In February 2022, 80,000 remote working jobs were advertised without location restrictions. People in rural areas without broadband are excluded from those jobs. They are being discriminated against. In 2019, did we think it was possible to achieve the situation we are in? We have been told in the past that many things could not happen yet when the pandemic happened, things changed, and many of them for the better. The option to work from home has been an extraordinary success in many jobs. However, a person from a…

I propose to share time with Deputies Michael Collins, Michael Healy-Rae and Danny Healy-Rae. Fuel prices need to be reduced by a minimum of 50 cent and be locked in for a minimum of six months. The 15 cent and 20 cent reductions do not go far enough. Business owners, including quarry and construction business owners, have been ringing me this evening to say they have been told by companies to stop working because they can no longer sustain the expense of the fuel needed for running people to sites, transporting st…

Are members of the Government out of their tree?

When the shelves go empty in this country, the Government will be remembered for what it did. Putin will be remembered for his disgraceful behaviour in Ukraine; Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party will be remembered for what they have done to production in this country, which is no longer a breadbasket for its people. We are no longer self-sufficient because of the regulations and stipulations the Minister and his partners in government have put in place. Their reward to farmers is to reduce the price of gre…

In the haulage sector diesel is up 100% in price. The cost of parts for trucks is up 40% while the cost of labour is up 20%. The cost of tyres is up 30% and the cost of upgrading a truck is up 20%. That is a total increase in cost of 220%. For agricultural contractors and farmers, diesel is up 100%, feed is up 50%, fertiliser is up 200%, tyres are up 30% and the price of cutting an acre of silage is now up €50. The cost of labour is up 20%. The cost of running a house at present for people to feed their families, p…

I wish all women a happy International Women's Day, especially my wife, Kay, and my mother-in-law, Kathleen Toomey. I would not be here today to represent Limerick without them. I wish a happy International Women's Day to all the front-line women who looked after us during the pandemic. Today I will mention some women who rarely, if ever, get mentioned. These are the women of the haulage companies, bus companies and agricultural contractors. I watch a programme on TG4 at 9.30 p.m. every Thursday. I am very proud to…

Despite repeated calls from the Ombudsman for Children, children with special education requirements are not having a special assessment of needs done, which is their right under the UNCRC. There were 5,060 applications for assessments of need in 2018. The Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, acknowledged that there were 4,000 applicants in December 2021. None of the timelines are met for any of those children. In 2018, the percentage of assessments completed on time was only 8.8%. We should note that the system is …

For the record, of every €17 in fuel, the Government takes €10 in tax. That is a fact. This targets the 1 million people who are now below the poverty line in this country, such as those who are on social welfare, pensioners, the working middle-class and the self-employed. This hits every one of us in our pockets today. The Minister mentioned the pig farmers. If a pig farmer had 500 sows, his ESB costs last year were €2,000 per month. His ESB costs today are €4,000. While I welcome the €20,000 increase, it will not…

The Acting Chair would not correct the Minister, who was talking through all of it.

The increase in the fuel tax would pay for them.

The Minister is looking in the mirror.

Yes.

The Minister needs to step out of the bubble.

The Minister is repeating himself now.

I also welcome the Ukrainian ambassador and her team. My concern is that because we are on the edge of Europe we are on the tail end of the supply chain which is a major disadvantage in times of shortage. We are in a vulnerable situation. I ask the Minister to invest in our own producers to ensure that, if this happens, we are sustainable. Hopefully it will not happen. Like it or lump it, we are influenced economically by our relationship with Russia. Some 30% of global wheat, 30% of barley and 20% of corn exports …

I and the Rural Independent Group have highlighted this since November. I highlighted the price of fuel costs on a truck with farmers and everyone else. The fact of the matter is that in 2018, 66% of the price of delivering fuel in the country went to the suppliers and 34% went to the Government. Things have now come full circle. It is now 46% for oil companies and 54% for the Government. All of the increases in fuel are tax, including VAT, customs and excise and National Oil Reserves Agency, NORA, taxes. That is t…

I ask the Minister of State whether he has plans, in the context of the CLÁR programme, and having regard to local safety concerns, to allow funding to be used for local investment in CCTV and lighting in local playgrounds and communities. Since the pandemic, more and more people want to feel safe in their communities. This can be when they are out on a walking, running or cycling track. During the pandemic, a lot of facilities were available for walking, running and exercise for people but these facilities must be…

I welcome all the funding provided for rural projects. Another big issue that was highlighted over the pandemic concerns community fields. While there are many GAA grounds and fields in different areas, many communities also have community fields. In respect of the way sports are organised, sometimes camogie clubs cannot access the local GAA fields. The community fields can be used as running tracks, for athletics clubs, camogie and community projects. Can the funding that the Minister of State has referred to be m…

I thank the Minister of State. I do not think community fields come under the sports capital grant scheme. I stand to be corrected. I welcome the funding provided in the areas referred to by the Minister of State, including the construction of a footpath at Feenagh soccer club. However, in smaller communities, such as Granagh-Ballingarry, there are soccer and GAA fields that are being used as community fields. A high number of people are involved in sport and want to go walking and do different activities. In the c…

I will do my best.