I raise again the issue of flooding in Cromane, which the Minister of State visited, and coastal erosion in Rossbeigh. In Killorglin town, at Lower Bridge Street, properties are being affected by flooding on a regular basis. I was contacted recently about the area at the fishery which is subject to flooding as well. We need help and I know the Minister of State has said time and again that there is plenty of money available. I hope Kerry County Council is engaging with the Minister of State regarding these areas. F…

I raise the matter of compensation ceilings currently in place for tuberculosis, TB, reactors. I am acutely aware of the emotional and financial impacts of bovine TB on farmers and their families. An outbreak of TB can be soul-destroying. The on-farm market valuation scheme is the principal compensation measure available to farmers who experience a TB outbreak in their herd. The scheme aims to compensate farmers up to the open market value of the animal. The compensation under the on-farm market valuation scheme is…

I want to raise a number of urgent school issues affecting school principals, teachers, children and parents across County Kerry. In an urban primary school in Killarney, Presentation Monastery National School, more than 85% of pupils do not speak English at home, with 44 nationalities among the 170 pupils. Despite this, there is no DEIS primary school in the Killarney area. Over the past two years, the school has lost two English-language teaching posts and a full SNA, which severely impacts its ability to support…

-----St. Brendan's College in Killarney, which the Taoiseach has seen for himself. It requires tens of millions in funding for redevelopment.

There are a number of issues there.

It is fair to say there is huge disquiet with regard to this issue. Farmers across the country, and indeed at home in Kerry, are very angry. It is fair to say we pride ourselves on the quality of our beef and the high standards we set. Farmers have been subjected to onerous inspections regularly. I appreciate that there have been a number of calls for the chairman of Bord Bia to resign. I think the right thing to do at this stage is to wait and see what develops tomorrow at the agriculture committee meeting, but it…

I wish to raise a number of issues in Kerry that I have raised previously in this Chamber, starting with the road realignment and footpath out from Laune bridge in Killorglin out as far as the Fexco research, development and innovation, RDI, hub at Anglont on the Killorglin-Killarney road. This campaign by the residents is going on for at least 40 years now. It was going on in my father's time. Residents there, Kerry County Council officials and all politicians in Kerry are frustrated beyond belief that this is tak…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill and to place on record the very real pressures facing families and childcare providers across County Kerry. While affordability is often discussed, the fundamental issue for many families is access. Quite simply, childcare places are not available. Parents contact my office daily to say that they are on multiple waiting lists and that there are no places coming up. This is having a serious knock-on effect. Parents cannot either return to work or increase their hours. …

I commend the Minister and his junior Ministers on the tireless work they are doing on the housing crisis. Will the Minister provide funding to Kerry County Council to construct modular homes as part of the solution for social and affordable housing? Will the Minister allow Kerry County Council to grant planning permission to individuals and families who wish to construct a modular home? Will the Minister roll out a scheme of low-cost sites across County Kerry?

In every corner of County Kerry today, there are individuals, couples and families who wish to build or buy a family home. Even though they are in good jobs, they cannot get a mortgage big enough to buy or build. These are nurses in University Hospital Kerry, teachers, members of an Garda Síochána, employees of good companies like Liebherr and Fexco in Killorglin, etc. Constituents who I am meeting on a daily basis are telling me they would be more than happy with a modular home. A good quality modular home will la…

We must give an opportunity to those on middle incomes. They are caught between social housing and being able to afford to build their own homes. I believe the modular home is a solution. Low-cost sites are an incentive there as well to help these people get on the property ladder. To achieve this, yet again, as I mentioned, we have over 40 unsewered villages in County Kerry and a number of others that are at capacity; we need to provide wastewater treatment in these areas. Again, I am emphasising that constructed …

I am going to raise the matter of constructed wetlands again. I have been hammering this issue for quite some time now as a member of Kerry County Council and since I have been elected to Dáil Éireann. We have numerous estates all over Kerry that have huge problems with wastewater treatment. We have over 40 villages in Kerry that are unsewered. We have many more that are at capacity, including my own one in Glenbeigh. The south Kerry greenway received €9.2 million the other day to progress the works there. We opene…

Home support services are vital for our older people, people with disabilities and their families. They allow individuals to live independently in their communities and their homes and help to reduce pressure on hospitals and residential care settings. Despite ongoing investment, the home support system in Ireland is facing deepening challenges that require urgent policy attention and sustained resourcing. It is fair to say that the majority of us wish to keep our loved ones at home for as long as possible. Today, …

The importance of public transport and connectivity in rural areas cannot be emphasised strongly enough. In that regard, I acknowledge the tremendous work of Alan O'Connell, manager of Kerry Local Link, and his staff. As a councillor, I called a number of years ago for a hop-on, hop-off bus service on the Ring of Kerry. Today, thankfully, there are several buses going in both directions but there is a great need for additional routes. The tender process for the Killarney to Mallow route is complete and we await fun…

We have been informed that Irish Water is to receive the biggest investment in public infrastructure in the history of the State. That is obviously very welcome. I have been calling for many years, as a councillor and since being elected as a TD for Kerry, for constructed wetlands to be built in our towns and villages. Over 40 of our villages in Kerry are unsewered. Many more are at capacity. Constructed wetlands are quick and efficient and are a much cheaper and easy way to install a system of treating wastewater …

The need for short-term lets for visitors to our shores cannot be underestimated in the make-up of the ideal mix of accommodation types to ensure that everybody has a full choice and range to decide from. We need long-term and short-term lets. There is no doubt about that. We need all sorts of accommodation. Restricting any type, such as short-term lets, is a detrimental move. We should encourage more of all types. Kerry is the premier tourist county in Ireland. Killarney is the best tourist town in the country. Lo…

Without the mix in accommodation and flexibility, many people would stay away, despite our fabulous food and stunning scenery offering from Kerry to Donegal. We need to be very careful that we do not kill the golden goose by legislating tourism accommodation providers out of the market. To fill the shortage of all types of lets, we need more premises. This is being addressed with the vacant and derelict property grants. I believe this will grow and can be sped up with more supports, such as with the expected invest…

I thank the Minister. Legitimate businesses should be allowed to carry on. Other tactics need to be employed to encourage and attract people into offering long-term letting. I again call for a planning waiver. The Minister has touched on it there. Many of those with whom I deal in Killarney, Dingle, Kenmare and all of the towns in Kerry such as Killorglin, Tralee, Castleisland, Listowel and Cahersiveen, believe if they apply for planning permission, be it short-term or long-term, it could actually be refused. That …

The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, will know that I live by a lovely beach at Rossbeigh in south Kerry. The Minister of State did us the honour of visiting us on his second last trip to Kerry. We are plagued by coastal erosion, storms and damage to our coastline. Since the Minister of State was down with us, we have had a high tide and the public road down by the beach was closed off for a number of days. If we do not get funding fairly soon the play area, including the playground and the tennis court, will be da…

I was co-opted onto Kerry County Council in January 1990 following the untimely passing of my father. My very first motion was in regard to coastal erosion. That day I referenced Rossbeigh and Cromane. It is ironic that I am speaking all these years later about the same areas. I acknowledge the money that has been spent over the years, but we are talking about now. We are talking about the present and the future. It is like the old saying that a stitch in time saves nine. Again, I am pleading with the Minister of S…