I thank Sinn Féin for this important motion. I want to add a bit to what Michael has said about St. Mary of the Angels. I was amazed to see the Minister of State shake her head when we said this place is being closed down. It is being closed down by stealth. I will ask her one question. If someone applies today to go in there for long-term care, is there a bed for them? There is not.

There is not one extra new person being taken in there for the past eight or nine years.

There was one, and she knows the battle I had to do. Imagine one for all of Kerry. This is a vital place. It needs to be remodelled or added to. I am sorry. We need to build separate residential units on the campus. There are no respite places in Kerry for elderly parents who may have an elderly son or daughter. The only place I was offered for that very special person about whom I was concerned when her father died and her mother could not care for her, was in County Meath, up against the Six Counties. Her mother …

I have a question for the Minister as well. He seems to be doing a lot of work in cost rental and affordable homes for tenants. It does not seem to be manifesting itself in Kerry. The question I have to ask the Minister is about tenant purchase schemes, people who wish to purchase their own local authority house. They cannot purchase it if the house was built after 2015. That is what is happening in Kerry. The other thing we are looking for is that first-time buyers qualify for the first-time buyer's grant for a se…

We have an hour for this debate.

That is if we will be here.

You may not be aware that the restriction is there for houses built after 2015. They are not allowed to buy them.

I am glad to get the opportunity to say a few words on this Bill. If I was to really speak about everything, it would take a whole week. I know we do not have that kind of time, however. I am worried about this Bill because I am wondering, first of all, who this planning commissioner is going to be? I am worried about the erosion of the role of county councillors, who are elected by the people. Who is this individual? Where does he come from? Who is he elected by? Who will be controlling him? We have seen different…

-----asked, on behalf of the councillors, to put forward amendments to, we will say, the county development plan. The regulator then comes along, whom I do not know and no one in Kerry knows nor does he understand their problems. When we look to get a bit of serviced land zoned, what happens? The regulator sends an addendum to the chief executive telling the councillors to withdraw whatever they had proposed and that the regulator will only consider whatever his views are. One of the things the regulator has done i…

Will the Minister clarify what power is being given to somebody in respect of telecommunications masts? Will he also clarify the issue relating to acquiring land along the sea by compulsory purchase order, CPO? It is something about acquiring land, in any event, one way or another. On a third issue, which will apply to many people, will the Minister explain how there are places with masts where people have not had RTÉ cover for more than eight years and the Government is still demanding they pay for a TV licence? W…

People are being taken to court for not having a TV licence, and they have no cover whatsoever.

I would like clarification on something the Minister said about giving power to the Minister of the day, I assume, to increase the height of masts. I know of two places in Kerry where this applies. In Kilgarvan, a mast is adjacent to the school, and in Inch, there is one adjacent to a private house. It is only feet away from the house and the people have objected to it. Is this to allow masts to go higher without giving people a proper chance to raise concerns about them? This is what happened in both those places …

I am not happy with that. As I understand it, the administering of a section 5 declaration meant the local authority and its elected members had a say. This will give over the say to the Minister of the day. Is that correct?

I will defer for a while because it is not exactly -----

It may not be entirely relevant but everything to do with agriculture is very important. I am asking the Minister what he thinks about what went on by RTÉ last night trying to vilify a family that is exporting calves and playing a vital role in the well-being of marts around the country by bidding and competing for cattle. What is wrong? Why is RTÉ allowed do this? One Department is affecting another and trying to hurt the viability of agriculture-----

-----especially in our county. What RTÉ tried to do was vilify the Hallissey family. That was wrong. I have serious objections to that. What is the Minister’s view on the matter? This is very important.

Many businesses and people in Killarney and elsewhere in Kerry are very disappointed that VAT was not reduced in the budget. The failure to do this has traumatised a lot of people. Indeed, in College Street, Killarney, last Saturday morning, a man came over to the door of my car in the pouring rain to highlight his disappointment. Many businesses were clinging on and hoping they would get this boost in the budget but they did not. Restaurants, bars, sweet shops, souvenir shops, hairdressers - many of these are unde…

We are on the back foot all the time trying to get funding for roads. The Killarney bypass has been going on for over 24 years. I am asking the Taoiseach to put money into this next year. People are parked in their cars on all the roads into Killarney. The Blackwater Bridge Road from Blackwater Bridge to Sneem was built for horses and carts 200 years ago. What was done? A cycleway was built for 1 km in the middle of the Ring of Kerry, coming from nowhere. There is no cycle path coming to it or going out of it. That…

The squandering of billions of euro on migrants, bicycle sheds, huts, phone pouches-----

Millions of euro is given to RTÉ and no funding at all for independent radio.