Danny Healy-Rae
Kerry · Independent · Ireland
“I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about post offices. First of all, I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Charlie McConalogue, and the Government for giving them financial assistance this year because they do need it. Like every other Member, I appreciate our post office network.”
“People should not be sent elsewhere to bigger towns because there are no longer banks in villages and it is very important for people to meet. Social interaction is so important with people. People are becoming very lonely in rural places because they do not meet as much as they used to at the creamery, the shop or the pub.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this Bill and giving us the chance to discuss the possibility of a united Ireland. Since I was a young fella, all I ever heard was that was what we needed and that we could not stop until it was achieved. There is so much involved in this.”
“We hope that we will retain the post offices because as has been said here, the post office, the school and the GAA club are so vital for retaining the identity of parishes throughout the length and breadth of rural Ireland. We hope we will retain the post offices in Kilgarvan, Kenmare and Glenflesk.”
“We want that for the people of the North of Ireland as well but we must have the conversation as to what will be the story for all the different things. We must be united in this Chamber and the people of the Twenty-Six Counties must, by and large, be in favour of reunification. We need to hear their views.”
“We must be united here in this Chamber for a start, each and every one of us. We cannot be throwing Scud missiles across the Chamber at each other. We need to have a united front. This is a serious business. We need to know where this will lead us.”
The complete record
Every one of 737 lines we hold for Danny Healy-Rae, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 15.
“It is for other Members or parties to clarify what they did, but at no time since I came up here in 2016 did I vote for the carbon tax. Some Members did at the start and for a long time, but then they changed their minds and were sorry for voting for it. I thank the Ministers for many of the things brought forward in the budget. I especially thank them for the reduction in VAT for the hospitality sector. I would have liked it to be brought forward earlier, but it is coming. I hope all the hospitality people in Killarney and around the Ring of Kerry will be able to hang on until that materialises to help them. I also thank the Ministers for increasing the cap for the carers. That is what both myself and my brother Michael looked for, because carers do tremendous work.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to speak this evening. I want to clarify something in relation to the carbon tax. A question was raised here yesterday about the carbon tax by Deputy Doherty. It was stated that there was to be a vote held last night. There was no vote. I never voted for the carbon tax. Subsequent to that, another Sinn Féin Member put up a question on his phone to see what way would the Healy-Raes vote on the carbon tax last night. They knew as well as I knew that there would be no vote on the carbon tax last night. They knew that, as part of the nine-year budget passed in 2021, the increases would come in last night at midnight, as was ordained in 2021. Clearly, I did not vote for those increases at that time.”
“I want that statement retracted in order that we can give confidence to the parents and patients that it is not being sold. I am grateful to thank the Minister of State for recognising the players on the field who give us so much enjoyment all summer. I refer to the Kerry team, especially the likes of the Cliffords, the captain of the Kerry team from Killarney and all those players gave so much to ensure that Kerry once again won the Sam Maguire. I know it will be given across the country to other players, and they deserve it because they bring people enjoyment. We look forward to watching them each year. We have to keep them going, because they have costs when it comes to getting to training, to games and so on. They need to be helped in some small way.”
“I want clarification on that from the Minister for disabilities. I want to know where that story came from, because it has hurt parents and patients. I want the matter clarified and I want what is going on to be explained. It is very unfair to hurt people in that category. I refer to people who are disabled and who may have been disabled all of their lives. It is wrong to do that. We need to keep St. Mary of the Angels open. We need a lot more facilities like it in order to help those people. I have seen patients with disabilities being told that the only place they will get residential care is in County Meath. Imagine that - sending them all the way from Killarney to County Meath. Now we are being told by a certain Deputy - who is frightening people again - that St. Mary of the Angels is to be sold. That is very wrong.”
“It is not meeting the needs of those who during the summer wanted to get away for a week from minding their elderly parents. These people wanted to go away with their children for just six days but there was no one to mind their parents or no respite places for them. We have few respite places in Kerry. We need to address those matters. There are waiting lists for people to get into Tralee hospital, into the district hospital in Killarney, into the facilities in Kenmare, Dingle and Cahersiveen and into St. Columbanus Home. I was disappointed at a meeting of the health committee last week when a Deputy frightened the daylights out of the people with disabilities when stating that St. Mary of the Angels, in which there are 54 patients, is being sold. I got a letter from St. John of God saying that it is not being closed.”
“I have a difficulty when I see the hard-earned money people have to pay when buying fuel at the pumps being wasted and thrown around like that. These footpaths just finish up, and they to nowhere then. You are only codding people that there is a footpath because they cannot walk all the way along it. For example, you cannot walk to Killorglin. You cycle there either because there is too much traffic and the road is too narrow. There was a good cycleway, but all that has been changed at a massive cost. There is €27.4 billion for health. I am glad of that, but we must be careful about the way it is spent. Previously, money has not been spent wisely or carefully. I do not know what is happening, but it is not meeting the needs of people who get sick.”
“They do not understand their place. I never interrupted them. In any event, I am disappointed with the way some of the carbon tax is spent. In the name of active travel, the road into Killarney is being narrowed. The footpaths are now wider than the road and the carriageway. Wide vehicles are having serious trouble passing each other at Fossa, where the great Cliffords who shook Croke Park in the middle of the summer come from. Sadly, our road is being narrowed in the name of active travel and climate change. What has the narrowing of the road in Fossa have to do with the weather? It has not a God's thing in the world to do with changing the weather, keeping the weather or anything to do with the weather. Those are the facts.”
“Sinn Féin did, but maybe he is forgetting about that. Maybe he would have been better advised to run for President or some similar office where he could have had someone going around with him and reminding him of what he did or did not say and what he did or did not do. I did not vote for the carbon tax. I am paying more for carbon than any other expense I have, and that is God's gospel truth.”
“People have also been asking about the first-time buyers grant they get to buy or build a new house. People are still first-time buyers when they are buying second-hand houses. Could the grant not be extended to those individuals? Maybe the Minister will think about doing that, particularly as it is important for those people. People are leaving our shores mainly to put a roof over their heads. This is because they cannot see themselves ever doing it here. I am asking the Minister of State to at least consider that. It would be something for those people if they could buy second-hand homes and get the same assistance as if they were buying new homes. I am glad in a way that Deputy Doherty referred to me earlier, but he was incorrect in what he said. He said that I voted for the carbon tax. On any day that I was in here, I never did so.”
“Will the Government do something about TB? We are overrun with badgers and deer, and they are spreading TB. Badgers are being vaccinated, but cattle are not. Why can we not vaccinate cattle against TB and get rid of it once and for all? Cattle are going down all around me in east and south Kerry. I heard earlier the news that more gone down in Kilgarvan today. Something will have to be done. We are talking here about the production of food that is important to every one of us, even people who have never been on a farm. It is important for those people to have food. It is expensive enough but if we have to import it, then we will know what the cost is. I welcome the VAT reduction relating to apartments. We certainly need to build more apartments and more houses.”
“I asked this before of Heather Humphreys when she was Minister. Why are those on benefits, who have paid their fair share of taxes, still not eligible for fuel allowance, jobseeker's benefit, which they do not qualify for, illness benefit or maternity benefit? Why is this the case? A person at home sick is not eligible for fuel allowance. A mother with a young baby is not eligible for fuel allowance. This is unfair. There is very little in the budget for farmers who have increasing costs. I see the increase for ACRES but the problem with that is that they are not being paid on time. Go back to 2023 when people were supposed to be paid. They have still not even been paid today as we are talking. I cannot understand that. There is €20 million extra for 17,000 sheep farmers. I welcome that. There is €85 million for TB.”
“To see these working people go out early in the morning and work at nights, and continue to pay all the costs, their taxes, and high fuel costs to get to work, to get nothing in return from the Government, is not fair. They do not qualify for a medical card or benefit in any way. The working people are getting disheartened. Many say to me that they would be better off at home, by the fire, drawing some kind of a payment because as they are, they have nothing left at the end of the week and they do not qualify for anything. That is not right. They are saying that they would be better off not working. It is disappointing to hear that because the work ethic is in the Irish people and they should be rewarded for it. I welcome the fuel allowance for those families on income supplement who will now qualify for it.”
“I attended a party last Friday week where ten local people, grand boys and girls from the age of 24 or 25 to 31 or 32, were having a party because they are all leaving, going to Australia before Christmas. I am sad and hurt about that because they had great jobs, were highly educated and were a real asset to our country. We cannot afford to lose those kinds of people. Their parents went through a lot and they went through a lot themselves to get properly educated, but the main reason they are going is because they cannot see themselves ever being able to purchase a new home in Ireland or Kerry. They cannot build one because of the planning restrictions, which there is no need for. Those issues could be addressed. Give them planning. There was a mention of legalising granny flats or building onto the back of houses. Where is that?”
“Costs have gone through the roof. People are in fear of having their electricity turned off. They cannot afford to pay their bills. Many people are behind on paying their bills. The running costs of small businesses, including electricity, insurance, rates, water charges and staff, are high. While we welcome the minimum wage being increased for low-paid workers, the Government cannot claim any part of this, because employers have to pay the extra employment costs. It will not cost the Government a penny, which we have to remember. I am disappointed because, as I said last week, we do not seem to be doing enough at all for working-class people.”
“We would prefer if it had been implemented all in one go, because those people are vital for the people they are caring for, first of all, and they are doing tremendous work for the State in seeing after people who need care. It should not be treated as a social welfare payment, as carers are working hard, day and night, taking care of their loved ones and saving the State billions of euro. Nothing has been done for the ever-increasing cost of electricity. I have said day after day that since Bord na Móna was abolished in 2020 or thereabouts, the cost of electricity has gone up daily, and it does not come down. I am wondering where the energy regulator is. Is it there at all? I do not think it is. Elderly people are afraid to turn on the heating because of the cost of electricity and are suffering and perishing in the cold.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this budget, which has been awaited by many people around the country to see if they will benefit from it. All of us here might do it differently but we have to go by the amount of money the Government has to spend, and the choices it makes about how to spend it is what we have to go through. There are many things that are welcome and a good few things that I am disappointed with. We welcome the capitation grant for schools because we know many principal teachers are funding things themselves, which is not fair. They have been very good. I know it has happened in Kerry. While we as a group asked for the abolition of the means test for the carer's allowance, the Government is committed to doing it on a phased basis.”
“We welcome all the events that are coming to Adare in two years' time. There is also going to be a big event played in Doonbeg next year. Other members of the Trump family are looking forward to funding, and seeking funding, to ensure the smooth operation of that event. There is still a water main to be connected going down there. It is greatly in need of being replaced. I am asking the Government to ensure Irish Water has that done in a timely fashion. It is very important. We need to keep bringing visitors and events to this country and our counties to ensure the vitality and economic future of our country is safe. I am asking that we look favourably on the rural clubs and, especially, rowing clubs that have made applications for funding in the next round. I appeal again to the Government to look very favourably on those.”
“I want to thank the Minister of State for the money that the Government has been given to Kerry, including to Glenflesk in recent times as well as Tuosist, where they are trying to move a mountain to build a football field in the heart of the Beara Peninsula. The Currans centre of excellence is of massive benefit to the people and players of Kerry. We think of the massive team that performed in Croke Park this summer. We must keep them going. The Fitzgerald Stadium is central to them, and it is where the Munster Final has always been played when in Kerry, but it needs to be revamped. Patrick O'Sullivan and his team - Pat the Tatler, we call him - have a massive plan in place to renovate and build this place like new. I am asking the Minister of State to look favourably upon it.”
“As much as possible should be done to ensure that teenagers and young adults stay involved, as many young girls in particular tend to drop out during their teenage years. I especially want to thank the Minister of State. He will remember me from the last Dáil for being here on this side giving out about him a lot of days, about what was not being done and whatever, but it was nothing personal. I thank him very much for coming to Kerry in the summer months during the holidays and visiting the Kerry GAA Centre of Excellence in Currans and visiting Derreen. We are now seeking funding for Fitzgerald Stadium. We are looking forward in anticipation, hoping that the Minister of State will look after it. It is a massive stadium, but it is gone out of date, and it needs a lot of attention and to be redeveloped.”
“Funding for large-scale sporting infrastructure is an investment in our future sportsmen and women. These larger projects will ensure increased participation and encourage the younger generations to get involved. It is important that the required facilities for all kinds of sport, such as large stadiums like the Fitzgerald Stadium in Killarney, swimming pools and training facilities be funded in all these areas throughout the country to ensure those from rural areas have as much of a chance to pursue their sporting dreams as those coming from Dublin. Sport is such an important aspect for young people, people with disabilities and people with mental health issues, as it keeps people involved with their teammates and keeps them active in their communities. They make friends and it keeps them going.”
“We all know how important participation in sport is for young and old, and how it brings communities together. Adequate funding should be in place for sports clubs and organisations in all our towns and villages and clubs constantly have to fundraise, which puts parents and fundraisers under financial pressure to support them. The funding provided through the sports capital funds has had a very positive impact through the years on the areas that benefitted from it in the provision of sports facilities that otherwise clubs in local areas would have needed to fund and they might never have achieved building them at all. Where a club or organisation has been successful in applications for capital funding in recent times, additional funding should be made available in the event of costs rising. It is the case that building costs are rising.”
“There is no logic in Netanyahu's mind. If he appears in any other part of the world outside of Israel or outside of America, he should be incarcerated and never again let see the light of day. That is how I feel, I feel so badly about him. We always heard that the fine must fit the crime, and you pay according to the harm that you did, but there is no explanation, no understanding and no forgiveness anywhere for what he is doing to poor, innocent people, and they having no place to sleep and them covered in debris and everything. It is horrible. I hope, however long we live, that we never again see anything like this in any other part of the world. Words cannot describe the hurt I am feeling for innocent children, elderly people, mothers and fathers, and the whole lot of them. What is going on is so disgraceful.”
“We could blame one man, Trump, but there is a government and administration there and surely there should be some kind of humanity in those people. They should try to stop what is going on and stop giving them guns, money and whatever they are giving them to keep going because it is so wrong. A human life is precious, and to think that little children are being blown out of it and are buried under apartments and buildings, it is so wrong, and the rest of the world has to stand idly by and can do nothing to help poor, innocent people. I am so sorry I cannot do anything. I know all of you are disappointed and concerned about it. We respect those people who went out on the flotilla, and I know they are trying to do good, but my advice to them is not to have any more people go because it is not safe there. They need to understand that.”
“We are speaking in this Chamber and we were elected to represent the people of Ireland, and as far as I am concerned, to represent the people of Kerry. The people I talk to every day are so upset and they ask me what we can do. We are powerless in this Chamber. All we can do is talk, but we have to talk. I always believe in saying what is on my mind. I do not go behind the back door to say what I have to say. I do not talk in riddles. I am very disappointed because I am someone who was brought up to appreciate America - the USA. Two of my uncles, my father's brothers, and two of his sisters, went out there in the late 1950s and early 1960s and they told us about the great country that it was. We are so disappointed with the Administration there now.”
“Like everyone else in here and like most of the world, we are all outraged by what has been happening in Gaza to the Palestinian people for almost the past two years. It is terrible. It is horrible. No words I can use could capture the wrong that has been done. I look at the Deputy across from me, from Wexford, Deputy Brennan, who spoke yesterday evening in such an eloquent and heartfelt way about children who are being killed before they even see the light of day. It is so wrong. Growing up as a young fellow, we were told about the terrible things Hitler did. We know he did terrible things, but to my mind what is happening now is altogether worse, if it is even possible to measure such a thing.”
“I want to ask a specific question regarding Daly’s roundabout in Killarney, on the N22, which the Minister knows well. There is a proposal by TII and Kerry County Council to remove the roundabout and replace it with a traffic light. Five sets of traffic lights are supposed to be put up instead of the roundabout. I ask that temporary lights be provided first to see how this will work. Killarney is already choked from every side with respect to getting in and out of the town. In any case, what I am saying to these people is that this roundabout should not be removed, and the work should not be done, until the outer bypass is finished and clearly done. It will create mayhem to replace the roundabout with traffic lights. I ask the Minister to deliver that message to the Minister for Transport.”
“I ask the Minister to ask the local authority to build rural cottages on land owned by family members because it is only building one house a year at the minute. That is not enough. We would want to have-----”
“The council spent €3 million on that case. We still have no water in Kenmare, even though we are surrounded by lakes, springs and everything else. I ask the Minister to address this. The Minister is doing a lot of things, but he must make sure local authorities build houses again. They are not building any houses in places like Gneeveguilla, Currow and Scartaglin, or other local parishes.”
“I thank the Minister. The people I am talking about know about the help to buy scheme. Many of them do not qualify. The Minister referred to zoned land. We have zoned land in Kenmare. Johnny Healy-Rae raised this last week. There are two applications before Kerry County Council that have gone out for further information. Developers are supposed to provide their own water. They have been asked to do so because the water is not adequate in Kenmare. No private housing scheme has been built by any individual in Kenmare in the past 20 years because of the treatment plant. Some €40 million has been spent on that plant, but now we have no water. Kerry County Council tried to take water out of the Bonane river ten years ago. The case went to the High Court and the European Court of Appeal and the council lost.”
“Not only is it stopping such people, but it is also stopping people who are local to those sites, including those with a site close to their parents' house. I am not talking about the sons and daughters of farmers; they are getting permission. However, their neighbours next door are not. In the east Kerry hinterland of Killarney and the mid-Kerry hinterlands of Killorglin and Kenmare that is what is happening. People would build houses if they could get planning permission. Many affordable housing schemes are not available in Kerry. We never had an affordable housing scheme. We do not have the cost rental scheme in Kerry. We are asking for fair play. I ask the Minister to address the restrictions on national roads. We have raised that several times. What will be done about it?”
“They are now caught because those aged between 25 and 32 feel they cannot get to a point where they can purchase or build a house. Houses in Killarney cost between €450,000 and €650,000. That is too much and people cannot get a mortgage for such houses. That is why they are departing. On the other side, people cannot get planning permission. Kerry is unusual in that on about 100 km of national primary and secondary routes people are not allowed to exit from their own land due to restrictions on those routes. We have raised this issue several times. A strict rule about urban-generated pressure was imposed on us by the planning regulator. It was intended to prevent people coming to the country from towns in order to build houses for themselves.”
“I am glad to have this opportunity to raise with the Minister the matter of young fellas, boys and girls, leaving our shores to go to Australia simply because they cannot buy or build a house in this country no matter how good a job they have. I attended an event in Barraduff in east Kerry a couple of weeks ago for ten local youngsters who are departing our shores. Some of them have already gone and the rest will be gone before Christmas. In other words, they will not be sitting at their parents' table for their Christmas dinner this year. I am hurt by that. They have been educated to the highest standards and persevered through long days and nights in colleges in Cork, Galway, Dublin, Limerick or wherever else. They are highly educated and their parents helped financially to put them through school.”
“I do not know how she managed in the finish but she was crying to me on the phone for days. What is happening in Kerry is a terrible situation. We have been let down very badly. We do not know when the new community hospital is opening. We have been asking about it but the opening has been put back. There are other plans for the old district hospital and for the grounds of St. Finian's. We do not have the primary care unit in Killarney we have been waiting on for so many years.”
“They only get one week and the bed will have to be booked now if they want it in the middle of summer next year. Can the Minister of State imagine that? People must book a respite bed a year head in Killarney, Kenmare, Listowel and Cahersiveen community hospitals. They are being treated terribly and it is not fair. Will the Minister of State look into this? The beds are there but the staff are not. That is what needs to be addressed. I am very hurt about it when I see that a young girl with a family and an autistic little boy cannot go away for just seven days for a bit of a holiday. I have spoken to another woman in Killarney who has been minding her mother-in-law, who needs an awful lot of care and attention, for many years. She could not get a respite bed anywhere.”
“One woman who looks after her mother said to me, "Danny, I do not mind too much myself but I want to go on holiday for a week with my little boy, who is more attached to me than to his father". She has been minding her mother continuously for five years. Can the Minister of State imagine that? She has been continuously seeing to the daily and hourly needs of her mother and she could not go away for one week. It was absolutely savage. There are no respite beds. Taking the area from Mick the Bridges, where drivers turn off the N22 for Kilgarvan, and all that territory down through Kilgarvan, Kenmare, Sneem, Castlecove and back into Caherdaniel, there is only one respite bed in Kenmare hospital serving that area. People are supposed to get four weeks of respite in a year but there is no way for that to happen.”
“A promise was made to get rid of the means test during the lifetime of the Government. That suggests the cap will be increased year by year over four or five years. I ask that the Government go further at the start than raising it by just one fifth. It should do more because this is an essential support for carers, who do massive work. Many speakers have noted that carers around the country are saving the State €20 billion. During the summer, I never had so many people coming to me wanting a few days off and to put the person they are caring for into some respite place. It is impossible to get a respite bed in Kerry for anyone who wants to go away for a week.”
“I am glad to have an opportunity to debate this issue. I thank the Social Democrats for putting the motion before the House. It certainly is very timely with the budget happening next week. I have been and am appealing to the Government to get rid of the means test for people who are caring for loved ones. We are talking about human beings. When people become carers, they must, in many instances, live the other person's life. Whether someone has Alzheimer's disease, a disability or whatever else, their carer has to work around them to make sure they are looked after and treated as humans and that their daily and hourly needs are met. It is a fierce responsibility. It is not fair to deny people carer's allowance just because their partner or some other person in the house is earning money, to which the carer may have no access.”
“They can say that someone is living on a flood plain and many people do not get insurance even though their houses were never flooded. Just because they are near a flood plain could mean they are not covered by house insurance. That is not fair. I ask the Minister of State to look into this issue. I have raised a number of issues, including young drivers, hauliers, bus operators, businesspeople and the fact there is no end to the amount of a claim. Another issue is that if somebody has an accident on the road, they will ring their insurance company. From that minute, the insurance is loaded even though blame has not yet been apportioned and it could be that the other driver was liable. However, I guarantee that the person’s policy will not come down next year. Once it goes up at all, up it will stay.”
“Invariably, the hospital will ask the person if they have private health insurance and if so, the charge will be €800 or more for the night. That is not fair. It is driving up the cost for poor and elderly people who are paying for private health insurance, and for couples who are paying for their children by adding them to their policies as they come along. They are paying through the nose for it. That needs to be addressed. Deputy Stanley referred to community events and voluntary organisations that put on shows in trying to retain their parish’s identity. Many of them have failed to get insurance cover, which is a disgrace. The Government should look into why they are being charged so much. It is not fair. The insurance companies now have ways of looking up where people live.”
“There is a set price of about Stg£9,000 for whiplash in the UK whereas it can be up to €90,000 here. I do not say that people have brass necks; some of these people who operate the claims culture now have gold necks due to the money they claim and are awarded. It is very unfair on other people. The claims culture is increasing. I ask the Minister of State to look into this to see if there is any way it can be curbed. The cost of private health insurance is an issue that I have raised before. The people who try to purchase private health insurance need to be applauded because they are paying towards the cost of maintaining their own health. However, we can see what happens. If someone who does not have health insurance goes into any hospital in the country tonight, the charge may be €70 or €80 for the night.”
“They should be given a chance. However, they are being driven down through the ground with the cost of insurance. It finishes up with their parents having to insure them on their policies because the children cannot get insurance themselves. It is sad that they do not get the chance, given they are being charged so much. There are high costs for hauliers due to public liability, and the same goes for other businesses, such as taxis and bus operators. All of those people are paying savage sums. It is clear that the insurance companies are reaping the benefits and taking a lot more profit than they need to. Businesses are suffering due to claims and there seems to be no regulation of what claims can amount to. Whiplash is common in the UK, where people are suffering after any kind of tip at all.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the opportunity to discuss the cost of insurance in the Chamber. We have done it many times before but I do not know if anyone has been listening to us. Clearly, there is not enough competition in the market. I honestly believe, and have said before, that when Seán Quinn was competing in the market for insurance and was an alternative, that was the only time that insurance costs came down. Clearly, it is because there is not enough competition. Motorists are paying through the nose for insurance, especially young people. I always say we should give youngsters a chance. They might blot their copybook and misbehave when driving the car, which is a lethal weapon if not properly used, but we should give them a chance. Surely now that they are doing theory tests, lessons and so on, 99% of them behave properly.”
“We should be able to store any amount of natural gas in the Kinsale gas field. It is not being utilised at all. We are being told we have to purchase the gas when we need it, whatever the price. That is not right. I ask the Minister of State to consider this in order to determine whether we can store gas when it can be bought cheaply, not operate the way we are operating at the moment whereby we have to buy when we need it, regardless of the price. It is ultimately the customer who has to pay for it. Old people are struggling to keep their homes warm. Families with children have to be kept warm and people are fearful about the cost of electricity. Every man and woman on the road is suffering because of the cost of fuel owing to the carbon tax.”
“They worry more at that age, and it is not fair. When the Government says money it is collecting – including through the carbon tax, which I totally have opposed over the terms of the past two Governments or since I came up here the first day - is being put into the SEAI and being used to heat homes, I say to it that it is not reaching the people at all. It is taking too long to come to them. It is not fair to have them waiting two or two and a half years. Small businesses are closing day by day. Energy costs are the main reason for this. Those businesses cannot bear the burden of the cost any more. They are totally reliant on electricity and gas. Then we hear that Ireland cannot purchase gas on the open market when it is cheapest. The Minister of State should listen to this because it is very important.”
“Many of these people are not able to pay their way, and many thousands are behind in the payment of their electricity bills. I ask the Government to look into this and the energy regulator to do something about it. Where individuals build their own houses, the banks are stopping them from putting in chimneys or having solid fuel heating because they want the energy rating as high as possible. Chimneys always let bad air out and good air in. The different approach is hurting people in many ways and it is ridiculous. Elderly people applying for the energy grant to upgrade their homes have been told by the SEAI, including this week, that they will have to wait for at least two years. Can you imagine what two years is to someone in their late 70s or early 80s? It is like being told it will never happen in their lifetime.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about the energy crisis. I thank Sinn Féin for giving it to us. What I have to say I have said several times before. Since Bord na Móna was closed down by the previous Government in 2020, the cost of electricity has gone up day by day. That is a fact. In the past week or two, different energy companies have been raising their prices by 10%, 12% and 13%. Then we hear that one company has brought down the price by 4%. No one knows what is going on. Does the Government know? We were supposed to have an energy regulator, but there is no account in the world of him. I am asking the Government to bring that fellow and whatever team he has to task because they are not playing their part. Social houses that are built now do not have any chimneys, meaning people are totally reliant on electricity.”
“They found a tenth child late in the day, and we have been told that we have to wait until next year. That is not fair on the parents and children involved. I ask the Minister of State to do what he can about this matter.”
“However, I cannot do that because they have been vetted by those people, but they need to be Garda vetted by me as well in the space of maybe 12 hours, which is ridiculous. If they are Garda vetted and on Bus Éireann's list, surely that should do. What is the difference of driving in Kilgarvan, Sneem or Killarney? They have to be Garda vetted separately if they come to me. We have problems in Cronin's Wood in Killarney where 250 houses are being built. They are having difficulty getting down into the Monastery, the Presentation Convent and those places. They are looking for transport and they are entitled to it. We were trying to get a bus service in the Headford area to take people to the school in Barraduff. That matter is with the Minister of State. I hope he can do something about it.”
“Drivers in the USA and the UK operate beyond 70 years of age. I have seen it and inquired into it. The Minister of State needs to look at that. The other thing relates to 20-year-old buses. The minute buses reach 20 years of age here, even though they are mechanically sound and pass the test, they are put off the road and are no longer suitable for Bus Éireann. More often than not, those buses are being bought, taken to the North of Ireland and used to provide the same service up there. That is absolutely scandalous. There is another real problem that contractors face. If a driver gets sick tomorrow morning, I could get a loan of a driver no problem from Teddy McCarthy below in Sneem or from O'Callaghan Coaches in Killarney.”
“I am glad to get an opportunity to talk about this matter. I will start with drivers who are over 70. I have been looking for this for many years. I am a contractor, and my father was at it from 1956. We have a long record of service of taking children to school in Kilgarvan and Kenmare. I understand the plight of drivers when they reach 70. I had the finest drivers who had to park up and forget about it when they turned 70. I have asked for them to be tested medically, independently or whatever, to ensure that they are perfect in every way, because the safety of children is a priority. I am not trying to put them in any danger by asking for it. I know the drivers I let go are driving other vehicles for other people, doing other things rather than transporting schoolchildren, and they are still driving perfectly.”