I asked the Taoiseach-----

Is there any answer on the fuel question? He gave me no answer in those four minutes.

It is the carbon tax and fuel taxes.

People are paying €57 in every €100 on tax.

The people of rural Ireland cannot cope and the Taoiseach is walking away from it without a straight answer. He has no answer.

He has no answer.

I welcome and support this proposed measure. I seldom support what the Minister puts before us, but this proposal is welcome. It helps to support the horse and greyhound industries. Directly or indirectly, they account for 39,000 jobs, which is a large number. We must secure and maintain those jobs in this country in future. I sincerely hope these funds will make their way down the chain of those involved. It should not be the rich and wealthy horse owners at the very top who end up getting most of this money. It s…

I support the Sinn Féin motion tonight. Workers' representatives in local employment services and job clubs have been outlining their concerns about a new proposed tendering process for local employment services by the Department of Social Protection. The trade unions SIPTU and Fórsa have said the process will lead to possible redundancies and a disruption in services as people return to work following the Covid-19 pandemic. The Department is arguing the range of service providers for the provision of employment se…

We are forever discussing issues in this Dáil that are never raised with me as issues in my constituency. When it comes to the education of our children, this debate is a prime example of that. We are discussing this Bill instead of discussing the lack of special needs assistants and teachers in our classrooms and how schools will fill their oil tanks. Schools have to face those challenges on a daily basis. I am on a school board of management and I know how difficult it is to get funding to address these issues. W…

I am asking the Taoiseach the same question I asked his predecessor a few years ago. In the time since little has been done to help people who have neurological problems. Today, the Parkinson's Association of Ireland is over in Buswells Hotel doing a presentation, led by Tony Wilkinson of Bandon, who has been at the forefront in the fight for neurology nurses. Does the Taoiseach know we have 24,000 people seeking an appointment with a neurology nurse? Of these, 8,000 are waiting over 19 months. To keep up with othe…

Our healthcare system is at breaking point almost two years into this pandemic. On 21 November 2020, we had 344 cases of Covid. Fast forward to 21 November 2021 and there were 4,181 cases. On 21 November 2020 we had 273 Covid patients in hospital, while on 21 November 2021, we had 668. On 21 November 2020 there were 32 Covid patients in ICU and on 21 November 2021 there were 125. The Taoiseach recently stated on Newstalk that if we all collectively behave, this too will pass. That was utterly condescending of him. …

We have been debating in committee the dreadful Sea-Fisheries (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, for which the Taoiseach signed the statutory instrument and which will lead to penalty points for the fishermen of this country. It is almost a year since the devastating Brexit agreement was made between Michel Barnier and Lord Frost. As of yet, in spite of many visits by leaders of this State to fishing communities to make them promises, not one hour of work has been done by the Government, civil servants and fish produ…

Yesterday, Cork County Council agreed the budget for 2022. What has shocked the public is the Fianna Fáil-led council has agreed to increase commercial rates by 3% next year in County Cork. This is a savage attack on businesses the length and breadth of west Cork. Businesses are ringing me from Bandon, Kinsale, Clonakilty, Bantry, Skibbereen and the surrounds, seeking a decrease in rates due to the Covid crisis that led to the loss of business. There are also rising energy costs and many businesses tell me their el…

It was agreed yesterday, for next year.

The Taoiseach can intervene in the-----

The Green Party believes its view of the world is superior. The hollow talk of building back better, just transitions and our glowing net-zero future sounds great from an ideological standpoint but means the burden will be borne primarily by rural residents. The rural-urban divide is perhaps most evident when it comes to public transport. The Central Statistics Office, CSO, data indicate that rural-urban public transport use is very unequal. This is due to the lack of public transportation options in rural Ireland.…

There has been a massive rise in fuel costs in the past 12 months alone, with petrol going from €1.20 to €1.70 a litre for various reasons. This is having a severe financial impact on families who have a child, or adult child, with disabilities as these parents drive their family members twice daily to and from day care centres and CoAction centres five days a week. For many it is a long distance to these centres. The parents of these children and adults are entitled to a school transport grant but receive the same…

I will vote against this Bill. According to it, there is increasing awareness of the need to make informed consumer choices based on the environmental impact of goods in light of their carbon footprint. While we all want to be aware of our own carbon footprint, carbon footprint labelling is not easy or feasible for many businesses. There are a range of issues attached to carbon labelling, which raise a highly complex set of interlocking problems. This policy has the potential to put hundreds of small food and artis…

The Bill removes deadlines for the registration of easement, or, as most people call it, right of way. Under current legislation, certain rights of way had to be registered before 30 November 2021 to avail of a registration scheme. The Bill will remove current statutory deadlines for the registration of rights of way, in particular. The Rural Independent Group welcomes this Bill and will support it. In fact, many Deputies within our group have been calling for the removal of the deadline date to register a right of…

Several concerned residents of Kinsale, Riverstick, Belgooly and surrounding areas have contacted me and staff in my office over the past 48 hours after it emerged that Coillte is planning to sell Ballymartle Woods. In an era when we are told we need to protect our environment and green spaces, why is Coillte, a State agency, proposing to sell these local woodlands? Many local residents use this amenity every day. Over the past 48 hours I have been told stories of the benefits of these woodlands which people use as…