I thank the Minister for providing clarity. It is a major concern to Irish fishermen that these activities by other countries are increasing. It is a danger to the lives and incomes of fishermen. They may have to leave a particular area if there is disruption to their fishing activities. Their incomes have been struck down hard in recent years. They cannot take another hit but they are being expected to do so. Obviously, the cost of fuel is another massive issue for fishermen. It is a significant crisis. They are f…

I thank the Minister for his reply. He said these occurrences are not common but, in fact, they have happened twice in the past few months. He is right in his praise for the role of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation in the first incident. It has been very vocal on behalf of the fishermen it represents and their livelihoods and safety at sea. The group has also been speaking about the dangers from such incidents for marine life, including fish, dolphins and whales, and the danger to the environmen…

I welcome this motion from the Independent Group. It gives us the opportunity to debate what is a very important issue for many people who have ill loved ones in their homes. I do not believe the Government or the HSE puts any value on respite services. Respite helps families to keep ill loved ones in their homes for many years, if their loved ones can get a couple of weeks of respite during the year in their local community hospitals. Sadly, this was not available during the Covid-19 pandemic for many people as th…

I am delighted to get the chance today to talk about insurance reform. To be honest, we have been talking about insurance reform since I was elected to Dáil Éireann in 2016. While there have been some reductions in motor insurance, it looks to me as though the insurance companies are sucking up all of the reductions and are coming through with massive profits. The people suffering the most are those in the community and voluntary sector. We would not be here today if it were not for them. I attend meetings when I g…

Over the past few days the French authorities have notified Irish authorities that the French navy is going ahead with a military exercise, some of which was going to be inside the Irish economic zone off the south coast. This is the second country, Russia being the first, that has notified Irish authorities that it is to carry out a military exercise within Irish zoned waters in recent months. The French exercise, however, is on a much bigger scale than that proposed previously by Russia. We have found ourselves i…

Will that be this week?

The proposal is a good compromise and addresses cyberviolence against women as never before in a binding legal instrument. As is the case in respect of every legislative procedure, it could have been better but it could also have been much less ambitious. The advancement of technology has enabled us to connect and share important information, to speak up and raise awareness of human rights violations. However, it has also provided additional fertile grounds for gender-based violence against women and girls to an al…

My colleagues in the Rural Independent Group and I demand that the Government retain accident and emergency services at Our Lady's Hospital, Navan fully. We also demand that the Minister for Health immediately remove any reference to the closure of these services from the small hospitals framework. I know exactly how the people of Navan feel. Just last year, I had to drag the Government through the gutter to keep services at Bantry General Hospital open to the public. A crisis that was flagged well in advance arose…

As the Tánaiste has already heard in the House many times this morning, household energy bills have gone through the roof. Electricity and fuel costs have been hyped up with massive Government taxes, which take people's household bills beyond reach. Farm contractors, hauliers and ordinary mothers and fathers are not able to keep up with the cost of fuel. An even bigger concern is the huge amount of businesses in west Cork which contact me on a daily basis from Bandon, Clonakilty, Skibbereen and Bantry and its surro…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: - the current geopolitical situation emphasises the imperative need to establish robust policies to develop our own energy supplies, including renewable energy sources; - Ireland, like all other member states, is bound by European Union (EU) directives on energy regulation, meaning an obligation exists to plan and develop self-sufficiency options; - currently Ireland is in an extremely vulnerable and utterly unsustainable position in terms of security of energy supply (depende…

Hear, hear.

In regard to burials, the rules and regulations need to be looked at in a deeper manner. I contacted the Department not so long ago about a constituent in west Cork who wanted to be buried in their own home grounds. Nobody could give me the information. The local authority and two different Departments could not give me the information. The people were very upset at a very delicate time in their lives. That is an area that needs to be improved. There needs to be proper regulation in relation to burial grounds and w…

I tried and failed.

I thank the Regional Group for the opportunity to discuss this extremely important issue. I was doing clinics from Castletownbere right across to Kinsale last weekend. I do not know how many of these forms I filled out in respect of housing aid for the elderly, the mobility grant aid or those with disabilities. The issue is that the funding is no longer meeting the requirement. It is well out of date. Even if we only look at housing aid for the elderly, people get €8,000 to do a roof but you would not get a roof do…

On 23 December 1996, one of Ireland’s most horrific murders took place at Kealfadda, which is near Goleen, when the body of Sophie Toscan du Plantier was found near her holiday home in my parish a couple of miles west of my home. At the time, the murder was the cause of real horror among local people. When the identity of the person who died became public, however, it sent shock waves across the world. It is now 26 years later and nobody has been brought to justice for the murder of an innocent woman - a much-loved…

Will a new file be submitted in time to the DPP on foot of investigations that are now taking place?

The original Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 was signed into law on 30 December 2015. The Act applies to everyone and is relevant to all health and social care services. It relates to supporting decision-making and maximising a person’s capacity to make decisions. However, it will not be commenced until June 2022, almost seven years after it was signed into law, because the systems required to implement it were not put in place. We all know people who have had an accident, a stroke or a heart attack. T…

Obviously, electoral reform is a huge issue. Many young people want the right to vote. Maybe we have to look at implementing rules and regulations regarding people who do not vote but who have the right to vote. Many people in this country, including my namesake, gave their life for that. It is sad to think that many people could not care to take the journey down the road to vote on voting day. I think a regulation in that regard has to be introduced. Also, I am very worried, when it comes to electoral reform, abou…

Like my colleagues, I am very disappointed that the Minister for Transport, Deputy Eamon Ryan, is not here today. Regardless of anything else, he knew his time slot the same as everybody else, and he could have been here. Perhaps transport is not something he is interested in. He is not connecting Ireland, as he promised. He is disconnecting Ireland. That is what he has done. So many speakers have been talking about train services and even electric trains. We do not even know what that means in west Cork. We cannot…

As a champion of Bantry General Hospital, I would like the Dáil to know that last Wednesday, there were no laboratory service available and as a result, hundreds of tests were either cancelled or not processed. When we factor in that laboratory services were also withdrawn from Cork University Hospital, CUH, Mercy University Hospital and South Infirmary Victoria University Hospital, the number of affected patients in our constituency likely numbered in their hundreds from just one day. I have received many emails o…