Michael Healy-Rae
Kerry · Independent · Ireland
“This motion is timely because, with the massive increases for people running their homes and businesses, people who are working have never been at more of a disadvantage because of the high cost of going to work, childcare and fuel. What we need is a more targeted approach by the Government.”
“In County Kerry alone, the number of businesses that are closing weekly is frightening. These businesses are owned by people who have been in business for many years, who are very much valued in our communities and who create local employment, but they are closing their doors. It can be small shops, public houses or gift stores.”
“We should be doing more about providing our own energy, and doing more in a forward-thinking way to try to ensure that these types of measures will help us to reduce the cost of energy.”
“However, at the end of the day, the people that we always have to consider are people on low incomes, people who are working and people who are struggling. We have to try to help them in every way we can through targeted approaches. We have to look at the bigger picture, like the high cost of fuel and the tax take on fuel.”
“I sincerely thank Deputy Charles Ward for bringing forward this important motion. It is a reasonable motion. I acknowledge the work that has been done by people from the Government and the Opposition in securing the situation with IS 465:2026. Large sums of money have been put forward to help the affected families.”
“I urge the Government to outline its position on the EU lead ammunition proposal. This is the proposal to take lead out of ammunition, which could have a negative effect on 150,000 licensed shotgun owners in Ireland.”
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“We cannot stop the tide and things like that from happening but there is one thing I will remind An Post, the company, of. It is facilitating Amazon and trying to make more room because there is such a volume of business going through, and An Post is grateful for that business, but do not ever forget the ordinary person who goes out and posts an ordinary letter in the ordinary post. That is as important as Amazon's business, although it might not be as much. Over the years there were very few parcels or boxes being delivered and the biggest thing people got was maybe a parcel from America at Christmastime, and it was a big deal when it came, but now there are parcels for houses every day because people are buying everything from the kitchen sink to items of clothing. Everything one could think of comes from Amazon.”
“The postperson is awfully important in people's lives and is really appreciated because they might be the only visitor calling to that farmer. It is not just about rural areas. Over many years, people might think I am always fighting about rural post offices. I am but it is about urban post offices too. A point the Minister always makes to me is that it is not just rural post offices. Urban post offices might be in a very built-up area but their business might be really struggling because people might not be using it. Even though there are many people around, if they do not use it, they will lose it. One thing I appreciate, which is a bit of a two-edged sword, is the success of Amazon. It is great Amazon is doing well but maybe when Amazon is doing well, the local shops are not.”
“I remember one time a Minister who had the same responsibility as the current Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, said that if there were two choices, namely a five-day delivery service or an increase in the price of the stamp, none of us want to see the price of the stamp being increased because it is expensive to post a letter. However, the every day delivery service is important. Other countries are lucky if they have two or three days of a delivery service in a week. Sometimes the postman pulling into the yard or the friendly postman calling to the door and handing in a letter may be the only person who the person in that house sees for the day. The postman might bring a bit of news for people, put a smile on their face, have a bit of gossip for them and talk about the issues of the day, be it politics, football, or whatever is going on.”
“Our post offices are about way more now than just being a place to buy a stamp because people can carry out so many other transactions in them and, as I already outlined, transactions are the lifeline to that business. I thank the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister for the funding that has been given by this Government, as well as everybody who is supportive of the post office network. Another interest that I must declare is a girl who is very important to me, my daughter Rosie. She has been a postgirl since a young age. She is out today in her postvan, delivering post. I hear and see first hand how important the five-day delivery service is.”
“Yes, of course, the €15 million is a lifeline, but the Government cannot keep supporting something if it is not being supported by the people. We have 950 post offices across Ireland. I acknowledge the commitment of post office people - not just the postmasters, but also the people who work in the post offices. They are a very important part of society because they have a real connection with people. Number one, they are trusted. When the banks failed a lot of things in Ireland, there were two things we could be assured of and they were our local post office and our credit union. They are great places to go to invest a few euro, if people have it, to get young people into the habit of saving or for other banking facilities.”
“They were lamenting the fact that the post office was closing and were there for the picture of the closing. When the picture was taken, the man who operated the post office reminded them that if they had collected their pensions there, he might not have closed. That is a fact. If you do not use it, you will lose it and everyone of us as politicians should be encouraging people to use their post office. The nicest thing in the whole world you can do for small little lovely children starting out - whether it is a child, grandchild, niece or nephew - is give them a little post office savings book, put a few euro into it and tell them to go to their local post office with mum or dad, or when they are old enough to go themselves, and put their few euro into it. The sustainability of post offices will not be down to the Government.”
“That deep commitment was outlined in the programme for Government, and the Minister rightly outlined that he was very much to the forefront of ensuring that the additional €5 million that was got was got because of his commitment and determination to keep our post offices open. He was right when he said that the Government can only do so much. Politicians in opposition can only do so much. I really mean this as an operator of a small post office. Every one of us says how good post offices are but how many of us actually use one? Do not ever forget this: a post office only gets paid on transactions. A transaction can be buying a stamp or a person collecting their pension. I recall a famous case about a certain post office in a certain place that was closing. A lot of older, very nice people came on the day.”
“I am very grateful for, and glad of, the opportunity to speak here today. I must declare a small interest in this. I am a postmaster. I have a district divisional office, DDO, and I deal on a daily basis with post offices and post office issues, not just as a politician, but also on the practical side of what it takes to deliver the mail. Of course, because of those two jobs, I have dealt an awful lot with post offices over the years. I acknowledge the Minister's contribution to the issue of safeguarding post offices. The Government is deeply committed to a sustainable An Post and post office network as key components of the economic and social infrastructure throughout Ireland.”
“Procurement decisions must in all respects be fair and equitable and ensure value for money. The Courts Service must be able to justify decisions made and actions taken. In all cases, the Office of Government Procurement public procurement guidelines for goods and services, which set out the rules and best practice on the various stages of the procurement process, must be followed by all staff. I reiterate that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no role in individual court proceedings, including the processes by which translation and interpretation services are provided. On my behalf and that of the Minister, I thank the Deputy for raising this very important matter.”
“The Deputy makes his point very well in a very sound, fair and reasonable fashion but I remind him that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no role in individual court proceedings. As I have previously noted, Article 5 of EU Directive 2010/64/EU requires member states to take concrete measures to ensure the quality of interpretation and translation services. A 2018 European Commission report on the implementation of the directive did not flag any issues of concern regarding Ireland’s approach to same and no open infringement proceedings are under way in this regard. All procurement by the Courts Service is governed by EU directives on procurement that set out rules and procedures designed to ensure equal treatment, mutual recognition, proportionality and transparency in the awarding of public contracts.”
“Ireland opted into the EU directive on the right to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings and it was subsequently transposed into Irish law. This was done via two statutory instruments, one relating to interpretation and translation in criminal proceedings, which relates to the arrangements to be put in place by the Courts Service in respect of the conduct of court proceedings and the second which relates to interpretation and translation for persons in custody in Garda Síochána stations.”
“Where the court of its own motion, or on application by any of the parties to the hearing, considers that the interpretation being provided is not of such a quality as to ensure that the person before it can effectively exercise his or her right to a fair trial, it may direct that the interpreter be replaced. The Minister has been advised by the Courts Service that on the rare occasion where an issue arises, defendants, with their legal representatives, can and do have the entitlement to inform the court that a defendant cannot follow proceedings because of the quality of interpretation. Where this arises, proceedings are adjourned until another interpreter is found. The right to fair procedures is a central tenet of our criminal justice system.”
“The Minister is further advised that this contract requires the contracted company to ensure that interpreters possess the qualifications and competence appropriate to the tasks for which they are employed. The contract agreed under the central procurement framework sets the standards for interpreters supplied to the Courts Service. Ireland has opted into EU Directive 2010/64/EU. Article 5 states that Member States are required to take concrete measures to ensure the quality of the interpretation and translation services. However, the article does not mandate member states to establish a register. The Minister has been advised that there are no plans at present to create such a register.”
“On behalf of the Minister for justice, I thank the Deputy for raising this important issue. It is important to state that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration has no role in individual court proceedings, nor can he intervene in operational matters that fall under the remit of courts, including the processes by which translation and interpretation services are provided. Management of the courts is the responsibility of the Courts Service, which is independent in exercising its functions under the Courts Service Act 1998 and the Constitution. In relation to introducing State-accredited training, the Minister is advised that the Courts Service, like many other public service bodies, has a contract for interpretation services under the interpretation service procurement framework set up by the Office of Government Procurement.”
“-----because that is getting the farmers of Ireland nowhere. Again, I am saying this not as a person with my finger wet, like these people across here. I had to listen to another lady a while ago from the Social Democrats talking about farmers in Ireland. She is the woman who, when the Minister brought over Commissioner Roswall about the nitrates derogation and extending it, stood up at a meeting, and Mr. Gorman from the IFA was there and heard what she said, and tried to undermine and sabotage the nitrates derogation the Minister was trying to get extended on the farmers' behalf. We then have a politician here paying lip service to the farmers, the same as these people are.”
“We stopped fighting and killing each other above in the North by dialogue and by talking, and I recognise 100% the good work Sinn Féin did in that regard, in dialogue, in talking, in negotiating and in using the political system. What I would have liked to have seen happen over the last week was talking and not this entrenchment, because this is getting-----”
“I am sorry we are in this situation, but how it could have been handled was by dialogue, not by entrenchment and not by people saying it has to be this way, like Sinn Féin said it has to be a head and it has to be this and it has to be that.”
“I welcome what is going to happen tomorrow. I welcome that there is going to be dialogue. What the Minister wanted all along was for people to sit down and have dialogue. I do not like what has happened over the last week and I will tell you why. I am going to tell the IFA leadership why I do not like it. The most genuine people in the world are at a protest-----”
“-----because I was in before it today answering questions. Do you know what? Deputy Kenny's questions left a lot to be desired because he did not know what he was talking about. He asked me about schemes that he should have known about. He did not have a clue.”
“I am speaking from the heart, if you did not interrupt me, about what we need on this whole issue. That is why I welcome tomorrow. My brother is right when he says the work that the agriculture committee does is good-----”
“I heard him talking with authority about Kerry IFA. Well, I can tell you one thing, he would have to put Gortatlea mart into Google Maps to find his way there because I never met him there. I never met him at an IFA meeting going back over three decades, 30 years, of going to IFA meetings in Kerry-----”
“-----and it was going to work with like-minded countries. A lot of work Deputy Kenny did on it. What did he do about it? He mouthed. He went on Facebook. I want to tell the IFA a thing about Sinn Féin and what it is doing.”
“It is a thing you are concerned about. I just want to say I have great respect for the IFA, and its members know that. The Minister alluded to it earlier when we were out at the organisation's 71st AGM, which we were very glad to be at and to be put through our paces, and rightly so, by the president and others from all the sectors of the IFA. That is our job. We are there to work for you and to represent you. I cherish IFA membership. I do have to say that one thing I will never do is mislead anybody. If the IFA wants me to give my honest opinion about this situation, if the IFA is hitching its trailer to Sinn Féin's wagon, that worries me. I will tell you why it worries me.”
“To be honest, they would not know a bull from a heifer, a lot of them, and they definitely would not know what a Bord Bia audit was. I do.”
“I acknowledge the presence of the president of the IFA, Francie Gorman, as well as Kathleen Herlihy and all the chairpersons of the different counties representing the IFA; John Joe Fitzgerald from the INHFA; the other organisations around the country watching in tonight; the ICMSA; and all the people who represent farmers. When I am speaking here tonight, and I am addressing people sincerely, I am here as a member of the Government, but I am also here as a lifelong member of the IFA, a thing I am very proud of. I paid my membership when it was a troublesome thing to pay it. Like all of you, when you would have had a bill, you would be saying what will I pay and what will I not pay. I am also speaking as a person. I hear an awful lot of people opposite me talking about Bord Bia inspections.”
“Now, if those estates are to be taken over, the answer is that there is massive investment needed to bring them up to the standards of today, but who is going to pay for that? The developer might be gone. We cannot ask the property owners there to pay for it. The bonds are gone back. These people are really held up. I am sorry for going on. I thank the Minister of State for the work he is doing and urge him to keep at it.”
“We have situations in places like Beaufort and I welcome that we have a plan in place for that, but we could be looking at another seven years of a wait. That is too long for the people of Beaufort. There are areas that cannot be developed and cannot grow due to a lack of wastewater facilities, such as Currow, Scartaglin, Caherdaniel and Castlegregory. These are places that are held up at present. Another thing I want to highlight is where Irish Water is holding up the taking in charge of housing estates. We could have an estate that was developed in the early 2000s, for instance. The standards and regulations that existed at that time, that was the standard. Those housing estates have not been taken over since.”
“People were afraid of the planning system. Developers and investors were afraid of it. The Minister of State's initiative will give surety to the planners and people who might buy a property, and to the homeowners themselves. I want to welcome that. With regard to water and wastewater, I want to thank Irish Water for the work and help they are trying to do in this situation. Infrastructure is the biggest barrier to housing. For example, in places like Kenmare in County Kerry, the lack of mains water is a big hindrance at the moment to development. The recent developer-led infrastructure, DPI, initiative, whereby a developer can come along and provide services that will then be taken over by Irish Water, is to be welcomed. It is an initiative of this Government, of the Minister of State and of the senior Minister and I thank them for that.”
“I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Cummins. for the excellent work he has been doing, in a very practical, down to earth and sensible way, in trying to help the housing situation. By his initiatives and his control of the situation, along with the senior Minister, Deputy Browne, whom I also thank publicly, he is certainly introducing changes that will be felt up and down the length and breadth of this country. They will help our planning authorities by giving clear direction with regard to subdivision, exemptions, modular homes, and the subdivision of properties into houses and apartments. That is all to be welcomed. I hope that initiative of the Minister of State's will be a help in this plague we all have as public representatives in every village and town of derelict, defunct buildings that are lying there for years and years.”
“The Deputy is 100% correct in raising this very serious matter because it is a matter of major concern from the point of view of road safety and the spread of TB, although the Department does not acknowledge it to be the major cause he and I would agree it is. We have situations where we did not have TB before and we did not have deer. Now we have deer and we have TB. To answer the Deputy's question, as he knows, the Department has engaged a contract with regard to the culling of deer, which is ongoing. We would like for it to be going ahead at an accelerated rate and quicker than it is at present. We both have our personal views on what the total cull should be because it should be up to 70%. We have a bit of a battle on our hands trying to convince everybody else it should be at that figure. The Deputy’s concern is right-----”
“-----to try to get a better deal for Ireland. Whether or not the Deputy realises or acknowledges it, that is exactly what happened. The Government voted the way it said it was going to vote. It could not have been stronger or clearer. I take grave exception to people who tried to undermine the good work of the Minister, Deputy Heydon, over the past 12 months when he was engaging on an extremely regular basis not just with the ministers for agriculture throughout Europe but also at all levels of officialdom-----”
“The vote this morning is welcome because it gives a chance for what I call intensive canvassing to take place before the next vote, which is of paramount importance. One thing I take grave exception to is the comment the Deputy made about the stance of this Government. The stance of this Government over the past 12 months has been clear. It could not be clearer than in writing. In writing it said in the programme for Government that this Government was going to oppose the trade deal as it was presented and work with like-minded countries-----”
“The people who are with her are misrepresenting what they are actually trying to do. I am delighted that they will lose the vote tonight and the people who want to continue killing foxes will be entitled to do so.”
“What has happened here over the past couple of weeks has been completely misleading. Again, what she is trying to do has been misportrayed. She is attacking rural Ireland. She is attacking our farming community.”
“I will remind her of a small fact. Up to 30% of the electorate who went out to vote voted for a Healy-Rae. She can stick that in her pipe and smoke it. You cannot go against the electorate. They are the bosses. Could she say the same thing about herself, her political party or any of the Deputies over there? If they got 30% of the vote, they would be in orbit. When I am on a roll, I will take them out one by one. I heard what Deputy Eoin Hayes said about the Brits. He was talking absolute rubbish, again because he did not read or understand the Bill and does not care about the farmers who want to protect their livestock. Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned something else in a very knowledgeable and sound way. He mentioned the diseases foxes spread. He said that cows can lose calves as the result of contracting diseases.”
“I am sorry that, like a wasp, she came in, stung and ran but I will respond to her. On behalf of myself and Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, I will say one thing to her. This is the lady who is so anti-farming that, at a critical time when the Minister, Deputy Heydon, was doing everything he could to lead a campaign to maintain a nitrates derogation, she did everything she could to sabotage and undermine that. She spoke to the media and made a presentation to Commissioner Roswall in which she tried to completely undermine our hardworking farmers but she failed, just as she will fail tonight. The reason I reserve a special word for her, on behalf of myself and Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, is that she mentioned that she was contacted by some of our constituents. That same Deputy actually said on the record that she wonders who we represent.”
“We have to eradicate our deer. We have to manage rural Ireland. I have heard people talking about colonial pursuits. Again, they are trying to give the public the message that this is only about people up on horses running after the poor fox. It is not. It is about the poor farmer who has to get up in the middle of the night to try to identify, follow, track and kill a fox because it is killing his or her lambs. That is what everybody over there wants to ignore. Some people's speeches have been extremely misleading. I recognise that Deputy Cronin actually did read the Bill. Her speech was entirely her own opinion but at least she knew what she was talking about, unlike other Members who just seem to be taking the narrative put out there. I reserve a very special word for Deputy Whitmore.”
“It is a scientific fact but, of course, the other side do not want to hear that because they think the badgers are beautiful. Tell that to a farmer like the good friend of mine who yesterday saw 17 in-calf heifers having to leave his yard because they had contracted TB. Why? It was because of badgers.”
“Let us take the deer for example. People are now realising that we have an overpopulation of deer in this country. We have to reduce the figure by 75%. This is management of rural Ireland. You cannot just leave everything go as it is. If the Deputies had their way, they would do away with live exports, pig farming and the whole idea of people rearing chickens and all of that. They are against any type of farming, including intensive dairy farming. I heard Deputy Paul Murphy talking about this cruel and barbaric affair. He does not seem to care at all about what the foxes do and the cruelty they inflict on other animals. Members spoke about badgers earlier on. Do they realise that our senior Minister is engaged on the most important issue of protecting our herd from TB at the moment?”
“This is not the first time he has showed a lack of knowledge about issues such as this. I do not welcome this debate but I welcome the fact that we will be able to vote the Bill down tonight. It is part of a constant attack, whether it is on the greyhound industry, horse racing or fishing. The Deputies all seem to hate the term "rural pursuits" all of a sudden. Why do they hate it? It means so much to so many people. It is like shooting. Maybe the Deputies think it is wrong to shoot grey crows. Do they know what a grey crow does to a defenceless lamb? If it is in any way weak or sick, the grey crow will come down from the sky and pull out its two eyes. The Deputies do not want to hear that. They think the person who goes out to shoot grey crows is wrong. Along with others, they want to continue attacking rural Ireland.”
“She seems to be suggesting that, if a farmer goes into a field tomorrow and finds dead lambs - when I say dead, their throats will have been pulled apart by the Deputy's beautiful foxes and their limbs will have been torn asunder in the same way as hens will be - it is all right because the farmers will get a grant. That is rubbish. They will lose out financially. It is not just that. The Deputy said nothing about the torture the lambs, hens and geese go through. I heard it said earlier that we should compare dogs with foxes. This is wrong, dangerous and absolutely misleading. I was shocked to hear Deputy O'Gorman speak earlier but, then again, his lack of knowledge is exemplified by the Green Party when it comes to being out of touch with rural issues.”
“If he did, he would not have said what he said. A lot has been said about the 73% of people who say that they do not want this type of fox hunting to continue. There is an important statistic left out of that, which is that 98% of those people said they had never seen a hunt or foxes being killed. They never saw anything. All they are doing is listening to media reports about this. These 73% are talking about something that 98% of them know absolutely nothing about in the first instance. I take issue with a comment Deputy Coppinger made earlier with regard to hill farming. She spoke as if she knew what she was talking about but unfortunately she obviously does not because she mentioned a word that Deputy Danny Healy-Rae mentioned a minute ago, that is, "grants". Is she living in the real world?”
“I was not going to talk about Deputy Gogarty at all but, seeing as he is interrupting me, I will say that he completely misled everybody here. He obviously did not read the Bill because he does not know what he is talking about.”
“-----with red coats shouting "Tally-ho". That is rubbish. That is not what this Bill proposes to ban and the people who are saying otherwise obviously have not read it in its entirety. If farmers have lambs outside in a field and want to protect them, this Bill would make them criminals tomorrow if they shot foxes tonight.”
“To make it very clear, the Government will 100% oppose this Bill as it is proposed. I will call it out for what it is. It is extremely misleading. I would go so far as to say it is a con job. I will tell the House why. As currently drafted, the Bill proposes to ban all hunting for foxes, regardless of the purpose of that hunting and the manner in which it is carried out. That has been ignored today several times by several speakers. They have given the impression that this is about people up on horses-----”
“The most effective way to reduce the cost of the bovine TB programme is through reducing disease levels. I thank the Senator again for raising an exceptionally topical matter that is terribly important.”
“However, our immediate focus has to be on reducing the current high levels of this disease, which are very much out of control. The aim of this action plan is to reset the bovine TB programme by putting in place the necessary measures to tackle the current disease situation. These measures target both transmission between wildlife and cattle and between cattle. It is vital these measures are taken to reduce disease levels and to protect the livelihoods of farmers and rural communities. The combined efforts of all stakeholders in implementing these actions will make a significant contribution to reducing the levels of TB we have unfortunately seen in recent years. The cost of the bovine TB programme has increased significantly in recent years.”
“I fully acknowledge the frustration farmers experience with this disease. By addressing the bovine TB disease levels in Ireland through the implementation of the actions in the recently launched TB action plan, we will be able to tackle this disease in a meaningful manner and better protect farm families in Ireland from this disease. Bovine TB is a challenging disease to control and eradicate. The Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, and I, and everyone in the Department, are acutely aware of the financial and emotional trauma associated with a TB breakdown. It causes significant hardship for farmers and farming families. The Minister is fully committed to the ultimate objective of the TB programme, which is eradication.”
“As a result of the agreement reached in this group in 2023, there were rate enhancements to improve the supplement scheme, the hardship grant and the depopulation grant as well as enhanced ceilings for select animals such as certain pedigree animals being removed as part of the on-farm market valuation scheme. In addition, the financial working group also expanded the eligibility criteria under the income supplement scheme and hardship grant schemes. Due to the increased cost of the bovine TB programme in recent years, the focus at present is on reducing the levels of disease, which will reduce the impact of bovine TB on Irish family farms and reduce the cost of the programme, which rose to over €100 million in 2024, a figure which will be exceeded in 2025.”
“On receipt of factory dockets detailing the salvage value, our Department issues payment for the remainder of the valuation, bringing the amount up to the market value assigned by the independent valuer, subject to certain ceiling limits. In the period up to 30 November 2025, of the 36,646 animals valued under the on-farm market valuation scheme, just under 95% of animals were valued below the scheme ceilings. Additional support options are available through the income supplement scheme, depopulation grant scheme and hardship grant scheme to help farmers with indirect costs incurred during a TB breakdown. As part of the work of the TB forum, a dedicated financial working group was established to review the financial modelling of various elements of the bovine TB eradication programme.”