I fully support this Sinn Féin motion. The 10% levy on blocks and other concrete products introduced in the budget will have to be passed on to customers. This has led to fury in west Cork among good, honest builders who know the customer cannot afford it and among the young people who want to start their lives by building their new homes. The new levy which is designed to contribute to the cost of a national redress scheme for people whose homes were built using defective products is scheduled to come into effect …

Over the past number of months, like many other Deputies in the Chamber, we have met different sectors in respect of the budget. One of these which stood out clearly to me to be struggling was the hotel sector. In west Cork, I met the owners of the Emmet Hotel, the Fernhill House and Gardens Hotel in Clonakilty, and the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery. These are brilliant, grand, family hotels in west Cork, which all represent tourism in the hotel sector there. One part of the discussions we had was on the great s…

Only three weeks ago, the Mental Health Commission report on the mental health unit at Bantry General Hospital instructed the closure of one quarter of its beds; a loss of seven beds in total. This would have been a devastating blow to mental services in west Cork that serve from Kinsale to Ardrum and parts of County Kerry. The report by the Mental Health Commission recommended the closure of the beds following an inspection of the hospital. However, more astonishing is that the same issue of non-compliance was rai…

I thank the Taoiseach very much for his reply. I have actually visited the unit and I did respect the privacy of the patients; I stayed at the door and spoke to the staff there. I have gone in to see patients because I have sometimes been asked to do so. The Taoiseach said an independent body made that decision. That is fair enough. However, the independent body made that decision in 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. It continued to make that decision and no funding was given. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, receive…

Except when he visited.

There are 18 beds.

It would be wrong of me to come in here and condemn the budget from start to finish. There were positive points in respect of the VAT rate, the availability of defibrillators, free schoolbooks for primary school students and the 0% VAT rate for newspapers. Those are positive steps in the right direction. There are, however, many weaknesses in this budget that need to be exposed. I have received a number of calls from builders today, including from one woman whose husband and son are building. They are devastated wi…

Today's budget reminds me of an assless bucket leaking beyond control. There was a time when leaks before a budget announcement would lead to Ministers' heads rolling. Now, with this slippery Government, God knows that the leaks could have come from the top and will not be dealt with. This budget was meant to be a giveaway budget, and some people did get something. However, if one looks into the budget in more detail, one must ask who will be better off after it. Those who have looked into the budget have said that…

While on the subject of education, I am not sure if the primary school capitation grant has been increased. Many schools cannot afford to put on the heating oil this year - perhaps that is the green way of dealing with them - or pay their electricity bill, leaving some schools having to ring the local parish priest to cough up to pay these bills. Yes, I said the "local parish priest". Church-bashing Deputies come into this Chamber every week. The local church is now paying the bills to keep the heating and lights o…

I will support the amendment. I have been clear in discussions previously about the carbon tax. The way the budget was rolled out today was unfair. It was like a con job. There was VAT, the excise and the extensions on the taxation side. The Minister said there was excise reduction of 21 cent per litre for petrol and 16 cent per litre for diesel. People were texting me and to say, “Thanks be to God”, that there was some relief at the pump because people are feeling the pinch badly. This was one way that the Governm…

I will oppose the increased price of cigarettes. I do not smoke myself. I agree with the Minister that they have ill effects. I will not in any way, shape or form deny that, but I have much sympathy for a majority of my constituents who smoke and regularly speak to me about it. They are upset at times when the prices go up. They are not able to come off them. They have tried different ways. I know many people close to me smoked. They tell me how difficult it is to kick the habit. I do not think increasing the price…

To be honest, it is crazy to be debating this proposal. We are talking about 50 quid. I hope we are not going to annoy Deputy Bacik any more because she said that some of the debate is stressing her out.

She comes from the party that did away with the death grant. We know what they did to women in this country with their pensions. Some people had to listen to their debates when their time came. Unfortunately, the question of nightclubs does not affect my constituency in west Cork. One time when I was going out it was full of nightclubs. There was Gatsby's in Dunmanway, Amadeus and the Westlodge in Bantry, O'Donovan's in Clonakilty, the Beacon Park in Baltimore and Cleo's in Bandon. They were there but they have clo…

It was a great place. In fairness, 50% is fine but you have to look at nightclubs in a bigger way. Given that the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has had her budget cut here today, it does not look like there will be much out there. The musicians are struggling at this time too. People were playing in pubs and so on and it is no longer viable for the publican to hire the musician. That is what is happening in the constituency I represent. People would be delighted to hear me raising …

Since Connecting Ireland was first announced, how many new routes have been connected in south-west Cork and where exactly are they?

I thank the Minister for his reply, but this is all kicking the can down the road. It is not delivery. West Cork remains disconnected in regard to transport. The Minister has been in office for almost two and a half years and I have seen no additional service, as he proved when he stated this is another exercise that will happen in a year's time or whenever. Areas in west Cork are not connected, while others, such as my parish of Goleen, have a bus that leaves at 7.30 a.m. and does not come back until 5 p.m. or 6 p…

Obviously, I would be very happy if a new service was operating right now between Skibbereen and Killarney; it would be perfect. However, the ordinary everyday working person finds it difficult to pick up public transport in west Cork. People are not finding it easy. It is non-existent in quite a lot of places. The funny thing is that there are commercial operators out there. West Cork Connect has made several proposals but the NTA keeps refusing them. These are proposals that will not cost the State one brown cent…

I have spoken here in the Dáil about how Ireland can become fuel independent like other parts of the world. Drilling off Barryroe is our biggest hope. The company, Providence, is ready to go but this Government is holding it up. In response to Deputy Mattie McGrath last week, the Tánaiste said that Providence needs to demonstrate its financial capital if it is to be accepted for the next stages of drilling at Ballyroe. This was his second time saying this. He also said it in an interview with The Currency, an onlin…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — as a direct consequence of haywire Government-induced energy policies, Ireland is the worst-prepared country in Europe for an energy crisis, and the possibility of rolling blackouts this winter would not only be catastrophic but is a very real prospect; — the lack of a coherent Government energy policy to provide energy self-sufficiency means the real threat of a cold, dark winter is now becoming a reality, resulting in a full-blown political and economic crisis; — the Gover…

The Minister of State should be ashamed of himself. He needs to go back to his roots.