I have come across senior citizens from Glencairn, Callanafersy, Keel and Castlemaine who wish to move to Killorglin town. They wish to be near the local shop, the post office, the church and the doctor. I have cases where senior citizens in Rathmore and Barraduff wish to move to Killarney town for the very same reasons. I have come across cases of senior citizens from Lispole, Anascaul and Ballyferriter who wish to move to Dingle town. I have also come across cases of individuals in Templenoe and Sneem who wish to…

“Housing and Critical Infrastructure” is a very appropriate heading for the motion as we cannot have housing without critical infrastructure. In my own county of Kerry, we are in the Dark Ages when it comes to critical infrastructure. The majority of villages in County Kerry do not have any wastewater treatment facilities. In the first week of December 2023, €6 million was announced by the Department for the Beaufort village sewerage scheme but it has not progressed since. I was recently informed that it will take …

Skellig Michael, where monks lived, worked and prayed hundreds of years ago, is a UNESCO World Heritage site. Its place in the history and culture of Kerry and Ireland is undisputed but it is also vital to the local economy of south Kerry, the Iveragh Peninsula and, indeed, the whole country. It attracts visitors from all over the world, even more so since the filming of the "Star Wars" series there in recent years. It is amazing for the local economy. The landing of passengers on the island requires a licence. At …

The question is to ask the Minister for Social Protection his plans to provide increased flexibility in the rural social scheme and if he will make a statement on the matter. The rural social scheme was introduced in the first instance by former Minister Éamon Ó Cuív in 2004. I pay tribute to him for that. Of course, he was the first ever full Cabinet Minister with a specific brief for rural Ireland. I wish to thank all the participants and their supervisors in County Kerry for the tremendous work they have carried…

I thank the Minister. I welcome the proposed increase in age limits. That is welcome. The scheme should now be made more flexible to include all people living in rural Ireland on low incomes. The RSS delivers to rural communities key community services including the maintenance of sporting facilities, community recreation areas and waymarked walking routes. Declining participation since 2019 is causing a concern that rural communities may be left without key community services. The report includes 19 recommendation…

Skellig Michael, or Sceilg Mhichíl, has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996. The rock on which monks lived, worked and prayed hundreds of years ago is named after the Archangel Michael. We all could do with a little help from him. Skellig Michael's place in the history and culture of Kerry and Ireland is undisputed but it is also vital to the local economy of south Kerry, Iveragh and the whole county. It attracts visitors from all over the world and even more so since the filming in recent years of some of…

I thank the Minister of State. I cannot emphasise strongly enough the importance of Skellig Michael opening on time to the tourism industry in my county. It is fair to say they are very concerned. Every day, there is obviously a loss of earnings, and I ask the Minister of State to engage with his colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kevin Boxer Moran, and ask that he do everything in his power to resolve this issue on time. I am aware of the legal proceedings but I am also acutely aware of the knock-on effect t…

I would like to address the issue of the national apprenticeship training placement system. I understand apprenticeship scheduling is currently carried out on a national basis by co-ordinating providers and all efforts are made to schedule apprentices to their nearest available training location. If this is not possible, they will be called to the next nearest available location. However, the system is restricted by the availability of training spaces within the pool of college providers for the craft in question. …

I thank the Minister for his detailed response and the work he is doing in this area. I would like to briefly mention Kerry ETB, of which I was a member for many years. I know first-hand the tremendous variety of courses provided there. I would like to take this opportunity to ask the Minister to increase the number of courses provided in all of our colleges, not just in Kerry but throughout the country. I believe that is important. I mentioned middle and low income earners and how difficult it is to pay for and ac…

There is a growing need for low-cost sites. It will help in addressing the housing crisis. It might not be the only solution but it will give young people a chance to secure their first home in every part of the country, especially in my county of Kerry. The area is under significant pressure, including around towns such as Killarney, Cahirsiveen, Killorglin and Castleisland. We have huge issues with planning. I like the idea the Minister mentioned about introducing a maverick. I hope he or she will be successful. …

Storm Éowyn caused enormous damage. We are all aware of the difficulties and hardships so many households, farmers and businesses experienced as a result of this unprecedented storm. The humanitarian assistance scheme introduced by the Minister, Dara Calleary, was most welcome. I thank him for that and for moving so swiftly. Extreme weather events are more common today than ever before. I welcome the fact that the programme for Government has a commitment to develop an extreme weather event assistance scheme for ho…

St. Francis Special School at Beaufort, County Kerry, is a fantastic facility. We should be striving to develop a centre of excellence there for respite facilities for children with special needs and all types of disability. These services are under threat throughout County Kerry. It was recently announced that day services at Cahersiveen, based in a building purchased by a local charity group there, Cúnamh Iveragh, are to be curtailed. The lands at Whitefield, Beaufort, were generously donated by the Doyle family …

-----the State a huge service. They have not had a break in several months, even for a night or two. Excellent services and facilities are on site, as well as suitable land for future and further development. Our ambition should be to develop a super respite centre in Beaufort. It is an ideal location in the heart of mid-Kerry.

As the Minister of State is aware, staffing and beds in all our hospitals is a huge issue. This is not just the case in our large acute hospitals but also in all our community hospitals, and West Kerry Community Hospital is no different. A provision was once made for 71 beds in West Kerry Community Hospital. It was capped at 36 beds, and there are only 42 open today, which means there should be room for a further 29 beds. GPs in Dingle and throughout west Kerry have been endeavouring to secure beds for patients thr…

I ask the Minister of State to get directly in touch with the Minister of State with responsibility for older people. The reply is pretty much the same as that received by the former Deputy for Kerry, Brendan Griffin, last January 12 months. It is not acceptable or fair on the staff in West Kerry Community Hospital, including the doctors and nurses, its patients and, indeed, the patients' families. I ask that every effort be made to open the 79 beds and to provide staffing levels. I referred to patients in Kenmare …

After years of campaigning, yesterday was a fantastic day for Kerry and Ireland, and especially for north Kerry, with the granting of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála to Shannon LNG for a 600 MW power plant on the Tarbert-Ballylongford land bank. It will create more than 1,000 jobs during construction and more than 100 permanent jobs thereafter. This decision is fully consistent with the climate action plan and will be a lifeline and game-changer for the north Kerry region, similar to the south Kerry greenwa…

I too congratulate the Minister on his recent appointment and wish him the very best going forward. Carers do great work and a provide a great service for the State. In that context, means-testing for the carer's allowance should be phased out. What are the Minister's plans for the phasing out of the means test?

Recent media reports suggest the cost of abolishing the means test for carer's allowance is in the region of €3 billion per annum. I understand that is the Department's own estimate. In the Minister's opinion, how definitive is this estimate? In March 2023, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the cost of fully abolishing the means test at €397 million. It also costed raising the income threshold so that all households earning under €100,000 would qualify for carer's allowance at €387 million. In 2024, the Par…

Following budget 2025, the carer's allowance income disregard will be increased to €625 for a single person and €1,250 for a couple from July 2025. How many additional carers are now likely to qualify on the basis of this change? Does the Minister intend to increase the disregard year on year, over five budgets?

We have two special education classes in Kerry for primary school children who are deaf or hard of hearing. However, there are no classes for second level students. I cannot understand how the Department of Education does not see that there is a need for continuation of supports for second level, particularly when students are faced with learning so many new subjects and also when they are at an age when, in terms of their mental health, they can struggle to cope with so many challenges. Every child is precious and…