I want to add my voice to the call for more vaccinations. We all appreciate that home helps and people on the front line have to be vaccinated first but I want people to be aware of the number of businesses whose doors are closed in County Kerry and in the town of Killarney, which has not a light in it. The Taoiseach is at the wheel. He is the Taoiseach of the country and is the Head of the Government. I ask that he rescues and salvages the tourism industry for the people in Kerry and all around the Ring of Kerry a…

I am very concerned about the cut in quotas for our fishermen. I see a noticeable reduction in the number of lorries going through Kilgarvan village from Castletownbere. They traditionally travelled that way every evening and night. There has already been a serious reduction in traffic on that route. Many businesses throughout the County of Kerry have contacted me regarding problems with data protection in respect of goods they have traditionally sourced from the UK which they are having brought in by couriers and …

As we all know, the coronavirus has wrecked our country. People have lost their lives, jobs and businesses and the whole country has been totally disrupted. This virus was and is reported to have originated in Wuhan in China. The WHO, to which our Government or the previous Government gave €9.5 million, sought to go into Wuhan before the end of last year and was refused. It was told it would not be let in until, perhaps, 31 January or perhaps not even then. What investigations have taken place or what has the Taois…

I am glad to get two minutes to talk about this sorrowful saga, which has gone on for many years in our State. First, I ask, like others, who leaked the report. Was it strategy by the Government? How did it happen? Who leaked it and who was given copies of it? I welcome the State and other bodies saying they are sorry but I believe the law of the land should be applied wherever it can be in any cases that need to be remedied or sorted out. To go back only a few years, we saw how willing was the State to get involve…

I wish to add my voice to the call for vaccines and vaccination as soon as possible for each and every person on our island. All patients and front-line staff in public homes that house those with physical and mental disabilities, such as the Cheshire home, Deer Lodge and Cherryfield House in Killarney, should be vaccinated sooner rather than later. The workers who are doing such great work should be vaccinated as soon as possible. Home helps and carers who are in and out of the homes of the elderly and who do grea…

I thank our front-line workers in Kerry who did massive work in our hospitals and nursing homes. Anywhere they were required, they did their level best and did Trojan work. I have to say to the Minister that people have been dying from things other than the coronavirus. People with cancer and people with hip and knee difficulties and so on have been left behind to suffer in pain. In time the tale will be told of the damage and neglect that has been meted out to these people. Elderly and sick people in their homes h…

The Taoiseach and the Government continuously advise people to buy electric cars. They tell us that we have to do it. I know of one girl in Killarney, among several others, who bought an electric car. She lives in a housing estate. She has asked for a kerbside charging point because she has a lead coming out of her letter box which crosses the public footpath. She is afraid that she will be liable if someone trips or something happens with the lead on the public footpath. The council indicated it would provide a gr…

Why is the Government not telling people the truth?

Why is it trying to con the people into buying electric cars?

This woman is not concerned by the Taoiseach's opinion.

That is not a matter for the Taoiseach.

I am glad of the opportunity to speak on this very important topic and I thank the two Deputies involved for giving us the opportunity to debate it. It is very important that we all recognise the fact that an atom bomb or nuclear weapon could end all of the talk and all of the work in seconds if it was deployed near us or even far from us. Pope Francis expressed his horror at the effects of the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima. He said that, "We must never grow weary of working to support the principal internationa…

What provision is being made for the third level students who had paid accommodation fees before the announcement that the colleges would not reopen? Many have not been refunded accommodation fees that have been paid for the period up to Christmas. Will the Minister make a statement on the matter? What is the Minister's advice to third level students for the coming college semester? Should they pay for accommodation until the summer? Will they be refunded if colleges do not reopen for lectures on campus?

I thank the Minister. The question still needs to be answered. Are students advised to go to college? They might not be allowed to go to college in the coming semester. The Minister is telling parents not to pay for student accommodation while we are under level 3 restrictions. That must be made clear to them. Many parents had more income in 2019 than this year because of the coronavirus. With less work or no work, they have less money or no money. We must be honest with them. Another question also remains. Will th…

I thank the Minister. As he says, whether to pay is up to the parents. It is likely that the colleges will not open and will remain as they were from October to Christmas, unless we go to level 2 or level 1. We need to be honest with people. As I said, this is especially true in Kerry, where parents and students are very far away from colleges in Limerick, Galway, Cork and Waterford. Parts of Kerry are even very far away from Tralee. They need to know what is happening. The Minister has clearly said that the colleg…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for giving us the opportunity to talk about this Bill. We really wish to do so. I thank the Sinn Féin Party for bringing the Bill before us. Speaking honestly, it deals with one of the biggest problems any elected public representative has, whether a Member of Dáil Éireann, a county councillor or whatever. Housing is the big issue of the day and ensuring people have a roof over their head is a very laudable aspiration. One of the issues I have been raising for quite a while is the …

I am glad to get the opportunity to raise with the Taoiseach problems that exist for people wishing to obtain planning - the basic right to put a roof over their heads - and the guidelines that planners have to recognise that allow young people to get planning permission. I am also glad to get the opportunity to highlight the problem that we have with one or two serial objectors in Kerry. Even though Kerry County Council grants permission, this person appeals it to An Bord Pleanála and it always seems to happen tha…

Except that they are not there.

We have a problem in that many people cannot get planning permission because of designations. In a case in Belgium seven or eight years ago, the judge decided it was wrong to have designations blocking people from getting planning permission. That judgment is there and it will be contested at some stage by someone. The Government is leaving itself open to that. There is a problem in weaker rural areas. In the case of my own road from Loo Bridge to Morley's Bridge, which is 4 or 5 miles long, there were 16 or 17 fam…

The virus has shown that it is safer to work and live in rural areas than in flats or apartments in this city or other cities. The Government has been promising for four or five years to bring in new guidelines. Where are those guidelines?