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

Many people in County Kerry are very disappointed by the Government's failure to reduce the VAT rate from 13.5% to 9%. Many businesses have closed already, and many more will close before Christmas, I am sorry to say, because they were hoping, and hanging on, to see would this happen, but the Government failed them.

Everyone is being hurt by the increase in carbon tax. Everyone who has a set of wheels under them is being driven down through the ground further.

Carers should not have to be means-tested. Whatever cap the Government will raise for the means test, that will not happen until next July. Live horse until you get grass.

On health, several nursing and carers posts remain unfilled in our general and district hospitals resulting in several beds remaining empty. Sick patients are continuously waiting for beds. Elderly patients are waiting for GPs. The massive increase of thousands of immigrants is putting severe pressure on the medical service. GPs are hard to get to go to.

On housing, I am again calling for fair play. I ask that the Government extend the €800 tax free that it affords to Ukrainians and landlords who house them to our own people - the thousands who are on the housing list in Kerry.

The budget for roads in Kerry has been continuously reduced over the past eight or nine years. I am glad to have made strong representations on behalf of the roads that were taken off the programme in July - the Bunane road, the road from the Creamery Cross to Kenneigh, and then the road from Killarney to Lackabane, Lackabane to the Gap Cross and the Gap Cross to Killalee. I fought so hard for those road projects, in the first place, going back a number of years, and then they were suspended last July. I am glad that continuous representations by me and others have secured that. A total of 660 roads still remain on the local improvement scheme list in Kerry. Many people will be dead, with 25 roads being done a year, if the Government does not do something to increase the funding.

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