Are they not?

How can the Taoiseach make that assumption when no measurements have been taken?

I support this amendment, of course. We all know, as should the Minister, who deals with people as much as we do, that by increasing these taxes from next May, this will drive transport costs up. It will hurt people who are going to work in their cars and taking their children to schools. This will hurt people in rural Ireland more than in urban areas. People in rural areas need a car. They cannot travel without a car. The Minister for Transport and for the Environment, Climate and Communications said today that he…

It is happening in Killarney as well.

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about a few very important issues that I can address under the Social Welfare Bill. While I welcome the extension of the fuel allowance thresholds, I asked the Minister by way of a Topical Issue matter a year or so ago about those people who are left outside the scheme and do not qualify for it because they are on welfare benefits. For instance, a pensioner living with a cancer patient on illness benefit will not qualify for the fuel allowance. People on contributory payment…

I am glad to get the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very important motion. Every week, we seem to have a debate about housing. I am beginning to worry that the debate is mainly about the capital city or the largest cities. Places like Kerry, in particular rural Kerry, seem to be left behind as far as social housing is concerned. There are 171 vacant houses in County Kerry and in Killarney alone there are over 30. There are people who have been on the housing waiting list for 14, 1…

I welcome the children and the teachers who are visiting Dáil Éireann today. We hope that by the time they are sitting in these seats, things will be much better in our country. I put it to the Minister of State that since he, the Green Party, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael came to office in 2020, more things have closed down and more harm has been done than was the case under any other previous Government. The first thing they did was to close down Bord na Móna. The latter had its operations in the middle of the countr…

I wish to raise with the Taoiseach the recent influx of Ukrainian refugees and asylum seekers and the impact they may have on the tourism sector in County Kerry. Many are living in hotels in Killarney, Tralee, Ballybunion and other places. It is estimated that there are more than 6,000 in the county now, with almost 4,000 housed in hotels and guest houses in Killarney. Our town of Killarney is at capacity. If we are to look after our own people and the refugees and the asylum seekers who are already here properly, …

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply, but he did not answer me the question. Yes, we are in a war situation. I recognise that and everyone recognises that and we feel for the Ukrainian people. But we have an industry in Killarney that has taken generations to build up. Many hotels are taken up with refugees at the present time. I asked the Taoiseach a straight, honest question. How will he deal with the refugees who are supposed to leave those hotels by the end of February? What accommodation has he arranged for the…

When a person is being Garda vetted, I ask that the vetting be valid across the board for at least three to five years. It is ridiculous that some people have to be Garda vetted a number of times in any one year. There is so much time lost for someone who has secured and lined up a job and must then wait to be Garda vetted. It must be unduly cumbersome for the gardaí to operate this procedure repetitively. For example, take school bus drivers who when transferring from one operator to another have to be Garda vette…

As a politician, I am afraid I need it.

I too am glad of the opportunity to speak. I thank Sinn Féin for affording us the opportunity. I also thank all the firemen in the Gallery. I thank those who spoke to me outside the gates, some of whom were from Kerry. They had to go back because they are on duty tonight and have no way out of it. Another Kerry Deputy suggested that all the Kerry Deputies should support the firefighters. I can say to that Deputy that I have always supported the firefighters. I do not have to be told by him or anyone else to support…

I thank the Regional Group. Obviously, I support their motion. I want to raise something else with the Minister of State, Deputy Butler. It is urgent and needs to be addressed. I want to talk about a girl who has serious intellectual and physical disabilities. She has been in and out of St. Mary of the Angels for many years as a respite patient but since her father died over a year ago, she has been full-time in St. Mary of the Angels because her mother cannot care for her. This big, strong girl is nearly 40 years …

I have got permission. The only place this girl has to go now or where she is told she has to go is up to County Meath. There is no residential bed in Kerry for this girl. The HSE is saying that if her mother does not agree to this, it will take the mother to the High Court and make the girl a ward of court. This is very serious. Is this what the HSE is about? They say they are doing it for this decongregation model. They want to move her to County Meath. That is not acceptable. I am appealing to the Minister of St…

I have to indicate that I have had an involvement in water services and my family still do. I can honestly say I worked on repairing water leaks and water breaks in the middle of the night, Christmas Day and St. Patrick's Day. I appreciate those men. When the water goes out, they do everything to ensure it flows through the taps again.

I certainly do. I know what is involved for people such as Freddie Bartlett and all the people who work through the day and night. They know where every connection is, where every scour valve is and where everything is. They know the reservoirs. They know how to get them flowing and operating. We really have to appreciate these men. They are worried about their future because of what is happening and being forced to cross over to Irish Water. They started with Kerry County Council and they should finish out their t…

I have as much as you anyway on my head. It would be a miser who would argue between the difference of how much hair either of us have.

The purpose of this Bill is to make amendments to the Credit Guarantee Act 2012 to support the needs of businesses to access additional finance. According to the Government, the intention is to respond to the economic difficulties resulting from the aggression against Ukraine by Russia by creating a specific Ukraine credit guarantee scheme. However, the problem with rising energy prices started long before the war in Ukraine, which started around 26 February. The skyrocketing Irish energy prices are largely caused …

I am glad to have the opportunity to offer my sincere sympathies to the families of the bereaved, their friends, relations everywhere and the entire community of Creeslough and Donegal. I sympathise on behalf of my entire family and the people of Kerry and send our sincerest sympathies to everyone. I pay tribute to elected members in Dáil Éireann and in Donegal and those who helped in every way. When this unspeakable tragedy happened, Irish people all over the country and the world were horrified. We never dreamed …

I thank Sinn Féin for this highly relevant motion on an issue we are all concerned about. Elderly people have a natural desire to stay in their homes as long as they can. It would surely benefit the State if they could be treated and minded in their homes as they should be. Many elderly people have a fear of going into a nursing home or a long-stay hospital bed because they fear it is the departure lounge they are going into. They dread that. There is humanity in people. I have had several people call me to say the…