It would have been just a renewal if it had been nine years.

I want to raise again with the Taoiseach the savage increase in the cost of fertiliser. I did this before on 3 November last. I want to know what the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Taoiseach and the Government have done to get the price of fertiliser down to an acceptable or reasonable price for small suckler farmers in south Kerry and for dairy producers and tillage farmers in mid and north Kerry. This time last year urea was €330 a tonne. It is now €930 a tonn…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply but I am not satisfied that we are helping farmers with their current plight. I am asking him to ensure that the anti-dumping levy is withdrawn. That would account for at least €40 or €50 per tonne. I am asking the Government to subsidise the cost of the fertiliser. If we look far enough ahead, we will see that the current situation will increase the cost of food as well. If the cost to the farmer of what he or she produces increases, who will pay for it only the consumer? The Dá…

Will the Government subsidise fertiliser?

I plead with the Taoiseach to open up visits for family members to patients in hospitals. They need family members for personal care and to advocate for them. Patients will only confide in their own. Old people are lonely and this is the one thing that happened with the virus. Many of these people died alone. They miss their family members after working hard all their lives. Everything else has opened up and that is fine. This is inhumane. It can be done safely. I offer my heartfelt sympathy to the family of Pádrai…

We have all heard about the damning report on CAMHS that was published this morning. It is public now. The parents and children involved have known about this for much longer. As an elected Member from Kerry, I apologise to the families, the parents and the children. They did nothing wrong and everything right. They went to seek help and they did not get proper help. They were let down badly. We learned that 1,332 files were reviewed and that the treatment of 227 children was considered risky. These children suffer…

I apologise again to the children and their parents as a Deputy from Kerry. They are my friends and neighbours, and it is very sad what has been done to them. I tell the Minister of State that this can never happen again.

There is not a shadow of doubt that suicide is linked to insufficient mental health care services. I ask the Minister of State to acknowledge that point.

I am glad to get an opportunity speak about a few important matters. I have also been contacted by many people, including friends from Donegal and Mayo, who asked me to ensure the Government gives 100% compensation to these people whose houses are falling down around them. Many of these people do not know where they will be next Christmas night or if they will be with their families. This is going on long enough. I support Deputies Dillon, Calleary, McHugh and Mac Lochlainn, and I am sure the Minister, Deputy McCon…

On behalf of the many students in Kerry who have my phone reddened, I ask that they be given a choice this year. In 2020, I asked the then Minister, Deputy Joe McHugh, the very same question and he responded. I believe I was the first to ask that students be given a choice. The Covid-19 virus is not yet finished and teachers and pupils could miss more time. This set of students missed three months last year and they also missed time in the autumn because teachers and pupils were missing. I ask the Minister to pleas…

I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the opportunity and proper time to debate this important matter of women’s rights and protection. I want to commiserate with and convey my heartfelt sympathies to the family of Ashling Murphy, and to her boyfriend, friends, class and extended musical family all over the country. It was such a terrible act and no words can describe it. It was horrible, dreadful, terrible and unacceptable. It is awful to think that thugs can carry out these kinds of depraved acts and kill a beautiful g…

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this important Bill. This baby pain relief Bill is crucial to ensure that any baby with a heartbeat does not have to endure or feel pain while being aborted or killed and denied the right to make their way into this world. There are several other pressing problems and issues we should be highlighting on behalf of communities that are let down and under constant attack from the three Government parties. They concern people who need medical interventions, farmers, hauliers,…

I hear the Ministers talking about planting native trees but they have the forestry industry finished. For a long time, it thought it was the case that Department officials were lagging. Others thought that objectors were causing the delay in the issuing of felling licences. However, I now honestly feel that it is the Government and these Ministers that have the whole thing completely finished. I always say what it is in my head and I honestly believe the Ministers do not want spruce to be cut, planted or re-plante…

Part of the Bill relates to ensuring money can be rolled over from projects that are not completed or carried out in the current year and transferred to the following year. I am putting in my stake in respect of any moneys left over. There are 676 local improvement schemes on a list below in Kerry. Last year, 11 of them were done and 19 were done this year. It is totally unfair on those people. Of the 676 schemes, there are 90 or so old applications going back as far as 2006 or 2007 that were lumped in with the app…

I do not see the other Deputy but he will probably arrive. I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach for this opportunity to speak. The first thing I wish to raise with the Minister is the issue of masks which have been ordered in for children in schools. Many parents are very hurt and concerned because even yesterday morning and this morning, many mothers have spoken to me to say that they cannot get the exemption letter from their doctors. As the Members may know, doctors in Kerry are very busy and sick elderly people …

That is all right but this is very serious. The Government has not spoken to the GPs and I am being told that no one has given them direction. They are only hearing about these requests on the radio, the media, the television, or whatever and that is not fair to that profession. These are professional people doing a professional job and they are at the pin of their collar to look after their communities and sick people. The Minister for Education said clearly yesterday on Radio Kerry that children over nine years o…

I am glad to get the opportunity today to raise this and ask the Tánaiste for increased funding to deal with local improvement scheme applications in Kerry next year. It is only just around the corner. Some 678 schemes are on the list and were applied for in 2018. More than 90 of them are on a list since 2007 and were included in the 2018 scheme. These are public roads which were never taken in charge by the local authority. They are not private roads. Some 20 or more homes are on many of these roads and nine or mo…

I thank the Tánaiste. In the past, we did 111 roads in two consecutive years. Kerry County Council has the capacity to deal with any funding that is left over and all the Deputies from Kerry will work together. I have raised this matter several times. If we only get 19 roads done every year, it will take us 35 or 36 years to get through the 678 roads left on the list. There are places like Kilcummin, Gneeveguilla, Scartaglin, Currow, Currans, Farranfore and Firies and all around south Kerry with multiple roads to b…

I know most of them.

We did not get the money.