In April 2023 a location to serve the long-term oncology needs of University Hospital Kerry was identified within the grounds of the current hospital. The HSE had decided to pursue a more substantial, permanent proposal of a day treatment ward, an outpatient ward and a haematology unit. A revised brief and schedule of accommodation were provided in September 2023, costing was identified and a stage 1 report was issued in August 2024. It was supposed to be prioritised; however, nothing has happened since. People in …

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak as we mark International Women's Day. It would be remiss of me on my daughter Ailbhe's birthday not to mention her. She is abroad at the moment and, unfortunately, I will not get to see her. I would like to send all my love to her and, while I am at it, to my other daughter, Farren, my mother, my sister, Irene, and especially to my wife, Mary. An opportunity like this is good because it gives us a chance to recognise the value and the contribution of women in Irish society…

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this very urgent issue. Across Ireland, workers and families are being pushed to breaking point. The price of home heating oil, petrol and diesel are spinning out of control and nothing is being done to stop it. We have just come from a meeting with the road hauliers and what was coming across was Government inaction and dithering and the Government not taking action to help ordinary workers and families. When heating fuel costs skyrocket, it is not an inconvenience for…

I move: Bill entitled an Act to amend the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 to give the Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) the legislative remit to monitor wholesale and retail prices in the energy market; to increase the frequency and level of reporting; to monitor and regulate hedging practices; to strengthen its powers to monitor anti-competitive behaviour of gas and electricity suppliers; to give it an expanded role in consumer protection; to strengthen its power to address energy affordability; and…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I move: Bill entitled an Act to amend the Electricity Regulation Act 1999 to give the Commission for Regulation of Utilities (CRU) the legislative remit required to effectively monitor and regulate standing charges on electricity and gas bills, and to provide for related matters.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

The bus stop enhancement programme, which is led by the NTA, is a nationwide programme that invests in bus infrastructure. It commits about €500,000 per year, which is not enough. There are problems with delivery, it is all very cumbersome and it takes a lot of time. I will get into some of the details shortly. Will the Minister give us an update on the programme?

I thank the Minister for his reply and I accept what he said. However, it is important there is a stop in the first place, and stops must also be safe and accessible. An audit was prepared by many local authorities, including my own local authority, in 2024. The difficulty on the ground is that, two years on, the bus stops have not been delivered. An audit is prepared by the local authority, the stop is designed and approved by the municipal district, and the NTA is also involved. However, many of the bus stops hav…

Is there something the Minister can do to speed up the process? For example, a section 38 planning notice has to be given. Can that be sped up in some way? We are playing catch-up because the infrastructure just is not there. It has not been provided for many years. What we need is a large amount of money to get these things over the line. I understand the NTA criteria are based on the number of services that use the bus stop as opposed to the number of people who use it. For someone standing on the Tralee to Listo…

I want to ask the Minister about electric vehicles and the measures he is taking to make them more accessible for drivers in rural areas and those on lower incomes. Will he make a statement about it? Research has shown that successful applications for grants are clustered in affluent urban areas in Dublin and in parts of Cork. We think this is inequitable and regressive and the Climate Change Advisory Council agrees with us. What efforts is the Minister making to extend the grants to families and workers who are no…

The Minister said rural motorists are in a more advantageous position, but there are a couple of issues in relation to that. He also said that he exceeded his target, with the purchase of 212,000 EVs. However, he had moved the goalposts because a few years ago he said it was the ambition of the Government to have 845,000 EVs, and he reduced the target, so that is how he actually hit it. He said he is committed to having 30% of the private car fleet switch to battery by 2030, but that is hardly going to happen at th…

The Minister is using an increase in the number, for example, in my own county off a low base. In 2021, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael announced a target, which has hardly been enhanced by the Healy-Rae support since the last election, of 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030. That obviously has not happened. Even though some electric vehicles have come down in price, they are neither affordable nor accessible for many ordinary people, especially in rural areas where more electric vehicles would have a bigger …

That is because they dipped in the previous year.

Is it the case women's health is less of a priority for this Government? If not, why is there a delay in the delivery of a new maternity hospital for University Hospital Kerry which can offer safe access to theatre from the delivery suite? As it is at the moment, if a woman has a caesarean section, she is taken from the suite, down to the ground floor through a public corridor and up an unstable lift. It adds time to what is already an emergency procedure. There was an approved capital submission in 2018 which was …

I just want to seek some sort of clarity on the statement, but before that, I congratulate, in spite of all the adversity they went through, the efforts those in the Gallery made against the tide and against the resistance they faced. They pushed on through and got it. Many of them came from Tralee as well but-----

Yes. I see in the Taoiseach's statement on behalf of the Government that he acknowledges and apologises for the generational wrong. He acknowledges that some children who were subsequently boarded out experienced exploitation and that many boys were sent to work on farms and many girls were sent to work in domestic service. He said in the statement at the time-----

Regardless of the pathway from which individuals were boarded out, the Taoiseach has acknowledged that it is unforgivable, and that is good. He recognises situations where children were wrongly and harshly treated. He stated: "The Government recognises the suffering and damage ... this ... has caused, and we will continue to support you as much as possible." However, people who were boarded out from county homes cannot "continue to be supported" because they were never included in any redress scheme. Former Taoisea…

The Government's decision to pause and reverse its recent approach is, without question, a welcome reprieve, but let us be absolutely clear - that is all it is. It is a pause, an easing of pressure, not a solution. Behind the belated U-turn lies a deeper reality. The Government’s approach to special needs education remains fragile, stretched, unclear and ad hoc . In the middle of the system are the people who hold the system together - the SNAs, the teachers, the parents and the children, whose needs should be at t…

Every time I raise this, I am astounded by the lack of progress on it. We have the highest energy prices in Europe, according to Eurostat. The national energy affordability task force has only met three times since its inception. The only thing it has produced is an interim report. No steps seem to have been taken to reform the Irish energy market and to hold energy companies to account, measures we have been calling on for years. What is the Minister going to do to reduce the price of energy and will he make a sta…