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

I thank the Independent Group for giving us this opportunity. Earlier, the Minister boasted that he had spent so much money on footpaths and cycleways. That is fine where they are needed around towns and villages but what good is a cycleway, walkway or footpath in a place like Gneeveguilla or Shrone where it takes half an hour to go to work or wherever else in the morning and people have children with them and everything else? What benefit is that to those people? It is absolutely ridiculous.

The Government's primary focus is on electric cars. We have to acknowledge that the batteries for these are made by child labour and slave labour in the Congo. Is the Government proud of that? There are other options, like biofuels that can be added to diesel that bring the emissions way down. The Government will not listen to those people. They have been in here to speak to us and the Government will not consider that option. Back in the mid-1970s, petrol cars could be converted to use the same gas used in cooking or whatever. There are very few emissions from that. The Government does not want to hear about it. People could use their same cars and they would be reducing emissions but it does not want to listen to that.

A lot of people have to travel on the train from Killarney to Dublin. We have gone backwards with that service because before now people could get a cup of tea or coffee but there have been no canteen facilities on that train now for a number of years. It is backwards we have gone there. I ask the Minister of State to see what is wrong and at least give people making that journey of three and a half hours a cup of tea.

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