In strategic leaks to the newspapers this morning, we read about sustained attacks on the Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications, Deputy Eamon Ryan, indignation among backbenchers and indications that some of them will not support the turf measure. This is a circus, as one newspaper put it, but where is the ringmaster? This is similar to the situation in housing, where it is necessary for people in Kerry to wait for 15 years for a one- or two-bedroom house. It is also similar to the situation in h…

Does the Taoiseach know if they will support tonight’s proposed measure to help struggling families?

The reform of the process of appointing judges is long overdue. In keeping with the controversies mentioned by other speakers, my primary concern is that we get the best and most capable judges possible through any process. Political patronage does not necessarily promote those who are incapable of doing the job, but it certainly does exclude from consideration those who are as capable if not more so. I do not know if it still exists, but there was a culture in the law of some individuals joining political parties …

Yes. In any event, it is not right and proper. There must be some transparency. Accountability is important and independence must be safeguarded. I must add that some of the people at that table, by the way, would have made fine judges. I might be relying on them for a vote at another time. Turning to the process of how people come to be judges and how they are promoted and elevated when they are on the Bench, it is important that some of the lay members of the commission have experience in consumer protection, per…

Over the past fortnight, on the one hand we have seen Ministers trying to muddy the water to avoid the obvious conclusion that Government policy in the shape of the carbon tax will not work and will further penalise those who are struggling most with the cost of living crisis. At the same time, backbenchers who cannot stand the heat are leaking reports of conversations in order to cover themselves locally. As with everything else, this Government has been reactive rather than proactive. We have the highest rate of …

We have discussed automated data exchange under the Prüm framework on several occasions in addition to cross-border databases related to crime. As we outlined before, Sinn Féin welcomes this co-operation as long as the databases are operated with the correct level of oversight. Cross-border co-operation is a non-negotiable element of modern law enforcement, especially against organised crime. In 2017, it was estimated that there are 5,000 serious and organised crime gangs, 70% of which are active in more than three…

I am glad of the opportunity to raise this at such short notice. Recently, I met a family from Killarney, Steve O'Mahony, his wife, Teresa, and their daughter, Alexis. I want to raise an issue on their behalf. We discussed a cut that has been made to disability funding. This cut was not made by the HSE or the Department of Health. It is the removal of funding for ceiling track hoists from housing adaptation grants. Alexis is six years old next week. She has cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, subluxation of her right hip…

I thank the Minister of State. What is going on here is unbelievably bureaucratic in that the reinforced ceiling costs can be provided for but something that requires the assistance of a carer cannot. In this case, a carer inevitably means Mr. and Mrs. O’Mahony. They are caring for their daughter who has a severe disability - cerebral palsy and quadriplegia - but are excluded from the scheme. The Minister of State’s answer would be great except it is the same answer the Department gave in July and September of last…

I thank the Minister of State. I will provide him with the name and address of the family.

Tá fadhb againn i gCiarraí le fuíolluisce agus leis an gcóras cóireála fuíolluisce. Ag an bpointe seo anuraidh bhíomar ag feithimh le fógra ó Uisce Éireann mar gheall ar infheistíocht i bhfuíolluisce i gCiarraí. We have a serious problem in County Kerry with wastewater treatment systems. This time last year we were waiting for an announcement from Irish Water that at the end of quarter 1 we would have good news in regard to a list of villages around the county where investment would be made available for the enhanc…

I thank Minister of State for his reply. I took some notes on what the Minister of State said and while the amount of investment is welcome, it does not seem to be translating into any proposed developments for the towns and villages I mentioned. Is Castlegregory going to have to wait? When the Fenit project was announced last year, it said it was a five-year programme. Is that programme still going ahead? Does the Minister of State have any information about that? If he does not have the information here perhaps h…

Yesterday, I was in my local butcher's shop where the conversation was not about Kerry's win over Armagh or where the Ministers were on holidays, but about the struggle that the people who were buying their meat at the counter were dealing with every day. I spoke to the owner of the shop today. A drum of oil is up 23%, the price of chicken has doubled, the price of lamb is up 50% and the prices of breading, packaging and butter are up 30%. We are not here to speak about prices in the butcher's shop, but one of the …

This debate comes not too long after the Joint Committee on Justice's pre-legislative scrutiny of the Criminal Justice (Hate Crime) Bill 2021. At the time, the committee heard that the Bill is an attempt to consolidate all legislation related to crimes motivated by hate. I have listened to what the Minister has said as to how this might affect the Bill and what interaction between domestic and EU law will look like afterwards. Minimum standards regarding crime with cross-border implications makes sense as we are in…

Killarney National Park is under severe pressure in tackling biodiversity challenges, carrying out repairs and dealing with rhododendrons. Contracts for the five general operatives employed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service expired this month. Since last June, they have built a new bridge on the old Kenmare road, railings and pens for the white-tailed eagles, and they have replaced rotten seating. Will the Taoiseach, as we approach the anniversary of the fire, which is next month, retain these workers, giv…

I thank Deputy Tully for all the work she has done on this issue and for taking the time to help some of my constituents and to talk to them on the phone. This is a situation where many parents have come to me when they have not dealt with the system before. Even people who are able to afford private care are shocked by the lack of any services available. These parents struggle to get assessments and have to go private. They are on waiting lists. One of the people they were dealing with, a speech and language thera…

Ba mhaith liom labhairt ar ábhar a chiallaíonn go leor ach go ndéantar neamhaird air go minic, is é sin an chomharthaíocht agus comharthaí bóithre. Anuraidh, bhí an t-ádh linn i gCoiste na Gaeilge, na Gaeltachta agus Phobal Labhartha na Gaeilge cloisteáil ó choimisinéir teanga na Breataine Bige ag an am, Aled Roberts. Fuair sé bás tamall gairid ina dhiaidh sin tar éis a bheith breoite ar feadh ama gairide. Ba mhaith liom m'ómós a thabhairt dá chuid oibre agus déanaim comhbhrón lena chlann, lena ghaolta agus lena ch…

Deputy Conway-Walsh is very obliging. Bhí rud suimiúil i rith na géarchéime a bhí i CAMHS i gCiarraí agus i rith na géarchéime eile san ospidéal i dTrá Lí maidir leis na leithscéalta a bhí ag an Rialtas mar gheall ar na deacrachtaí a bhí aige le hearcaíocht. One of the curious things about the recent crisis in the child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, in Kerry and the ongoing difficulties in University Hospital Kerry has been the excuses about the difficulties faced in terms of recruitment. Bed needs …

I will rant away for a while so. I welcome the town centre first plan and the intentions are good. A lot of it sounds great such as the goal of commissioning research to inform the assessment of cost benefit and social return on investment in town centres to better inform public policy interventions. That sounds great if you could understand what it means. I will give two practical examples of why the town centre first initiative is not working and I will give the example of Tralee town centre. It is the only part …

This day fortnight, the Circuit Court trials which are supposed to start in Tralee and have done for generations will once again commence in Limerick city, which means all the jury members, the legal teams, Garda working in Kerry and witnesses will be taken out of the county for a period of five weeks. Not only is this inconvenient for all of those people, it flies in the face of the Government's Town Centres First policy because all of that business is gone from the town. I ask the Taoiseach to do what he can to r…

The recent review of the south Kerry CAMHS comprised 74 pages and 35 recommendations and it proclaimed the contact it had with parents, patients and former patients who are now adults. However, many of them have been in touch with me and told me that there has not been much contact with them, that there is no care plan in place, that they have not seen a psychologist who must be independent of the current team and that they feel their questions are not being listened to, heard or answered. In regard to those parent…