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 11 of 15.
“I have seen many a good driver park up for the last time when they reach the age of 70 because they are no longer wanted. It is ageist because people are living longer and are active for longer. If Bus Éireann wanted, these people would undergo another medical rather than having one a year. It could be an independent medical test that people agree to undergo. It would be of benefit because many men and women are able to drive, but the Bus Éireann or CIÉ school bus section is stopping them from doing so. I cannot understand it. I ask the Minister to address this.”
“I am wondering what it is, and I have asked this question here before in different debates. Is there something causing it? Is it lack of some vitamins or what is it? We need to address that part of it as well because there could be something that is causing it. Special education is the most important thing tonight, but I have heard other Deputies raising other issues. I have been making a request for many years to look at the issue of drivers who are being disallowed - only by Bus Éireann, or CIÉ - from driving a school bus once they are past 70 years of age. They are able to drive it in every other context. They can take the children to football matches and drive it for the local rural transport, but they cannot bring children to school.”
“The sooner they are assessed, the sooner the matter can get resolved. Many parents wait for years for an assessment in the public system and often have to resort to paying for a private assessment for their children. This is only the first step for them. What about the families who cannot afford to go private? These assessments should be carried out as early as possible, and more therapists are needed in this area to avoid delays with diagnoses, which impacts the child's education. It seems to me that autism and many of these complex needs are on the increase. We need to do more to find out what is causing it and if there is a reason. It seems to me that many more are presenting than in my younger days. Even when I was going to school, it did not seem to be an issue at all at that time. There were very few anyway.”
“Many children with complex needs are still without necessary school places and parents all over the country are worn out from fighting for school places for their children. They should not have to fight for the basic right to education. Many schools have issues with funding in order to open new special classes because there is a shortage of space to expand. They do not have the room, staffing or resources. Many rural schools do not have the necessary facilities for additional sensory spaces, which many of them require and would benefit from. It is not fair that schools are not provided with the necessary funding to cater for special education classes. There continues to be a lengthy delay with assessments, and probably the worst part of the whole thing is that children are not assessed in time. They have to be assessed.”
“Surely, they should be on the system and not have to replicate their efforts again. When a student is diagnosed, supports should follow through from primary to post-primary education automatically. The parents should not have to fight for this again. Every child has a right to education. Another problem arises in that the Department says that it has X number of SNA places and that the country is covered. In many cases, however, this is not so. In very rural places, there is an awful distance between different schools. A school with an SNA for a child 7 or 8 miles away is no good if there is no transport, which often happens. We need to ensure that these SNAs are placed locally where the children are. They are entitled to receive support locally.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for this opportunity to talk again about this very important topic. Many parents face a challenge when they find out that their children have special needs. It is another challenge or big burden on many of them to ensure their children get a proper education. We know that every child has a right to education, and it is not fair that children with special needs are not always given the same opportunities that they rightly deserve. Concerned parents often contact me distressed that their children are unable to secure places in special education classes or that there are no special needs teachers in their schools. Too often, they have to fight for primary school education and special needs teachers, and when they then move on to post-primary school - I raised this before - they have to do it all again.”
“I do not want these glossy magazines or reports on anything. The facts are there, and the Government knows it. They must be seen after.”
“I have been highlighting this for two years for several different people. Why can the HSE not employ contract workers? This poor mother is over 70 years of age. I know she wanted me to mention her in the Chamber but I will not do so until I have full authority. She is suffering and she has suffered for the last 35 years in seeing after her daughter. Now, when she is not able to see after herself, she needs the three visits each day from two people, given a hoist is needed to get the daughter out of bed, put her to bed and those little things. They would manage the rest themselves over the 24 hours of the day. It is not fair to give them an allocation and have no one turn up. I am sick of it. I am not blaming the Minister of State; I am blaming the HSE. Something will have to be done about it. It is time to call “Stop”.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity. Even though so many people with disabilities are allocated home care or home help, often the home help never turns up, or at least not the amount of it that is supposed to be given to people. I have a case of a mother and daughter. The mother is minding the daughter for the past 35 years. The daughter got an acquired brain injury. She had strokes and several things and she is speechless. She has so many different problems. The house is fitted out. There is no home anywhere fitted out like it is fitted out to care for this girl. The mother is now sick. She was promised three visits by two people each day but only one person is coming once a day. She is sick herself. This is not fair. If the HSE does not have the staff, I cannot understand why.”
“I also ask her to look at the issue of people not being able to get into the district hospital without going to the regional hospital first. Does the Minister know what often happens when there is no bed available for them? A taxi brings them home again. That is wrong. We have the beds. It is just a matter of more staff. I thank the Minister very much.”
“I am asking the Minister to look at that because, more often than not, these people would be looked after in the district hospital in maybe one or two weeks and then they would be good enough to go home again for another spell. I know you are not going to make a young person out of them, but it would suffice. It would be more useful, make more sense and maybe stop the clogging up of our accident and emergency departments in the regional hospitals. Many of the Deputies who spoke asked for all their wants to be met and to try to rectify everything. I am asking the Minister to do her best on these issues, especially for the older people who arrive in Tralee hospital after coming out of bed and may have to spend 24 hours in a chair waiting to be put into another bed. That is wrong.”
“I never turn it off because I often get a call at 12 o'clock or 1 o’clock at night from a family, whose elderly father or mother has been waiting in a chair to be seen from early the day before, telling me they will not have a bed again tonight. While these people are bedridden, as it is called, they get sicker and need attention. Where do they find themselves? They are put in a chair in the accident and emergency department. I am asking that a full stop be put to that. There is another aspect giving me great concern. Long ago, when people got sick, some could be treated in the district hospital. People cannot get into the district hospital now unless they were in the regional hospital first. I cannot understand that and many others cannot understand it.”
“People are referred to the accident and emergency department where they have to wait long hours, including elderly people. On the issue of elderly people, sometimes they have to leave their bed, including old men and women in their 80s, or maybe close to 90, to go to the accident and emergency department in Tralee. They end up sitting in a chair, or maybe on a trolley if they are after coming out of an ambulance, for hours before they are seen. That is not fair on people who have come out of their warm bed only to end up in a chair in the accident and emergency department. I am asking for that to be rectified. I know the beds are there. It is the staff who are not there. We do not have enough staff. That is a real hurtful thing and I feel for people. I leave my phone on every night.”
“We need to help those people who present with autism. I feel for young parents who want the best for their child and want their child to be the best. It is a real ambition for them to want the best for their child. The time to be assessed is taking too long. We need to speed that up. We are looking forward to the Minister taking a new look at the whole health system. It is a daunting request. I know that. Many Ministers have been blamed in the past. There are many intricate and different aspects we need to address. Another issue we have is a lack of GPs at any time. If it were not for South Doc in the off periods, many people would be left unattended. We just do not have enough GPs. At weekends, accident and emergency departments fill up because there are no doctor services available.”
“On the old Southern Health Board – and it was the same with the Eastern Health Board and all the different health boards at the time – the elected members went around with the doctors and surgeons, where they interacted and found out what was wanting. They then contacted the Department of Health and worked together to address those issues. We need more of that because although many HSE officials are grand, more of them are not. They are not fulfilling the needs of the people. They are just not doing their job to achieve the outcomes we want for the people who deserve it. People are living longer and have additional needs. We see all the problems that are coming along with autism and all of that. There seems to be any number of children presenting with autism. I wish we could find out whether anything is causing it.”
“We are looking for a minor injuries unit and a primary care centre. We have been promised different things by the HSE at different times. We need finality on these issues sooner rather than later. Councillor Maura Healy-Rae is constantly raising this issue, as, indeed, are other local authority members from Killarney municipal district. Things like that are very important. I remember when my father was on the Southern Health Board. The elected members on the Southern Health Board at the time visited hospitals and were involved in the running of the board. That is one of the questions. The Minister said there will be ten new members on the board. Will there be any elected members on the board? It is important there is.”
“He fought hard and stuck it out to the bitter end until he got the funding. Sadly, not all the beds in the hospital are in use. We are told the problem is that the required number of staff cannot be obtained to operate all the beds that are idle upstairs. This community hospital services an area from Poulgorm Bridge, which is situated where one leaves the N22 to head towards Kilgarvan and Kenmare, all the way back to the county bounds in Lauragh and on to somewhere around Caherdaniel. It services all the families in that area in which somebody needs respite, but there is only one respite bed available while other beds lie empty. We see the same with the community hospitals in Killarney and other places. We are waiting for the new community hospital to open in Killarney and to see to what use the old district hospital can be put.”
“We see nurses going at full belt day and night in hospital wards. They are doing their level best but there never seems to be enough of them or other front-line staff. However, any number of millions of euro is provided for administrative staff. The Minister will correct me if I am wrong but it seems to me people are being appointed or reappointed to vacancies on the administrative side but when it comes to people on the working side, such as the nurse or someone else on the floor who needs to be replaced, the HSE are only allowing so many appointments. That is what we have been told is the reason we do not have as many nurses as we should. There is an issue with Kenmare Community Hospital going back to when it opened in 2012 or 2013. It is located only 7 miles from my door and I am very proud that my father secured the funding for it.”
“I am glad to have an opportunity to speak about this Bill, which deals with very serious matters that affect every community, especially in Kerry. There are many failings and many issues. The Minister has said the HSE's annual service plan is to be replaced with an annual performance delivery plan. An issue I have encountered in this Chamber since I came up here is that, every budget time, we vote for X millions of euro to go to the HSE to provide health services for children, the elderly, people who have had accidents and everybody else who needs medical attention. We know about all of the failings of the system. It seems to me there is no real accountability for all the millions of euro given to the HSE. We, as elected Members, have no recourse to really challenge the executive as to what it is doing or has done with the money.”
“Nothing is happening in Kerry. That is the honest truth of it. Dentists are upset about it. They do not want to be refusing people. The Government must sort it out. It is about money. People are paying into the scheme.”
“When there is an oral health problem, it causes adverse issues and other parts of the body not to work right. On top of that, there is the pain of it. There was a publican across the road from ourselves, John Reilly, who used to say about teeth that they were trouble coming and they were trouble going. There is a lot of trouble with the system now. We are grateful to Brian Stanley for recognising the issue, identifying the problem and bringing it forward here today. The main point is that dentists are not taking the medical card. We must bring people who are in a bad way outside the county. I ask the Minister of State to look at Kerry especially for this very reason. Some bits of a service are happening in Cork. Deputy O'Flynn says there are no dentists taking the medical card in Mallow, but there are other parts of Cork where they do.”
“It took about two years to get that little girl seen. She is a lovely girl and is doing very well now, but we had a battle to get her seen. There have been many other cases. When we were going to primary school ourselves, the dentist called to the school and undertook whatever was to be done. The dentist talked to the parents and we got sorted out. However, that is not the case any more. This is a new Government but the same system pertained all through the last Government. Many of the Ministers and members of the Government are the same. I urge the Minister of State to look at this very serious matter to see if it can be improved. That must happen because it is just not fair. It is a health issue when a person's teeth go wrong, given that so many other things go wrong as a result.”
“They are very busy anyway. For the people who paid their stamps, what is pay related social insurance, PRSI, for? It does not cover dental services anymore. At least, dentists are saying it does not cover it. There are then young people. I have dealt with many cases of girls and boys, who are coming up to their group cert or leaving cert, who become shy because their mouths are wrong and they need extractions, straightening and a whole lot of work. The longer that goes on and their mouths become firm, it is way more difficult and a much bigger job. It is easier to do that type of work when the children are aged 13 or 14. I know of one girl whose mother was so concerned about her. She would not leave her room, she was missing days in school and she would not go out in the evening. Her mother was constantly worried about her.”
“I am glad to get this opportunity. I thank Deputy Brian Stanley for tabling the motion on this very important and serious matter to give us all the chance to say a few words on it. We know the scenario in County Kerry is very drastic. Practically no dentist will take a patient on a medical card to remove or extract a tooth or to deal with that patient at all. Gladly, when people were in very dire circumstances, we found places for them in another county. That is a poor reflection. Some of these people are on a State pension. They worked all their lives, and contributed their stamps and all that, but their medical card is not taken. They have a medical card. The dentists say to me they have no agreement with the State and are not being properly compensated for carrying out the work. They do not undertake the work then.”
“If they decide not to sell us this item or the other, we cannot challenge them because all the small shops are gone. The worst thing they are doing is insisting the suppliers, who are the farmers, must allow them three months' credit. I ask that the Minister of State look into that to see how it is fair. Farmers are bankrolling many of the supermarket companies and they have to wait to be paid. The farmers have to pay for everything they get. They cannot ask their supplier to wait for three months. What these companies are doing is not fair on our producers.”
“I think of times past going back along Tahilla, looking into the bay at Kenmare and seeing the likes of Frankie Jim, Joe Jim, Dónal O'Shea and all those fellows, and the O'Briens and others back along by Sneem, out in the bay fishing day after day. They are gone. I did not get any mackerel in the past three years, whereas the village used to be full of them previously. Now they are not to be had at all out of Kenmare Bay. There are too many schemes now promoting less production. Where there is protected urea, nothing will be grown. A lot of the fertiliser we buy now, whatever is taken out of it, does not grow what it used to grow. The other point I must mention is that multinational supermarket companies have too much power.”
“I thank the Minister of State and for being here this late at night. He has thrown out a lot of figures there. My head is not like a computer but I can say to him he is going back to figures for what has happened up to now but I am worried about here on because as I told him, much land is being bought up and let go idle. Much land is being planted with solar panels. I am glad the Minister of State mentioned coastal communities and fishing. Our fishers are almost gone. They were paid to decommission. I have mentioned pair trawling in Kenmare Bay previously in here but nothing has been done about it and nothing will be done. It has been completely cleaned out.”
“Then one of our recent taoisigh went as far as saying he was doing his bit for climate change by reducing his beef consumption. Beef is expensive now because it is getting scarce. It is only proper and right the farmers are being paid for their produce, but lamb is also getting scarce. Dairy farmers are giving up. Young fellows see their friends working a five-day week, getting holidays and not having to be up all night calving cows. They see they have a better time and they are not going to stay at the grindstone like their fathers or their grandfathers building up their big dairy herds. I have more to say.”
“Farmers who had up to 1,100 cows are giving up and covering the place with solar panels. This is happening in west Cork, east Cork and in the royal county of Meath and it is a real worry. I thought solar panels were to be on the roofs of agricultural or commercial buildings. I do not blame any farmer or landowner for switching if they are not being paid properly for their produce but there should be some proper policy on it. Farmers are getting blamed then and feel victimised for climate change and polluting rivers by many in different sectors, including Members in this Chamber. Members in this Chamber are victimising them and blaming them constantly and advising us to eat other tropical-type foods from South America and different places. Do they realise there is a carbon footprint in bringing all these things?”
“The thing that is bothering a lot of people is the State seems to be buying up a lot of land. It said in the Irish Farmers' Journal the other day the State is going to continue doing that. First of all, that land is bought against young farmers who want to expand and the State is paying higher than normal prices for it. This land is let go wild, encouraging more deer and more badgers and foxes. In Kerry we have a national park of 27,000 acres. It is lovely and all that, but there is no control in the world over the deer or the badgers coming out of it, spreading TB and killing people on the roads. It is a fact. They are breaking cars and there is no control in the world. The other thing that is happening is good land is being planted with solar panels.”
“I am hoping the Minister of State will relay my story to the Minister for agriculture. Food security is of paramount importance. We all know if we do not eat, young or old, we will not last very long. It is sad when we see other people and children in need in all these war-torn places starving. We hear and we read there are 750 million people in the world starving, yet we seem to not be doing our best to promote the growth of our beef and dairy industry like we should be. We still remember, because we can see the ridges of garden on the hillsides that were never dug because of the Famine in the 1840s, when the gardens failed. It was not too long ago. We were still exporting beef and meat to England to pay the rent and they would not forgo that and many of our people starved. The ridges that were not dug are still there to be seen.”
“It is terrible to hear that the women who came before us suffered pain and agony and did so silently. I feel for anyone who has pain. I know people who have passed on who suffered fierce pain. The last thing we want to hear is of anyone suffering in pain. With all the things we have today and our affluent society, this matter will have to be looked at and taken care of. The Minister is a woman in the Cabinet. We are looking to her to sort out all the problems with the health service. I ask her to prioritise the problems women with endometriosis have and to sort them out as soon as she can. I appeal to her not to oppose the motion or put forward any amendments. We must work together to ensure this issue is sorted out and that the women here today, and any other women who are suffering and need to be treated, get treatment.”
“When there are so many people presenting with it, one would think the GPs would be more informed and understand the different symptoms that suggest endometriosis. I am appealing to the Minister, who is a woman, and to the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, who is beside her, as well as to the Government more widely to do whatever is necessary to look after these people. It galls me to hear that women in times gone by had to suffer pain. When families depend on the mother so much, and the woman in the home - and we all do - we have to appreciate them and look after them. This is a very serious thing. The Minister has to prioritise it and ensure whatever is lacking or wherever we are falling down, be that with our GPs, our consultants, our hospitals or whatever, is prioritised. This has been going on for long enough.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to talk on this very important motion. I thank Sinn Féin for bringing it before us. I welcome all the people who had to come here to the Gallery, all the girls and women. We are sorry they had to come to highlight their condition and their problem, but why not, because they are very welcome here. It is sad to hear and see what they have had to suffer. We see a figure like 10% of women, but if it was only 2% of women, it would still be too many. Pain or anyone suffering pain is absolutely a no-no and we should do everything possible to ensure any women who present with endometriosis are looked after as a priority. I was appalled when I heard the Deputies here saying people were often frowned upon as if it was in their heads or they were only imagining it. That is not right.”
“Many people are looking forward to the Puck Fair festival in Killorglin this year. It has been going on for over 400 years and survived many obstacles, bad times and good times. It even survived Joe Duffy's attack on the goat. However, 14 publicans looked for an exemption until 3 a.m. from the District Court recently. They only got an exemption until 2 a.m. I believe they are appealing it. I hope they are. They were told it would be too much of a strain on Garda resources, yet we have to listen constantly to requests here in Dublin about opening Dublin until 6 a.m. They are saying they want to bring back the night. Puck Fair is a place where so many people come back to meet each other yearly, or maybe every three or four years.”
“They have to get out to open the gate and have to go back to close it. In this day of age, they are afraid of having to do that. I am appealing to the Minister of State now, and I am expecting him to react to this, to put in an automated crossing for the people of Stagmount in Rathmore. They have been waiting long enough for it. We have been asking for it for 15 or 16 years. I am appealing to the Minister of State, in his time in government, to ensure that the crossing is automated at Stagmount junction at Rathmore.”
“It not on at all in today's service for people to come all the way to Mallow. Sometimes they may get it on the Cork train if they change at Mallow. The service we are getting at the minute is not good enough. Between Mallow and Tralee and Killarney and Tralee, only one junction is not automated. This is the junction at the gates at Stagmount, Rathmore. I have asked Iarnród Éireann several times before to provide an automated crossing there. It is the only junction without one. When I submitted a parliamentary question, I was told there were 130 of them in the country, but it is the only one on the Mallow to Killarney line that is not automated. There are 14 families, including young women and children, crossing these gates several times per day and late at night. We are coming into the wintertime again.”
“I am glad to get the opportunity to ask the Minister of State to provide enough trains and carriages to bring the people from Kerry up to Dublin on Saturday and to bring them home. We are taking on Tyrone and we need our supporters there. We hope we will win the match. We will be looking for more trains then to come up again. We have one train service that operates at different hours of the day from Tralee through Killarney and onto Mallow. We are very forlorn in that there is not even a dining car or trolley car on that train. We are three hours and 20 minutes away from Dublin. I recall a time when my father was coming up here and he appreciated a dining car where he could get his breakfast on the train. That is not available anymore. Why is that? I am asking the Minister of State to rectify that.”
“We are a small nation and if we have to import a lot of our food, it will become far more expensive. On the cost of insurance, we hear of all the different things that have been said and done to the insurance companies. Notwithstanding that, insurance goes up every year. Everyone inside here knows it and the people who are paying through the nose every day know it, and there is no regulation. Whatever these regulators are being paid, many of them are not worth their pay because they are not transparent and they do not seem to be acting. We need to see and hear more regulation from them because they do not seem to be visible to me or anyone else at present.”
“For example, it would not make sense for farmers here in Ireland to sell potatoes to the supermarket because the supermarkets are selling them for less, wherever they are getting them, than they could pay the farmers. Deputy Toole talked about the price of grain, which is at an all-time low. It is grand to come up from Kerry and move into good land along the way and see all the fields of grain and corn turning yellow and gold. However, it is sorrowful to hear that farmers are not being paid properly for that. Where are the regulators? What is happening? Are we importing grain at a cheaper price? We are hurt when we hear that good land is being planted with solar panels - another idea by some geniuses. Food security is important to us. We need to understand that and keep it in mind all the time.”
“People are being advised by several parties and different politicians in this Chamber to go electric. Yet, since Bord na Móna closed down in 2020 the price of electricity has gone up daily. I do not know where the regulator is or who is in charge of that. He does not seem to be there at all. Electricity prices are going up and at the same time people are advised to put in heat pumps and to go electric. They are coming to me with bills of €400, €500 or €600 for whatever the period is and they cannot understand it. Of course, there is a heat pump going and twisting the meter around all day every day, sunny or cold. This is what they were advised to do and it is what they did. Farmers are not being paid a realistic price.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this topic before us today. This topic is in everyone's mouth, that the cost of everything has gone up. There is a major difference between one supermarket and another. There are different prices in different towns. No one can understand who the regulator is, what he is doing or where he is because he is not visible to any of us. The regulator does not seem to be playing an effective role. We see that oil prices fluctuate; they go up and down. We hear the oil price goes down but it takes two or three weeks for fuel prices to go down. If the oil price goes up, fuel prices seem to go up the following morning. They are the things people are talking about. There are monopolies, where certain companies distributing or selling different things seem to have a monopoly and can charge what they like.”
“I appeal to the Minister on behalf of students throughout the country, especially those in County Kerry who have to travel long journeys to go to college, to do the right thing on this occasion.”
“Last year many students from Killarney had to travel on a bus to Limerick every day because they could not get accommodation in Limerick. That is a fact. Students have contacted me about that. It is a very serious matter. It is also very difficult to get accommodation in Cork. I respectfully ask both Ministers here tonight to reconsider in favour of the students and allow them the €1,000. They thought the measure would be there and they would only pay €2,000. I know the Minister commented that the €1,000 reduction last year was as part of a cost-of-living package. He told us he would reduce student fees and we cannot understand or agree to them being raised.”
“I, too, am glad to have the opportunity to discuss the matter. I thank Sinn Féin for giving us the chance to speak on behalf of the students. I welcome the students who are in the Gallery and wish them well for the coming year. There are a number of things at play here. Many families do not qualify for SUSI. As a result, parents and students have to work very hard to ensure they have funding to go to college. The costs of accommodation, food and travel are excessive. Can the Minister visualise leaving a place like Valentia Island and travelling all the way to Killarney? That is an almost two-hour drive and it takes another two hours to get to Limerick to go to college. That costs money and time and wears on the students who go through it. It is a fact; that is what they have to do.”
“The land is being zoned, developers are letting it stand there and when they get a bigger price for it, they sell it off and that person will also hold it. They are only hoarding land and blackguarding us. It is totally unsatisfactory. I ask the Minister to look at that, especially around smaller towns in County Kerry, in the places I mentioned such as Castleisland, Killarney, Kenmare, Killorglin and Dingle. It is very important people are allowed to build their own homes and given a chance to buy affordable homes.”
“When houses have gone over €400,000, they are costing too much and are putting a noose around a young family's neck they may never disentangle themselves from. Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae and I have said at council meetings that zoning is a complete and absolute cod. Where there is a piece of ground that is fully serviced and has jumped the planning regulations, people should be allowed to build on it. It used to happen long ago and there was nothing wrong with it. Zoning is just a money-making racket for a pile of developers. It is giving developers who buy zoned land a monopoly to charge what they like for it because there is no competition across the way from someone else. They have that town or place to themselves and can charge what they like. We see what is happening in Dublin.”
“I ask young couples that are building their own homes to build them smaller and I ask the Government to encourage them to do so. There was a grant for houses that were built under 1,350 sq. ft in the 1970s and 1980s and people lived in them. Now they are building double that size and they are not using all the house but it is costing them fortunes more to build the house. I plead with them to build smaller houses. They will save money and it will give them hope of getting going. VAT on building materials should be removed or reduced. There is no VAT on building materials in the North of Ireland or in the UK. I ask the Government to seriously consider that due to the cost of building houses.”
“I ask him to do something about that and ensure that these people get the chance to build their house. They are not asking for money or anything else. They are only asking for planning permission that I believe they are entitled to but, because of this clause, they are being ruled out. They are being stopped and denied and it is wrong. Many of these people who have failed to get in in the past few years have gone abroad. They have gone as far away as Australia and New Zealand because they could not build a house for themselves at home. The local authorities should be empowered to build smaller standard-type houses or modular homes. I hope that the Minister will allow granny-type flats at the back of houses that the Government has spoken about, and continue with them, but it seems to be delaying a bit.”
“Indeed, we have a facility in Kerry, even at the present time, where if people have started building, are up as far as the windowsills but will not have their house finished a month before the planning permission expires, they can be allowed a full year's permission to complete their house. This strict urban-generated pressure clause is ruling many young boys and girls out of building a house in Kerry in places around Castleisland, Killarney, Killorglin, Kenmare and Dingle if they are out four or five miles from the town. These people were never coming out from town. They want to remain alongside their parents. They want to buy a site from a farmer locally. They are being deprived and denied the right to do that. That is wrong. I have spoken to the Minister privately. I have spoken to him at length in in the Chamber.”