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

At the outset, I would like to pay my heartfelt sympathies to the family of the late Private Seán Rooney and to send our concern and our wishes to Trooper Shane Kearney. I thank them, and we are standing in solidarity with the Defence Forces. Today it is only right and proper that we also think of other people, like our own members of An Garda Síochána, who put themselves in harm's way on a daily basis to protect and uphold the law and the rule of our land, whether that is at home or abroad. I send a very special word to the members of the Defence Forces who are abroad today. We are thinking of them, we are praying for them and we are so sorry that at this time of the year this has happened to one lovely young man who had his whole life in front of him and who laid it down to work for our State and to help other people. That is so important in the interest of peace.

First, I want to say to the outgoing Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, and to his wife Mary and to his family that I wish him nothing but good luck and happiness always and I wish him well on this day. To the incoming Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, and to his family, he knows that I wish him nothing but good luck every day and good fortune. It is a good day for him and his family, but I want to speak up on behalf of the people of County Kerry, because that is what I am here to do.

I want to talk about who it is not a good day for. I want to remind Deputy Varadkar of this on this special day. It is not a good day for the thousands of homeless people and the people on the housing waiting list. It is not a good day for the million people who are waiting on a list to have medical procedures. It is not a good day for the almost blind people who take a bus to Belfast on a regular basis to have a simple operation to have cataracts removed from their eyes when it should be done here. It is not a good day for the elderly who are cold in their homes and who were recently told by Green Party representatives in County Kerry, “Whatever you do, do not go lighting cosy fires because you might damage the environment around Tralee”. They were told that in the last couple of days. That is an awful thing to tell people. It is not a good day for the fishermen who have been sold out by this and successive Governments. It is not a good day for farmers who are time and time again being put to the pin of their collars to survive. It is not a good day for the horticultural industry who are forgotten by this Government. There are 17,000 of them. There are 6,600 employed directly and 11,000 indirectly employed in horticulture. They were completely forgotten about when the Government shut down the peat industry. It is not a good day for the people who have been allocated home help hours but that help is not arriving to them because it is not available. It is not a good day for cancer patients, in particular, those who I represent and who I deal with on a daily basis, who should receive full medical cards automatically. The diagnosis of cancer should equal the allocation of a full medical card for the duration of their illness. It is not a good day for farmers who now realise their lands will be taxed, a new tax. This is not a good day for those farmers. It is not a good day for those who work in the hospitality sector which I represent in county Kerry. They are worried about the VAT increase that the new incoming Government is going to put on them next year.

I got this very straight and I will give it straight to the Government on the floor of Dáil Éireann. This is from the people of the Kerry Hotel Federation, who I met with during the week. They are concerned for their sector. It is not a good day for the ordinary working man and woman who time and time again are left to pay for everything and who are worried about the mismanagement that Deputy Varadkar has done in the past and are afraid about what he will do in the future.

It is not a good day because these days of the election of new taoisigh have come and gone before, but nothing seems to change.

What I would ask of the new Taoiseach, in a very straightforward and open way, is to listen to the people. I am asking him to do that for his own good. I am trying to be helpful. He should take it from the ground up. If his ears and his mind are open to what is wrong in the country, it will make him and his Government a better Government. I and others on this side of the House will remind him of that in the best and most constructive way we can. When we do so, it is not personal - it is us doing our job and speaking up for the people. As long as I live, I will never understand why people alongside Deputy Varadkar think it is a good idea to stop people from cutting turf. I will remember those people the same as he will remember other people.

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