Members of the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers Association, including some from County Kerry, had to come here today to protest. They are demanding an urgent €50 million support package for sheep farmers to be funded from the Brexit reserve fund. They also want the sheep improvement scheme to be increased towards €30 per ewe and an extra €5 per ewe for the correct presentation of wool. Brexit brought untold turmoil to the sheep sector and the ramifications are still being felt to this day. The New Zealand lamb impor…

I wish to declare an interest in this matter, as I provide housing solutions and accommodation to many sectors of our society. I want to tell the truth about what is happening. Deputy Boyd Barrett knows I have nothing but the utmost respect and time for him on a personal basis, but it is crazy to hear people like him continuously speaking about housing and attacking people who provide housing solutions. For one thing, I have never heard him or anyone like him acknowledging that people who provide accommodation pay …

I am very glad to have the opportunity to speak to this very important issue. It is so important that this House recognises the enormous tragedy that has befallen the people of Ukraine. If we lived forever, it would be hard to understand man's inhumanity to man, when one thinks about what this means to people on a human level. Over the past number of months, I have been accommodating families who have come from Ukraine. I have met them first hand, after they arrived. I meet moms, dads and children and see what they…

Housing people is not just about a roof. Thank you for your indulgence. I just had to say that on a human level.

I am grateful to have a couple of minutes to talk on behalf of business people, particularly those in County Kerry, and the enormous cost and imposition that the increase in energy costs has put on them. I want to say this because it is important. At a time when wholesale gas and energy prices have come down to the levels they were at before the war, why in the name of God are we being told we will have to wait for 12 months for our energy prices to decrease and for those price drops to descend to us? It is absolut…

She could be compared with worse.

The Rural Independent Group welcomes the opportunity to speak about the new Citizens' Assembly on Drugs Use which has been established by the Government. While it is due to start in April and conclude before the end of the year, I argue against its formation and for why we think it is a waste of time and money. First, drug use has a significant impact on society, imposing significant health and financial costs. However, involving a group of hand-picked citizens in decision-making on drugs policy is not wholly appro…

I thank Sinn Féin and Deputy Ó Broin. We do not always agree on everything, and Deputy Ó Broin knows that, but I respect his intentions very much. I declare an interest in this, as I always do, because I provide all different types of accommodation. I want to home in on one problem that is growing at an alarming rate. I say it for the benefit of the present Government and future Governments and Ministers, especially those with responsibility for housing. I refer to the mass exodus of people who are involved in the …

I thank the Social Democrats very much for bringing this very important motion before the Dáil. This is no disrespect to the Minister of State, but where in the name of goodness is the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, today? Why could he not be here to debate this very important matter? Why could he not be here to answer questions and give his viewpoint? It is for the same reason he cannot go on any of the national broadcasters. He is afraid to face the people. He is afraid to answer questions from people on the Opposi…

It is important to discuss and debate this Bill and to use this opportunity to acknowledge the great work done by the Civil Defence over the years. Of course I want to recognise the work done by our local authority, Kerry County Council, and, under its jurisdiction, the local authority, the Civil Defence officers and all the volunteers in County Kerry and throughout the rest of the country. There are 3,500 volunteers throughout the country. These people have done Trojan work at ordinary and extraordinary events. An…

Tell that to the Green Party.

First, what I would have to say in this debate is a simple straightforward fact. Why, if something is not broken, could the Minister not let it alone? What the Minister will do single-handedly in this legislative process was highlighted by the Irish Farmers' Journal . I thank the Irish Farmers' Journal for the scathing article it wrote, which was very informative. It let the farmers and the people of Ireland know exactly what the Minister is doing in this legislation. What the Minister is doing is attacking a syste…

I thank most sincerely Deputy Doherty and Sinn Féin for tabling this very important motion. The cost-of-living crisis is affecting people in Ireland in a profound way, especially in rural areas and among farmers. This crisis is characterised by a sharp increase in the cost of basic necessities, such as housing, food and healthcare, while wages remain stagnant. This has left many people struggling to make ends meet and is having a severe impact on the well-being of rural residents and farmers. In Ireland the cost of…

I express my sincerest sympathy to the people of Türkiye and Syria on the humanitarian disaster that has befallen them. I thank the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, the Government, voluntary organisations and the general public for the massive outpouring of goodwill and generosity they are affording them. I thank the Taoiseach sincerely for his own reaction to this awful event. Today we have seen heartbreaking pictures, including a father with his recently deceased daughter in the middle of the rubble. It was truly heartbr…

I thank the Independent Group for bringing this very important debate to the floor of the Dáil. At the outset, I want to give an example. Development levies are needed and we have to get money. I always used this analogy when I was on the council myself. An area I was very proud and am proud to represent for many years, both on the council and up here, includes Glencar, Beaufort, Kilgobnet, and that entire area. If someone put in a planning application and their house is above in Glencar, they will be told they hav…

The Minister of State, Deputy James Browne, has formed what he has called an expert firearms committee to review the current licensing of firearms in the State and make recommendations for future legislation. Why were the members of the firearms expert committee, FEC, not interviewed? Why has there been not been any meaningful consultation with national organisations representing those who take part in sports involving firearms? Do the Minister of State and the Taoiseach believe it right and fair that law-abiding c…

First I will address the people who are here in the Public Gallery. I welcome them. I am glad they are here but I am sad that they have to be here. Like others over the years, I have heard the horror stories about what people have had to endure. Children born into this world have only one chance at childhood. For the majority of people, all we want is that our children have happy-go-lucky, carefree and happy times and that when they grow up into adulthood, they can look back on their memories with fondness and smil…

I want to raise a very important matter that was brought to my attention again at my clinic in Scott's Hotel on Saturday by a deputation of parents of children with special needs, our special children who are now young adults. The question is about the lack of adult respite services in County Kerry. How is it acceptable that there is only one adult respite house in Kerry to service the whole of Kerry and part of Cork? Parents in certain places are having to travel a round trip of over two hours to drop off their so…

I warmly thank the Taoiseach for his reply. If the Minister of State and the Government deliver respite services for the people of the Killarney electoral area and all that side of the country, I will be the first person to thank them most sincerely for it. I will use the short amount of time I have left to say a word about St. Mary of the Angels, which provides an excellent service at St. Francis Special School in Beaufort. The staff provide a great service to our special young people with intellectual or physical…

I wish the Minister of State every good luck and success. I compliment the Tánaiste on his recent trip abroad to our peacekeeping force in Lebanon and I acknowledge the sad events surrounding the death of Private Rooney. I think of his family and of all the peacekeepers. The reason I mentioned the Tánaiste's trip is that a constituent of mine who has a family relative out there was glad to see the Tánaiste over there meeting our troops and thanking them on behalf of all of us for the excellent work they do. They pu…