I am glad to speak on this important Government Bill. It is important at this time as the country begins to open up for many operators that have been severely hit, including SMEs, tour operators in Kerry, hoteliers, restaurateurs and publicans. I have to pass a yard in Killarney when taking the Killarney bypass every day where over 90 buses have been parked without moving for almost a year and half. It is terrible. These people will need financial support to get off the ground and get going again. They created mass…

I am glad to have an opportunity to contribute on behalf of farmers and landowners throughout County Kerry on this very important issue. We have been hurt by designations before and no proper compensation was given to farmers. I have said previously in Dáil Éireann that it is a terrible thing when a farmer's house is broken into, perhaps when he or she is at mass, and money and possessions taken. Elderly farmers have been beaten in their homes and had their goods and money stolen. Something similar happens when the…

I will be very brief in concluding. I am asking the Minister of State not to ram designations down farmers' throats, nor do this behind their backs. I am asking that he give the people of Kerry and Ireland the chance to make submissions if maps are being produced and more land is going to be designated as SACs or whatever designation is being put on them. I am asking that people be advised of the implications this will have for planning permission and farming into the future. If the Minister of State does not do th…

It is not agreed. There is still a massive delay in the granting of felling licences. I am calling for a full debate to see if we can do something to help 12,000 people remain in their jobs. This Government has completely failed us in this regard and the forestry department is not doing its duty and is not granting felling licences. I am calling for full debate to see what we can do to help these people. Is the Taoiseach aware of what is happening or not happening? This is a serious issue. The forestry industry is …

The Taoiseach has not mentioned planning licences once in his response. He only wants to create an argument. I appeal to him to do something about the felling licences not being granted. The Taoiseach would like the Government to brush it all under the carpet. That is all the Taoiseach wants.

I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this very important matter. There is no doubt in the world but that we have benefited magnificently from Europe over the past 40 to 50 years. However, we are now at a crossroads and we may no longer get as much out of Europe as we would like. We are getting a lot of dictation and directives that are hurting people, including farmers and working-class communities. The climate change directives are pushing our society towards a radically different future that will make man…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very important motion. The Ministers for Finance and Housing, Local Government and Heritage know as well as everyone else that these investment firms are bidding against young couples for single houses and blowing them out of the market. That is wrong. The Ministers are saying they are going to rectify it and I hope they do that because they must. Young couples are facing many real obstacles to put a roof over their heads. First, there is the problem of getting planning p…

I want to bring to the Tánaiste's attention that there are almost 3,000 learner drivers waiting for a driver test in County Kerry. Since lorries and buses can do the theory test online, why can the theory test not be set up online for all vehicles? The Government is supposedly working with the Road Safety Authority, RSA, to get the theory test online for more than one year. Why is it taking more than one year to get this off the ground? Traditionally, farmers' sons and daughters could do their theory test when they…

I first thank Sinn Féin for putting this motion before us. It is very important that what happened last year - and each and every one of us remembers what happened last September - does not happen this year. The colleges were supposed to open and it was bad foresight by the Government, though I am not blaming any one Minister, that one week after the colleges were supposed to open, it was decided they were not opening at all. Many parents from all around the country had paid for their children's accommodation and t…

A Cheann Comhairle-----

On behalf of the fishermen of Kerry, I appeal to the Taoiseach to allocate more than 45 minutes for the debate. They are more than entitled to that anyway. They have been blackguarded for long enough.

It is not populist, it is the truth.

They have nobody standing up for them.

I am grateful for this opportunity. Each and every one of us knows there is not a man, woman or child who has not been affected by this pandemic whether mentally, financially or in another way. I refer especially to the mental effects. I will highlight one special thing to the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, and the other Minister of State, although Deputy Butler would have an advantage in this regard as she was very good in fighting the abortion Bill which affected unborn babies. The St. John of God group has be…

What about China?

It is the end of rural Ireland.

That is what it is: a Bill to finish rural Ireland.

The national herd will be reduced by 51%.

The Minister should tell the farmers that.

How much will the electricity be going up?