The Minister was dealt a devastating blow in the lead-up to Christmas as the much anticipated Bill was suddenly put on hold, causing embarrassment and humiliation. The former Attorney General, Paul Gallagher, single-handedly scuttled the Bill with a legal opinion that confirmed to many that it was dead in the water. In a scathing report, the Irish Farmers' Journal exposed the shoddy and haphazard nature of the legislative and consultative process surrounding this Bill, highlighting the inefficiency and incompetence…

The cost of living is pushing people to the edge. In my constituency that is what they tell me in my clinics during the weekends and over the phone, as many more have said tonight. Electricity and fuel are at exorbitant prices. The Government has done nothing to make sure that that does not impact the people. Businesses are struggling. The Government must signal to the tourism and hospitality sector that it will extend the 9% VAT rate currently applied to the industry. The rate is due to increase to 13.5% in March.…

I am asking this question on behalf of Deputy Danny Healy-Rae. I send my sincere sympathies to Deputies Danny and Michael Healy-Rae on the death of their uncle, Dinny Healy-Rae, a hard-working gentleman who left our shores for New Jersey 60 years ago. He was 90 years of age when he passed away yesterday. The question is short. What alternative accommodation does the Minister have in mind for the Ukrainian refugees in Killarney and Kerry, given that the tourist season is beckoning?

I thank the Minister for his reply. The situation in Kerry is very worrying. I have heard a lot about it on Radio Kerry and from Deputy Danny Healy-Rae and other Deputies. It is also very worrying in County Cork, where I come from. The tourism season is starting soon and we are trying to promote tourism and continue to do so. It is quite possible that hotels will want to cease their contractual involvement and it is not clear from the Minister's answer that steps have been taken to make sure that the Ukrainians who…

I thank the Minister for his reply. He is talking about a huge number of people who have taken up stays in hotels because of the crisis that we are in. These are legitimate people. There are people coming into this country who are undocumented who, as far as I am concerned, should not be in this country. No one should be in this country unless he or she is fully documented. If I was leaving this country to go to another country, that is the way it would be for me, and in most cases it is. In this situation, unfortu…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle and Sinn Féin for this motion. I fully support any calls for specific measures to provide mortgage interest relief for homeowners. For example, a scheme could and urgently should be designed to provide temporary relief for homeowners facing financial hardship, or to help first-time buyers get on to the property ladder. The scheme could also target certain groups of homeowners, such as those with low incomes or those who are struggling to meet their mortgage payments due to changes …

Fuel excise duty reductions are due to expire later this month. When they were announced last year, they took 20 cent per litre off petrol, 15 cent off diesel, and 2 cent off green tractor diesel. Families are struggling. Many of them are on the edge and sick with worry at the end of every week about where they will find the money to pay exorbitant energy bills, or pay to put food on the table for their families. Farmers and fishermen are also under considerable pressure as they struggle to pay everyday bills in or…

The lack of mental health services in Ireland is having a significant impact on people with mental health problems. Many people must wait months or even years to access services, which can be detrimental to their mental health and well-being. Due to a shortage of mental health professionals, many children are not able to access the care they need when they need it or are able to access only limited care. The lack of mental health services can contribute to the stigmatisation of mental illness, as people may feel as…

We are going to lose the beds permanently. The decision has been made and it was not appealed. There has been a continuous lack of investment in the mental health unit in Bantry hospital by government after government. We are going to lose three beds permanently now because the appeal is not going to go ahead.

The Minister of State should make an announcement or put it in writing that there will be no loss of beds in Bantry General Hospital mental health unit. If she does, she will be a hero.

The Minister of State will be the first person I will praise in west Cork if that is the case, but that is the announcement that the HSE made. I was told the HSE would appeal it, but the decision was not appealed when it went to court and now we are left in a situation where there will be a reduction in beds.

What plans is the Minister's Department putting in place to give relief to the hotel sector at this time with the ongoing energy crisis?

I thank the Minister for her reply. Many of the hotels in west Cork are closed at present due to energy costs and overheads. Those who are not housing refugees, and many hotels in west Cork do not, cannot afford to open their doors. I am pleading on their behalf. I see that they are closed Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. It is an astonishing situation we find ourselves in. It is spread across cafés and pubs. They are not opening their doors. Something is wrong. The Minister stated she is putting help f…

I remember meeting with the Minister, and she is most welcome at any time, in west Cork which is the tourism capital of Ireland as far as I am concerned. We have fantastic hotels. I have met with the sector. It includes such hotels as the Celtic Ross Hotel, Fernhill House Hotel, the Emmet Hotel, the Parkway Hotel, the Schull Harbour Hotel and the Blue Horizon Hotel in Kinsale. The bottom line, according to some people running these hotels, is that their family members are working for free. They are not taking any m…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: - the Irish inshore fleet comprises approximately 91 per cent of all our fishing vessels, and supports between 2,500 and 3,000 full-time jobs in rural and coastal communities; - the National Inshore Fishermen's Association, the representative body for the small inshore fishermen in Ireland, have been highlighting their serious concerns regarding the collapse in the processed shrimp market, which is impacting many inshore fishermen; - in light of the duel dramatic fall in …

I will clarify that for the Minister.

I will come back to the Minister on that. He was given a plan when he was in Union Hall.

Nothing this year.

Nothing this year. The €12 million was refused.

On a point of order, I would like the Minister to apologise to Cork County Council for the comments he made earlier that the council never applied for funding for the pier at Union Hall. It did so under the Minister’s guidance. When he came down to Union Hall and was having nice meals, or whatever he said, he advised the council to apply for scoping and feasibility funding, which it did, and the Department refused it. The Minister needs to correct the record. The council will be writing to the Minister about this m…