It has to be dealt with urgently-----

-----in order to let the people continue what they are doing for this season otherwise they will lose this season.

First, I want to make it crystal clear that I myself only own one house and I am not in the rental business or never have been. I want to make that absolutely clear. I only own one house. I am very concerned about the six-year rule. I believe we are attempting to interfere with people's constitutional and democratic rights. People work very hard, early in the morning and late at night, to build or buy these homes and they have a constitutional right to determine how long they want to rent their house out for to ten…

All the farmers from around the country are very welcome here tonight. I know they have all been very anxious and upset for the past number of weeks. What has happened is not fair. We know that the same standards do not apply in Brazil as apply here. I myself and my young fellas are farmers and we know what inspections are like. We worry about the TB test and the Bord Bia inspections, and then you can have an inspection out of the blue. We know what it means to be on the right side and to have everything in the rig…

I thank the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion, which is very important. We all know that people with a disability have the greatest need to be looked after. I honestly believe that people with a disability who are living on their own should be looked after more than anyone else because they face all the costs of keeping the house and trying to keep themselves warm. We all know that since Bord na Móna closed down, the cost of electricity has gone up day by day. The regulator is not doing his job. Dif…

I am glad to have an opportunity to ask the Minister of State to prioritise a number of projects in Kerry. The N72 leaves Killarney, going from Ballydowny to the Golden Nugget, and then goes around the Ring of Kerry from the Gap across to Grenagh. It is otherwise known as the Killalee project. These two sections of road are in a desperate state. The road from the Golden Nugget to the Gap Cross has been completed and a fortune has been spent but we are in a worse scenario now because the road has been narrowed and i…

I am glad to talk on this very important Bill this evening. I thank the Minister, Deputy Jim O’Callaghan, for taking this issue by the scruff of the neck because, since he came into office and took over this role, he has already put people on the plane back to the countries that they came from if they were not entitled to be here. That has not been done in the last number of years with previous Ministers, and I am grateful to him for doing that. We have to differentiate between the people who are coming here. There…

I am very concerned about this departure, this loan of €90 billion and that we are going to be tied into it. There are important questions here. We are here at the behest of the people who elected us to account for their welfare and ensure taxpayers' money is properly spent. We are accountable for it. I have not been told how much Ireland is committing. How much of the €90 billion are we borrowing? I did not see any speech written out by the Minister. It is hard to take it in as someone is talking but there was no …

I will repeat the question I asked earlier. How much of the €90 billion are we committing to?

There is no answer. How are we expected to vote for something like that?

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about this very important issue. I am glad Sinn Féin has brought it forward here this evening. Every one of us has known a lot of people who committed suicide. It is very sad when you lose very fine people that way. We would all love to do a whole lot more for them. We need to do more because the national survey from the Office of the Inspector of Mental Health Services has found that international best practice is not available in most emergency departments in Ireland. I ca…

In recent days, sika deer have been declared an alien, invasive species and must be culled. I have been highlighting the damage these deer do for more than 25 years. Every day, they cause carnage on roads. Many people have been killed, injured or maimed and cars have been damaged and broken and are no longer any good. Farmers are adversely affected. Sika deer are spreading TB, damaging and devouring crops and breaking fences. Farmers are being robbed daily by these deer. When will this Government - and the Minister…

It is now saying the sika deer will have to be culled. When will the Government begin the cull?

According to the EU-----

I am glad to get the opportunity to talk about water, water treatment plants and sewage treatment plants. Many of our towns and villages do not have either adequate water or sufficient capacity in their treatment plants. There are many villages and settlements that do not have wastewater treatment plants. I wish to focus my attention on two estates at the top of Aghadoe where the outfall is down into the lakes of Killarney. I have raised this numerous times, including with the Taoiseach and as a Topical Issue. It i…

I have raised this matter several times before. I am asking now, and I am getting very impatient about it-----

I am depending on the Minister of State to deliver the message that this has to be sorted out.

I thank all of the people involved in home care and all of the home helps around the county of Kerry and around all of the other counties. I know the great work they do in the confined time and space they are given to do it. While I welcome regulation, and the Bill states it will ensure home care is regulated and standards are in place for all home care support for all who need it, the question I ask the Minister of State is whether there is a deficiency in the amount of home help that older people are getting. Wil…

I thank Deputy Ward for making us all aware of this. If anyone thinks I knew anything about nitrous gas or laughing gas or whatever it is, I did not. I can understand now, since it has been explained to me, its disastrous effect. It can seriously impair youngsters. Perhaps the Bill will do nothing but make parents aware and make us all more aware. I was listening to the Minister. Apparently, he does not have the legislation he wants to put in place ready yet. He says this is being covered by other rules or other re…

I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this very important motion today. I want to talk about Kenmare first of all. Two housing applications have been held up for the past number of months. They were asked to get a letter from Irish Water to say that it would have water to supply the 170 houses to be built. They cannot get the letter from Irish Water. The time is running out and they will have to pull their applications. This is for 170 houses. No house has been built in Kenmare since 2006 some 20 years a…