I have to rise again to ask about assistance for the construction and civil engineering sector and the cost of green diesel. I raised this two weeks ago with the Minister for Transport, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. He said the scheme was being worked on but that he was not responsible for it, and that the Minister for agriculture, Deputy Heydon, was not responsible for it either. In all the signals the Tánaiste has been giving lately about the budget, he seems to have been talking about everyone and every sector except …

I am disappointed that there is no word about the construction sector or civil engineering and I ask the Tánaiste to ensure it is included now.

I welcome the packages the Government has given, but it must remember a lot of the money being given back is only being given back to the people the Government took it from in the first place. When the base goes up, extra tax is taken in carbon tax and so on. The Government must remember that and at least give back what it has taken. It has taken from the construction sector as well. The Tánaiste must remember that a lot of the construction industry had entered into commitments, tenders and contracts from the start…

I am not interested in them at all. I am interested in Ireland-----

-----and Kerry.

I thank the Social Democrats for giving us the time to discuss this very important matter here this morning. The cost of electricity and fuel continues to increase and families are struggling to manage. Indeed, one in seven households is in arrears. Every day people are being encouraged by this Government, and indeed the previous one, to go electric but there is no regulation and no sign of the regulator at all and it has been mentioned here several times. Where has the regulator gone? Is it hiding? What is the mat…

I also express my sincere sympathy to Treasa and the Carroll family on the death of Seamus. He was a thorough gentleman who helped each and every one of us here with a smile on his face every day that he was here. I have been asked by several farmers in County Kerry, and indeed around the country, to ensure that ample ferries are made available to transport live cattle to mainland Europe. We are an island country surrounded by water. Brittany Ferries gave up in the past few weeks. Irish Ferries continues to do its …

My uncles and aunts had to go to America to work. There was nothing here for them in the late fifties and sixties, and they gave all their lives there. I appreciate people who come here to work and are working in healthcare, hospitality and the construction industries. The country needs workers with proper visas. The main issue that I am hearing every day in my office, and again today, is from people who want to work here but who are having difficulties renewing or getting work permits or visas. There used to be an…

My companion speaker has not arrived so I am using her time, as would be normal.

I am sorry. The Government would not listen at that time. It hurt and angered so many people and brought their wrath down because the Government was not listening to them. I was told I was a lone dog whistling when I mentioned there were more than 70 male asylum seekers put into a house on the Muckross Road. I was called every kind of name and it was like as if I was the red divil altogether when I mentioned such a thing. There was no thought given and no discussion with anyone. We need to get away from that. I tha…

Stand up and say something anyway.

I too am glad to get this opportunity. I thank Sinn Féin for raising this very important issue. Many people are very concerned about raising the cost of travel on public transport. We appreciate the public transport we have in Kerry very much because it is a very rural county and towns are dispersed and far away from each other. The Kenmare to Killarney route provides a great service. My idea is that maybe we do not need the larger buses all of the time. Maybe we could save by having a minibus or a 35-seat bus that…

I thank Deputy Michael Collins and Independent Ireland for giving us this opportunity to talk about these important issues. The carbon tax has to be got rid of. Fuel is dear enough. The purpose it was brought in for in the first place does not exist now. I want to talk about people in Kerry who use heating oil or kerosene. The cost of it has cone up from 90 cent to €1.68 this week. People just cannot afford that. They will only be able to purchase far less than what they need to keep themselves warm for the winter.…

They are losing money, hand over fist.

I am asking the Government to come out and do something about it.

I welcome the Disability (Amendment) Bill and any improvements it will make to the assessment of needs process relating to children. We have spoken at length here about children with disabilities and adult children with disabilities. In Kerry, their lot has not improved much. I am asking again for the Government to be more meaningful and to mean what it says. There are far too many families with additional needs and disabilities who are waiting far too long for their assessments of needs as well as other appointmen…

I am glad to have the opportunity to talk about this matter, as I have done many times in the past. I welcome that the social houses in Donegal that are damaged will have a scheme to replace them. I cannot understand why it has taken so long and why we are only at this now. Clearly, this must have happened at the same time as the private houses. Like Deputy Gallagher, I insist that the Department of housing cover the cost in full. It cannot be left to the local authorities to do so. As has been pointed out, they do…

We were able to give €2 billion - to borrow it, in fact - to keep the war between Ukraine and Russia going.

We borrowed €2 billion for that but we cannot look after the homes in Donegal.

Thank you, Minister.