The Minister of State will be delighted to know that I am substituting for Deputy Higgins on this question, which relates to the waiting times for driving tests. In 2020, Covid created a massive problem in this area and massive backlogs, but we have not seen the type of progress that we would have liked to have seen in clearing those backlogs. The regular issues that I have to deal with in my office are from constituents who badly need to have full licences for work, for education and for other reasons. We do not h…

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome the fact that this issue is now on his radar and that measures are being taken to address the problem. I remember working as Jimmy Deenihan's parliamentary assistant back in the early 2000s. At that stage, trying to get driving tests for people who needed their licences for the purposes of work was a real problem. It improved for a while, but it has greatly regressed in recent years. I acknowledge the efforts that have been made. Deputy Higgins's question related to the poss…

I commend the Tánaiste for the work he has done on this issue. He has represented the country on this matter with distinction, particularly since 7 October. His recent visit to the Middle East helped. The situation is very difficult. I condemn the depravity we have seen from Hamas and the Israeli response, which involves the indiscriminate killing of so many thousands of people, particularly children, over the past number of weeks. The approach taken by the Tánaiste and the approach he is advocating at European lev…

I want to thank Deputy Devlin for putting this question. It is very important that we keep up our support of Ukraine at national and at EU level, particularly with the developments in the Middle East. Perhaps the attention and focus is not on the Ukrainian situation as much as it might have been for the 18 months prior to that but it is vitally important that we continue to advocate, support and do everything we possibly can to assist Ukraine in its need at the moment. We must maintain that support throughout 2024 …

On behalf of the people of Kerry, I express my shock and revulsion at what happened to those little children and their carer on Thursday. I thank the people who came to their assistance - Ireland's finest. I also acknowledge the emergency workers who came under attack from Ireland's worst. I thank the brave men and women of An Garda Síochána who repelled those attacks and brought order back to the streets on Thursday night. Let us be clear: this is not the fault of the Minister, An Garda Síochána or the Government.…

I did not realise four questions would be skipped. I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for her discretion; I appreciate it. I ask the Minister to update the House on the efforts to provide a new advance facility in Kerry Technology Park and to create jobs in County Kerry.

I thank the Minister for the update. When County Kerry is included with Cork city and county in those south-west figures, the lack of foreign direct investment, proportionately, in County Kerry often gets masked. It is important to acknowledge that Kerry does not punch as heavily as we should and we need to widen our economic base. We depend too much on the tourism and hospitality sector for employment in the county and we need to spread that. That is why I am raising this matter. It is important that we have a new…

The news about Astellas is fantastic. I look out my kitchen window every morning at Astellas across Castlemaine Harbour. The fact that it will now also locate in Tralee is fantastic news for the county. I will point out three things to the Minister. First, the previous advance facility has not worked to date. Nobody has worked in that site to date and no one is working there this morning. The Minister needs to revisit that because it is not good enough. A significant amount of Exchequer funding was put in to develo…

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the case of Cabot Financial Ireland. A quick look at its website introduces you to Sean Webb, Rachel Brown, Niall Sorohan, Gerard Clear, Tom Dillon and Michael Webb. These people are hounding a man of almost 80 years of age in my constituency for the balance of an old debt going back more than 15 years. This man is almost 80 years of age and in poor health. Through its solicitors, Belgard Solicitors, Cabot is writing to this man, threatening him with High Court proceedings. This t…

The case was settled.

Pepper Finance recently wrote to some mortgage holder to inform them that the interest rate on their mortgages is increasing. In one case with which I am dealing, the rate is rising from 8.74% to 9.24%. That is more than double the ECB base rate. This is a disgrace, it is scandalous and it is putting people who are already experiencing enormous pressure under significant mental and financial strain. It is not right. I am asking the Minister to get in touch with C. Ryan, I. Wigglesworth, J. Farrelly, K. Desmond or A…

I thank the Minister for her response. If I heard her correctly, she said more than 3,000 roads nationwide are on lists.

By my estimation, almost one in five of those are in County Kerry. I constantly meet people who were down at 500 or 600 on the list. At the current rate of approximately 25 a year, the Minister and I will probably be long gone from this House by the time those roads are reached. Something needs to be done to address that. I drove around my own parish of Keel last weekend. I drove up a few little roads around Leasa Buí, Boolteens, Gortaneden and Caherfealane. Some of the roads are in dire condition. The people livin…

She has allocated €30 million this year, on which she has to be commended, but the Department of Transport really needs to look at itself.

Tá an scéim seo go han-tábhachtach do bhóithre áitiúla. Tá na daoine atá ina gcónaí ar na bóithre seo ag fanacht rófhada ar fad, go háirithe i gContae Chiarraí, in áiteanna cosúil le Corca Dhuibhne. Tá níos mó airgid ag teastáil uainn, agus caithfidh an Roinn Iompair airgead a thabhairt don Roinn Forbartha Tuaithe agus Pobail chun na bóithre seo a fheabhsú. Níl sé ceart go leor ar chor ar bith. Tá na daoine ag fanacht rófhada agus tá siad ag íoc a gcuid cánach ach níl na seirbhísí ag teacht ar ais. Caithfimid an có…

Yes, I am substituting for Deputy Farrell. I thank the Minister for what she has done to date, including on the local improvement schemes. She has somehow found money and pumped it into the town and village renewal scheme, which is very important. I remember that in my time in the House between 2011 and 2016 one could not get a penny for anything like this. There was not even a remote chance of getting the type of funding that is now available. In the summer, I looked at the broad range of criteria for the 2023 tow…

I hope there will be a few bob left over for Kerry after Mayo gets sorted out because covering all of those projects could blow the whole budget. The importance of this scheme cannot overstated given that it would just not be possible otherwise to generate this type of finance in the towns and villages that benefit from it. Some relatively small villages are included and this investment can have a transformative effect in terms of the opportunities it provides in villages and towns. It is very much a catalyst for f…

I thank the Taoiseach for coming to Cork yesterday to open the final phase of the Baile Bhuirne to Baile Mhic Íre road improvement scheme. The entire section from Baile Bhuirne to the far side of Macroom has now been upgraded. It is a fantastic piece of infrastructure and one for which we campaigned for a very long time. However, in terms of the economic corridor between Tralee and Cork city, the section from Coolcour, which is on the Cork side of Macroom, to Ovens, which is on the near side of Ballincollig, and th…

The response to the budget in Kerry over the weekend was overwhelmingly positive on most fronts. Most people were very happy with the measures contained therein. However, one of the sectors I received many calls from over the weekend was the tourism sector. I heard from employers, people working in the sector and operators and there was a lot of concern that tourism is no longer a priority for this Government. That is something that needs to be tackled. Can the Taoiseach reassure people in the sector that the indus…

The N22 Farranfore to Killarney project is long awaited and long overdue. It is a vital project, not just for the alleviation of traffic within the Killarney town area but also for regional connectivity, connecting our county town of Tralee safely to County Cork. There has been great progress made on the N22 between Ballyvourney-Macroom and on to Cork city but that section of connection from Tralee to Killarney is badly in need of upgrade. There seems to be an ideological allergy to tarmacadam in certain parts of t…