That was a very well worded speech by someone who did not have an intimate knowledge of the villages and settlements I am talking about in County Kerry and I will explain why. The Minister of State referred to €50 million. Not a single euro of that €50 million is earmarked for any one of the villages I am talking about here. Not one of them. Last night I was in many of those settlements and for anyone living in any one of them who was listening in to this debate, he or she might ask “where does that leave us?” For …

If the Ceann Comhairle will allow me, there is something I should have declared at the beginning. I have family members who work on schemes such as this. I should have said this at the beginning - I always do - and I am sorry I did not.

First, I thank the excellent carers who provide such an invaluable service in County Kerry, which I represent. Carers play a vital role in society by providing support and care for those who are unable to care for themselves. Carers provide invaluable emotional support for those in their care. This includes offering companionship, listening to concerns and providing comfort during difficult times. Carers also play an important role in managing the physical health of those in their care. They provide practical suppo…

How much it did it cost to get Labour to do away with the death grant?

I appreciate the opportunity to contribute to this debate. The removal of the €80 charge, particularly for people who are ill on a regular basis, and sadly there are people who fall into that category, is welcome. This charge was a burden on them because for people who are ill, every euro is very important. I welcome the abolition of charges like this, especially for people who are ill on a regular basis. I also want to use this opportunity to talk about another cumbersome issue, that of car-parking charges. I appr…

On behalf of the tourism capital of the western world, County Kerry, and its capital, Killarney, I am glad VAT was retained at the lower rate for the time being. I will look for that to be kept for the foreseeable future, and into the future, because it is so important. I welcome the lower rate on behalf of people working in tourism, including operators, in County Kerry who give much-needed employment and are the flagship for tourism in this country. On the company car users who are supposed to pay more in 2023 for…

The Government has had six months to improve what is an extremely challenging housing crisis we have in this country. I think we can all agree that supply is the biggest issue we have. There is a clear lack of it. There is housing all around us: derelict houses, vacant premises, over-the-shop units and still ghost estates from the economic crash. While the Government has introduced some grant schemes that I can see being effective, it is not being aggressive enough to bring back what we have, never mind build enoug…

I thank Mairéad McGrath, Brian Ó Domhnaill and all the people in Deputy Mattie McGrath's office who worked diligently on the preparation of this very important motion. What has become evident over the past number of years, and particularly over the past 12 months, is quite shocking. The Government does not have the right to say "card only" to people who come in with their money in their hand to pay for a licence from the NDLS or for one of the other services the Government provides through our local authorities or …

The Minister of State is very argumentative today.

I wish to raise a point of clarification. The Cathaoirleach Gníomhach has time to deal with a point of clarification.

No, but the Minister of State will be able to answer this question. During her contribution, she said that it was her belief there was no basis in law to force businesses into having to take cash or to say they could not take cash, provided they had a sign up.

What is the basis for this statement? The record of the Dáil is very important and the Minister of State has sent out a message that if any person providing a service puts up a sign stating, "We do not accept cash", it is acceptable. In effect, what is being said is that it is okay not to take what is legal tender on the island of Ireland. I am not saying the Minister of State is wrong, but I am asking her to clarify, on the record, if what she said is correct.

If it is, how is she saying it is correct and what is she basing this knowledge on? I ask her to clarify this point because it is very important for businesses. We are saying businesses should accept what is legal tender, so I ask the Minister of State to clarify this statement, if she can.

I want to wish a very happy International Women’s Day to all of the women who I know, who I encounter, who are with me and who support me in the work that I do and support all of my colleagues. I want to use the time I have on what is a very important issue, and I think it is an appropriate time to say this. The gender quota that was brought in was supposed to help women. I had a personal thing that I thought it was an awful insult to women. I really believe that, and everyone is entitled to their own belief. I tho…

The residential zoned land tax was introduced by means of the Finance Act in order to activate land for development and thereby increase housing supply. The rate of the tax is 3% of the annual market value of the land. The Irish Farmers Association, IFA, and the Irish Rural Association have strongly opposed land that currently forms an integral part of existing farm operations being subject to the residential zoned land tax. Irish farm families, often spanning multiple generations, are private landowners who utilis…

If there is land in a suitable place for housing that is not being actively farmed, of course - no problem in the world - it should be taxed because we want to encourage the use of that land. We should not go after farmers, however. One thing that has transpired, and I know I am only giving an example for everybody else in the House, is that people have come to me who missed the date for inclusion in the exemption because they were not aware of it. The matter simply passed them by. They were getting on with their l…

Sadly, an ever-increasing number of people are suffering from cancer in this country. Proton therapy, PT, is a significantly superior form of radiation therapy which spares a patient many of the side-effects of traditional radiotherapy, RT. To date, the development of PT has been limited compared with RT, principally because its comparative costs have been so great. A private company, Muir, has reimagined every aspect of the delivery of proton therapy such that it can deliver this superior form of cancer treatment …

First, I would like to thank and acknowledge the Regional Group for tabling this important motion. At the time when the ambulance service was centralised here in Dublin, I was vehemently opposed to that. I want to thank and acknowledge the past and present management structure of our National Ambulance Service in County Kerry. They do the very best with what they have, but unfortunately the structure means that at times there are big gaps in our ambulance service not due to any fault of theirs but because of the st…

That is only in Fine Gael.

I warmly congratulate the Minister of State on her elevation. I wish her absolutely nothing but good luck and success In her role. I am sure she will be an excellent Minister of State and very diligent about her duties. I wish her well on that. I am very glad to have an opportunity to contribute to the debate. On behalf of the credit unions in County Kerry, and on behalf of the people who have availed of their excellent services, I want to thank them. The credit unions that I deal with mostly are in County Kerry. G…