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

I am glad to get the opportunity to raise several issues with the Minister today. I will start with the problem of the youngest person who approached me. I refer to youngsters above the age of 16 who could legitimately get a provisional driver licence. We are told they will be able to apply for these licences online on 20 May. That is great, but they need to have personal services cards to do so and there is nowhere currently open where they can get these cards. Can that matter be addressed?

I refer also to provisional licence holders who have done their theory test, have everything in order and have been waiting for months to do the test. Can anything be done to speed up the driver test for these youngsters who have been waiting so long? They need their cars to go to work.

Taxis and how they can be supported has not been mentioned during this pandemic. Can the Minister and the Government do something about taxis? These operators provide a wonderful service and they jump through a lot of hoops to do so. They are in serious trouble and some of them may not start up again when the lockdown is over.

Hotels, pubs and guest houses around our county are in an awful state. They are supposed to open on certain dates, but many are afraid to so because there is no certainty around business or when tourists will be allowed to visit our country again.

This brings me to the testing of lorries, buses, vans and jeeps. No testing is going on at present. We are told that operators' certificates will cover them until some time in October. Will the Minister ensure an extra grace period when testing resumes? They will not all be tested in one day or in one week. We were under pressure to keep vehicles tested as it was. There is one anomaly that will certainly have to be addressed. We were looking for a solution to this before the lockdown. If a vehicle has been off the road for three or four months and it is tested, a 12-month certificate will not be issued. Only a six-month certificate is issued. On behalf of the haulage industry and bus operators, I ask the Minister to ensure that when vehicle testing resumes, 12-month certificates can be issued, for the first time at least. That is vital. Otherwise the system will be clogged again. This has been bad enough for long enough, and now testing is not proceeding at all. When the lockdown is over and the country starts moving again, I appeal to the Minister not to stop operators again by only issuing six-month certificates. I refer also to elderly people who have been cocooning in their homes for the past two months with their cars parked in their yards. Is there any possibility of refunding motor tax?

As I have said to previous Ministers, seasonal workers were not provided for in the pandemic supports that were given to many people. The same is true for people above the age of 66 who were employing people, because they were over 66 and possibly receiving a pension. Will the Minister bring them up to equivalence with the €350 payment others are getting?

The Killarney bypass has been proposed for the last 16 or 17 years. I ask the Minister to give funding again this year for the preparatory work that is needed to get it going.

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