The Government is finished. It is finished.

The Minister is not listening.

Last Monday week a lady of 88 years of age fell on the roadside near her home in Bandon. She was lifted by her family back to her house knowing she had a hip and shoulder injury. We found out afterwards she had a fractured hip and broken shoulder. They called an ambulance immediately at 2 p.m. but it did not arrive until 4 a.m. and she was in hospital at 5 a.m., 15 hours later. I have heard similar stories from around the country. In order for the people of west Cork and throughout the country to regain confidence …

The Competition (Amendment) Bill 2022 will give more powers to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission and the Commission for Communications Regulation. These new powers could mean that rogue operators could face a fine of €10 million-----

I am sorry. Am I in the wrong?

I am on the wrong track. I will withdraw my contribution.

In the past few weeks I have had numerous phone calls from constituents expressing their grave concern about the new core funding model for early learning and care and school-age childcare providers. On 7 March the Minister announced this €221 million core funding scheme. This announcement was welcomed by parents and providers alike. Among its benefits will be improved affordability for parents supporting the employment of graduate staff and improved sustainability and stability for services. However, for many of t…

Ireland has been neutral in international relations since the 1930s. The nature of Irish neutrality has varied over time and has been contested since the 1970s but many people believe that Irish neutrality means whatever the Government of the day wants it to mean. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced some to consider where we stand when it comes to global affairs. A recent Sunday Independent poll reveals a clear, significant division in Irish society when it comes to foreign policy. These are divisions that w…

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the western world entered a strange interlude in which we forgot about the realities of the great power politics. The real failure was not only to ignore the resurgence of two of the old great powers - China and Russia - but to enable their rise. US Administrations helped China's rapid growth, especially after the Beijing Government was allowed into the World Trade Organization. America's political establishment told itself a fairy story that China would liberalise. As fo…

It is nearly six weeks since I first raised the Dursey cable car crisis with the Taoiseach in the Dáil. Since then, I have raised it with the Tánaiste; the Minister, Deputy Humphreys; and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donovan, among others, in trying to find a solution before the world-famous Dursey cable car ceases operations this Thursday evening for 240 days due to the urgent repairs to be carried out on the towers following storm damage. This is a cable car, I may add, opened by the then Taoiseach, Jack Lynch…

Will the Government provide the funding?

I would appreciate that.

We have a serious problem with children and adults with disabilities. Only a couple of months ago I was fighting in here to save the Kilbrittain early intervention unit in west Cork. It was fully intended to close that unit and, luckily enough, parents sat down within hours of hearing the story and I had it back before the Dáil within a couple of days. Okay, the decision was reversed, but unfortunately for the intervention unit, it faces the same problem of closure this time next year. I had to fundraise for it a n…

Out of touch.

Following last night’s “RTÉ Investigates” programme, I again raise issues of transparency, as I have done on numerous previous occasions in the period from 2017 until now, regarding the funding announced in the context of the rural regeneration and development fund and other funds administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development. In late 2019, three projects worth €6.8 million in total were announced for County Mayo while the whole of County Cork received €2.6 million. All of that money went in tot…

We are facing an unprecedented crisis thanks to the green agenda, which has ordinary households, farmers and the fishing sector lying almost in ruins. Europe is telling Ireland to act but we are asleep at the wheel. Our Government must eliminate the carbon tax and cut all energy taxes immediately. Tinkering around the edges, which we have been doing, will not help our people. As early as September 2021 the issues of energy and transport were addressed at an informal Council meeting, but Ireland still remains one of…

My colleagues in the Rural Independent Group and I have been very vocal on the cost of energy and the sky-rocketing costs of fuel for farmers, parents, hauliers and employers. In fact, it affects every person in this country. I again call for the abolition of carbon tax and I ask Sinn Féin whether it will now join with the Rural Independent Group in calling for the abolition of this punitive and out-of-touch carbon tax. At the very least, Ireland should now hold a referendum on carbon tax and give the people a say.…

I would like to ask the Minister if she will reconsider the criteria for the fuel allowance and allow some latitude in the application criteria for the allowance whereby, for example, persons who apply for the jobseeker’s or supplementary welfare allowance should not have to wait for 12 months to be accepted for fuel allowance; if persons who are on illness benefit will be included; and if she will reconsider the application criteria for the fuel allowance and the latitude in same given the ongoing fuel crisis in I…

I thank the Minister. She said that the fuel allowance is paid to many pensioners. I know from my clinics - as I am sure does the Minister and every other Deputy present - that there are many pensioners to whom it is not paid because they are €1 or €2 above the eligibility criteria. That is unfair. In one case, a lady in west Cork who has cancer and is in receipt of illness benefit cannot afford to heat her home. It is hard to believe that in this day and age a woman who is on illness benefit because of her illness…

Everybody should welcome the increase in the threshold. I welcome it. It should be remembered that last week the cost of a bag of coal increased to €7. Most people can no longer afford it. The same applies in respect of home heating oil. We have a crisis in this country regarding the price of fuel. People are turning to the fuel allowance as the only option of being able to heat their homes. Sadly, it is not available to them. The criteria have to change and people's expenses have to be taken into account. I plead …