Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First and most important, I and the other members of the Rural Independent Group express how sorry we are for all of those who have been devastated by the loss of loved members of their families. I also want to put on the record of the Dáil that a very special friend of our own, Gene Tangney from the Black Valley, is now on day 26 of being in an induced state, fighting this virus. I hope that Gene will come out on the right side of this battle. He is a great character. The Tangney family have been close friends of mine for many years and my heart and soul are with him in his battle and I want him to get better.

Many compliments are rightly being paid to our nurses and healthcare workers. Tweets are being put out by Government and by people, but I want the Taoiseach to pay those workers. They should be paid the allowances in the deal agreed before Covid-19. I want them to be paid immediately because they are only looking for what is rightfully theirs.

Seasonal workers are losing out very badly on the €350 per week Covid-19 payment. They should also be included in that payment because if this had happened a couple of weeks later, these people would have been employed from 6 March on and would have been paid it.

People who are over 66 are not looking for €350 per week. They are saying to me very clearly that they want the balance between their pension and €350. I spoke to a couple yesterday who were running a public house and have paid taxes for years. They now find that their income is gone and they are left with just their pensions but still have all the bills relating to the business and keeping the building intact.

I am sure the Taoiseach is aware of the situation, which I spoke about on the phone today with the Minister for Justice and Equality, regarding the direct provision centre in Cahersiveen and the public healthcare concerns we have about that centre, for the people who are in it, for the people who are working there, and for the people in Cahersiveen and south Kerry. Will the Taoiseach please make a statement on that?

With regard to the leaving certificate, I am terribly disappointed that the students were not listened to, because they really feel they were not. A great campaign was organised, which I supported. Those students were not listened to when it came to the sitting of the leaving certificate.

During the week, I met with the Kerry representatives of the Irish Farmers Association, IFA, who diligently put together a very important programme of what they need, and what our beef farmers and our family farmers in County Kerry and throughout the country need. For example, there is €25 million that is there from last year which should immediately be made available to our beef farmers. As Deputy Lowry rightly stated, the October payments should be brought forward to July, which would be a massive help to our family farms and their budgets. It would get them over a hump because they are in a desperate way.

I also want to give an example of what local authorities are going through in terms of a funding crisis. In Kerry, our tourism sector is worth more than €600 million alone to the local economy, and it is now expected to take a loss of close to €500 million. That will be detrimental to our local economy. The effect on businesses will be huge. They will not be able to afford their commercial rates, which have now, rightly, been frozen, and I thank the Government and our local authorities for that. Taking Kerry as an example, however, the projected rates income when passing the budget last November was €42 million. It is now, from initial projections, looking like it will be as low as €24 million. That authority has now sought a compensation package from Government so that it can carry on its activities and essential services. This is not just the case for Kerry Country Council but also for other local authorities throughout the country, whom I compliment on their work.

I also compliment the people in University Hospital Kerry, Killarney Community Hospital, and hospitals in Kenmare, Cahersiveen and Valentia, the staff in our nursing homes, who are working so diligently in this major fight, gardaí and our local authority workers. Everyone is putting their shoulders to the wheel. I want us all as politicians to work together.

I want us to do this in a hard-working fashion to try to ensure that, first of all, we do what is most important, that is, protect the health of our citizens. Second, we need to try to get the economy and the wheels going. I want the Taoiseach to give our people optimism in the coming days. I know he has important announcements to make. I am pleading with the Taoiseach. I know public health concerns are the most important but we must also give people something to look forward to and give them confidence. We must let them see that there is leadership in the country and that we are all going to work our way out of this together. We must let the older people - those who are over 70 years old and who are inside their homes - see that we are fighting on their behalf. We must let them see that we as a country will rise out of this. It is the same as everything we have taken on over the years: we will take this on and we will win, taking into account healthcare, of course, which is of vital importance.

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