and medical supplies. Murphy said there are 'thousands of us here from 57 countries and about 50 people from Ireland' who are 'all united in horror at the genocide being inflicted on the Palestinians'. 'We want to do whatever we can to pressure Israel to stop and also to put pressure on our own governments to stop their complicity and to act instead of just giving words.' A spokesperson for the march said yesterday that more than 200 participants had been detained at Cairo airport or questioned at hotels in the city. The spokesperson, Saif Abukeshek, said that plainclothes officers entered hotels in Cairo with lists of names, questioned activists, and in some cases confiscated phones and searched through personal belongings. Some were released while others were arrested, detained for hours or deported. Israel has pressured Egyptian authorities to prevent participants from reaching the border with Gaza. Participants in the Global March to Gaza are aiming to arrive at the border on Sunday and camp there before returning to Cairo by next Thursday. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Minister for Housing defends new Government rental measures
The Minister for Housing has defended new measures in relation to the rental market, saying they strike a balance between protecting tenants and supporting investment. Speaking in Galway this morning, James Browne acknowledged "there were a few different moving parts" in the planned legislation, but he said these were necessary, given the scale of the accommodation issues the country was facing. "There's always going to be a challenge around the complexity of doing anything like this, there's no one size fits all to bring a solution to this kind of complex situation," he said. He said a balance had to be struck between protecting tenants and ensuring that investors were willing to embark on building projects. The Minister said the Government wanted to protect existing tenants as well as increasing the supply of available rental properties. He said "a massive step change" was needed in this regard but that he believed the measures announced this week would help that to happen. He said investors needed certainty as to what the long term situation would be regarding tenants rights. Minister Browne said the current situation with Rent Pressure Zones (RPZs), where rent increases are limited to two per cent, meant investors could make a loss, if inflation rose above that figure. He said this was causing a "blockage" but that more needed to be done to address what he termed "a viability gap" for new builds. He said the Government would be taking other measures to close this gap in the coming weeks and months. The Minister added that a minimum security of tenure, of six years from next March, would protect renters entering into a new lease agreement, while allowing landlords to be able to reset rents "every so often". He said he felt the six year period struck the right balance in that regard. But he said landlords couldn't take advantage of this to reset rents "to a mad number" and would have to charge market rates or lower. The Residential Tenancies Board would adjudicate on any disputes that arose in this regard, and would be provided with additional resources to do this. Minister Browne made his comments after opening a new office for the Threshold housing charity in Galway, where the twin issues of housing affordability and supply are having a huge impact on the lives of thousands of people. He said he had secured cabinet approval to tackle the impact caused by short-term holiday lets on the wider rental market. "We're in a housing crisis, where there is an issue with supply, we have to take priority decisions, and the priority has to be for people to have homes over short term lets" he said. The Government has already proposed passing legislation to outlaw short term lets, in the absence of planning permission, in towns with a population of 10,000 or more. The Minister acknowledged that this would have some impact on those dependent on such income but said the wider need for housing had to be given precedence. He said there had been a lack of enforcement of existing legislation around short term lets, but said "it should come to an end now". Mr Browne said planned legislation would give "really strong enforcement powers to ban the advertisement of short term lets". He said he would also be open to giving more powers to local authorities in terms of enforcement. The Minister has a series of engagements in the area today, including a meeting with campaigners in Conamara, who say the number of planning approvals for new homes in Gaeltacht areas is impacting the chance Irish speakers have to live in their own communities. He is also due to open the first cost rental housing scheme in Galway city this afternoon.
Irish Examiner
2 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
Irish bishops accuse Israeli government of ‘genocidal actions' in Gaza
Irish bishops have accused the Israeli government of 'genocidal actions' and 'ethnic cleansing' in the Gaza Strip. The Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference called for arms supplies to Israel to be 'cut off' and urged parishioners to lobby their local politicians. It said that during the month of June, all parishes on the island of Ireland are being asked to express their solidarity with the suffering of Palestinians. What is happening in Gaza – and the West Bank – is the death of tens of thousands of non-combatants, many of them women and children 'In Gaza people are starving and adequate aid is being denied; it seems clear that famine is being used as a weapon of war. Already over 600,000 Palestinians have been displaced,' it said. 'The evidence points to a staged strategy of ethnic cleansing aimed at removing the Palestinian people from their homes and their homeland. 'It is becoming increasingly clear to people on the ground that these are genocidal actions sanctioned by the Government of Israel.' Israel's 20-month military campaign in Gaza has killed nearly 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The military operation has destroyed vast areas of Gaza and displaced around 90% of its population, often multiple times over. A two-and-a-half-month blockade imposed by Israel when it ended a ceasefire with Hamas have raised fears of famine and a new Israeli and US-backed aid system has been marred by chaos and violence. There is an urgent need for the international community to intervene, cut off arms supplies and bring the carnage to an end 'What is happening in Gaza – and the West Bank – is the death of tens of thousands of non-combatants, many of them women and children,' the Irish bishops said. 'This is unconscionable and disproportionate. It is immoral for world leaders to stand by inactively in the face of this outrageous tragedy for humanity.' The bishops urged people to lobby their political representatives, support humanitarian aid and to pray for the conflict to end. It added: 'There is an urgent need for the international community to intervene, cut off arms supplies and bring the carnage to an end. 'This will call for courage on the part of leaders. Examples of courage are being given every day by heroic doctors, nurses and aid workers risking their lives in service of the wounded and those who have been displaced.' The statement, issued on Friday, quoted Pope Leo XIV from a general audience he gave on May 28, where he said parents in the Gaza Strip 'clutch the lifeless bodies of children and who are continually forced to move in search of a little food and safer shelter from bombing'. 'I renew my appeal to the leaders: ceasefire, release all hostages, fully respect humanitarian law.' Israel launched its military operation in Gaza after Hamas-led militants killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251 hostages on October 7 2023. The militants still hold 55 hostages — less than half of them believed to be alive — after more than half the captives were released during ceasefires or other deals. Read More Why is it so difficult to discuss genocide?
