Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to extend my sympathy following the appalling tragedy in Clondalkin last evening in which a young woman and two children perished in a terrible fire. I understand it was a women's refuge in which the woman died. Our thoughts and prayers are with those who were injured and are in critical condition in hospital.

I wish to raise the treatment of Grace and all those who were in the foster home in Waterford, which has shocked the nation. The horrific circumstances are well outlined in the Dignam report. Many people find it difficult to comprehend that such cruelty could be meted out, particularly to young children with special needs, and that the health professionals could place Grace and others in such a foster home initially and subsequently, having discovered injuries and so forth, return Grace to that foster home. I accept the good intentions of the Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Finian McGrath, in wanting this investigated and I welcome the establishment of a commission of investigation. The motion has now been withdrawn and that gives us an opportunity to deal with some of the outstanding issues.

I met with two of the whistleblowers last evening. They are genuinely concerned about the terms of reference and the lack of coverage, given that other cases will not be covered by this inquiry. If one reads the precise language in the original motion there appears to be an intention to hold a further inquiry to deal with those, and the Minister of State was adamant that the other cases would be dealt with. However, it must be explicit in the terms of reference that are brought before the House again that the other cases will be covered. In addition, it has also emerged that, with regard to the suppression of information or the alleged cover-up, for some unknown reason the terms of reference include a timeframe from 2009 to 2016. Conor Dignam's recommendation is that the issue of suppression or alleged suppression of information, essentially any cover-up, should date from 1996 to 2016. There is no explanation for the variation between the Dignam recommendation and the terms of reference of the commission of investigation. I ask the Taoiseach to examine that and to bring the date back to 1996.

Third, the Dignam report recommends that all matters contained in the protected disclosures should be included in the inquiry, as well as the treatment of those who made the protected disclosures. There are issues in that regard and there should be an indent in the inquiry covering the treatment of those who made the protected disclosures. The overarching issue is that others who were in those homes would be included.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I share Deputy Martin's sympathy, as I am sure the House does, on learning of the tragic circumstances surrounding the fire in Clondalkin last night. Obviously, our thoughts are with the relatives and friends of the woman and the two young children. The scene is sealed off and a technical examination will take place today. The Garda has appealed for witnesses and I am sure people will help in that regard. Go ndéana Dia trócaire ar a n-anamacha dílse.

I listened to some of the debate on the Grace case. As I said yesterday, with this inquiry we will get to the bottom of what happened to Grace. The State makes a habit of talking about the past and legacy issues, but this involves the present, not the past. Now, we must and will act on it. Their personal pain cannot be anonymised, and it can become almost anonymised as a public issue. It is the pain of Grace and her mother, two good women. One of them gave up the most precious thing in her life, her child, to the care of the State because she believed she was doing right by her daughter. When the television is switched off and the news of the day moves on, that pain does not cease. Conor Dignam and the chair of the commission of investigation, Marjorie Farrelly, have been consulted on the terms of reference, which allow for another phase of investigation.

I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, on his diligence in following through with this. He has withdrawn the motion for consultation. Let us be crystal clear about this - what we seek is an allowance for phase one and for phase two, to take into account others who were in that foster home and the other issues the Deputy has raised. If we are to have a commission of investigation let it be conducted in such a way that it covers the issues people have legitimately raised. I expect the Minister of State, Deputy Finian McGrath, following consultation with all the Members, to return to the House tomorrow with amended terms of reference which set out explicitly and clearly what we want in setting up the commission of investigation, that is, to have phases one and two which will allow for the issues that have been raised to be dealt with by the commission. I hope that we can deal with this comprehensively and effectively in the consultations that take place today. There is no reason that we should have to delay the process of getting the commission of investigation up and running. However, I agree with the Deputy that it is important to be crystal clear that we are not only dealing with the Grace case, which has been the subject of statutory investigations, and then moving on at some time in the future. We must make it clear that there is a phase one and phase two in the context of clarifying the terms of reference to deal with these issues.

Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
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They overlap, unfortunately.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Over the course of the day I hope Members will be happy that their suggestions are being incorporated in terms of reference that will deal with this inclusively.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Government's willingness to engage with the Dáil on this issue and that the motion was withdrawn. The key issue is the inclusion of others who were at that home, because it stretches credibility to suggest that just one person was badly abused.

Indeed, others have come forward, including the parents of a girl who was allegedly sexually abused with implements in the same foster home as Grace. The family of another child has come forward. We heard testimony yesterday from Bridget whose sister, who has the mental age of a three year old, went to the foster home for respite care.

I suggest that the Minister sticks very closely to the Dignam recommendations to avoid any unnecessary problems arising today or tomorrow, particularly with regard to the timeline around the suppression of information. The first whistleblower came forward in 1992, and in that context it is unacceptable that the investigation would only examine the period from 2009 onwards. It must examine the entire period from when the whistle was first blown. The treatment of whistleblowers by the system, that is, by the health board initially and then by the HSE, must also be included in the terms of reference. The Chairman must be given some flexibility in terms of the overlap of some of the issues between one case and other cases. I understand the Taoiseach's point about a modular approach and I also understand the necessity of striking a balance between time and getting at the truth. I appreciate that and with goodwill all round, we can reach a satisfactory consensus on this matter.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Minister, in withdrawing the motion, wants to get this right. There is no point, on a matter of such sensitivity and personal tragedy, in having political differences of opinion. Following the statutory investigations into matters raised by Deputies Deasy, McGuinness and others, the Government agreed to set up a commission of investigation. Let us make sure that it is right and proper, comprehensive and that it covers all the issues that Deputies have quite rightly raised. This is a matter of genuine public interest and considerable public concern.

Deputy Martin mentioned three issues, namely, the timeline, the treatment of whistleblowers and the overlap of issues that will arise. I am quite sure the chairman, who is a very competent person, will do a first-class job. Obviously there will be an overlap of incidents, events and timelines. Let us hope that during the course of today, in the discussions with Fianna Fáil and other parties, agreement can be reached on amending the terms of reference to cover the issues that need to be covered.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I also extend my party's deepest sympathies to the bereaved families and friends of the two young children and the young woman who lost their lives so tragically in the fire at Kilcronan in Clondalkin overnight. Our thoughts are with them and we wish all of those who were injured a full and speedy recovery.

Today is International Women's Day. It is a day for commemorating and celebrating the struggle for women's rights. Here in Ireland and around the world, women have won many battles for equality but the struggle is not over, not by a long stretch. To this day, the legacy of this State's mistreatment of women and children remains. Issues like the gender pay gap and the eighth amendment have yet to be addressed. We are also reminded of the shocking and disgraceful State-sponsored abuse of women in the not too distant past. In that context, I wish to raise the issue of the commission of investigation into mother and baby homes.

On Friday morning last, the commission outlined the details of excavations that have discovered a significant quantity of human remains at the site of the former mother and baby home in Tuam. The remains discovered are the bodies of babies and children who were unceremoniously buried there without any recognition. They were buried in a septic tank without any respect for their identity or dignity. It is a cause of national shame. However, none of this was accidental. It was, as the Taoiseach knows, State policy. I listened to the Taoiseach's words very carefully yesterday. He said that the nuns did not kidnap children but that society gave them up. That is so but let us remember that it was people who sat in this Chamber and on the Government benches over the years who facilitated that. The State funded, regulated, oversaw and enforced a grotesque system that vilified and abused women and their babies and, to this day, the State refuses to afford the survivors justice. Look to the case of Mr. Peter Mulryan, who was in court on Monday for the fifth time seeking access to files held by Tusla and the Bon Secours Sisters on his infant sister, Marian Bridget. He believes that she died in Tuam and was buried there but he cannot be sure. In the past, An Garda Síochána believed that the Tuam site was a famine plot - not so. Now, as we discover the grim reality that the site is the scene of a mass grave and potentially a crime scene, where is the Garda response?

The commission established by the Government in January 2015 is inadequate. The Taoiseach knew that, as did the former Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy James Reilly, at the time. We told them so and, more importantly, advocacy groups made that very clear. The commission's inadequacy is now crystal clear and this has been voiced by the United Nations, which has said that the investigation does not meet international standards. Tuam, as we know, was just one of a vast network of institutions which systematically violated the rights of women and their children and facilitated an illegal adoption trade or child trafficking.

Will the Taoiseach now commit to engaging with the victims and survivors in order that the commission's terms of reference can be examined, amended and expanded? That is the only way that we can have any hope of getting to the full truth. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, has had the second interim report of the commission from Judge Yvonne Murphy on her desk since September. That report specifically examines the need to expand the terms of reference. Will that report be published without further delay?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy McDonald. Today is International Women's Day, and as I have said on many occasions, if Ireland was declared by W.B. Yeats to be "no country for old men", then the legacy and more recent issues mentioned by the Deputy would suggest that it was positively dangerous for girls and women. We have had the experience of the ignoring of the Magdalene women for many years. We have had the Government's establishment of the surgical symphysiotomy payment scheme because of the treatment of women. The Government also set up the statutory commission of investigation into mother and baby homes and related matters, as well as a commission to look into the case of Grace.

Deputy Catherine Connolly raised the question of the interim report with me previously. There have been many calls to extend the commission's terms of reference in recent days. I am conscious of these calls and the Government is open to examining what can be done. There is no point in having commissions of investigation if they are not able to do what they are intended to do. That said, we need to reflect carefully and give ourselves some time to get this right. It is a serious matter. I agree that the best approach is to have a scoping exercise, in consultation with the commission itself, to see if broader terms of reference covering more institutions would help to answer the many questions that arise. I note that these and many other questions arose when the original terms of reference were being framed in 2014 and 2015.

The challenge was, and still is, how to balance sufficient coverage of institutions with completing the report in a reasonable period. The commission is now two years into a three-year programme of work under its current terms of reference. We need to be conscious that extending its terms of reference will inevitably have an impact on any timescale that has been set out. The more we now add to its coverage, the longer the commission is likely to take to complete its work. This is not to say that this cannot or should not be done. However, we must be very clear about the implications for the commission's timescale and how long it will take to give us the answers that we very much want to have, particularly in the context of the feelings of those who are now in their senior years.

The first issue is for us to be satisfied that any additional matters of concern are not already within the existing wide scope of the commission. The commission has significant autonomy to follow wherever the investigation takes it and to make any recommendations it considers necessary in that regard. In fact, the commission's terms of reference require it to submit a report specifically on this issue to the Minister. Should a decision be made to examine further questions, there may also be a need to consider the appropriate legal vehicle to take that forward.

The commission was tasked with investigating a very specific issue and its report on this specific issue is still in preparation. The commission has not made its formal findings yet, although we know the outcome of the specific analysis of the site in Tuam. Clearly, the coroner, the Garda and the commission have independent responsibility for the work they are doing.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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We can agree on one crucial point, which is the necessity to get this right. I absolutely agree with the Taoiseach on that. I also remind him that in 2014 and 2015, when the Government was preparing this commission of investigation, it was made very clear to the Taoiseach how badly wrong he was getting it and he disregarded that advice.

I also remind the Taoiseach that as far back as 2012, social workers within the HSE, having examined Tuam and Bessborough, another mother and baby home, stumbled across facts so disturbing regarding illegal adoptions and child trafficking that they regarded this as a matter to be brought to the attention of the then Minister, now Senator James Reilly, because they believed it would necessitate a State investigation. Despite all the fine words and even the genuine sentiment the Taoiseach expressed, the track record of the State and his Government is not one of moving with haste and has rather been a foot-dragging exercise. That needs to stop.

When will we see a copy of the interim report? When will it be published? When will the Taoiseach meet victims and survivors? When will he instruct Tusla and other State agencies to stop playing games with survivors and release their records? When will we see serious action by the Government to demonstrate the will the Taoiseach expressed to get this right finally?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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After the statutory investigation into the Grace case, the Government moved to set up a commission of investigation with the intent that it would have the scope and capacity to do the job intended. Obviously, because of the legitimate views being expressed by Members in the House, the Minister of State has withdrawn that motion to try to get it even more right in the interests of everybody. It is not a case of the State not being willing here.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I am referring to the mother and baby homes.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Clearly in this regard, this commission was given a very specific remit. It has not reported its official findings yet; we know that. The coroner and the Garda have their responsibilities also. It is not a case of rushing into this to say we have now covered everything. How many girls and young women had to leave this country to go to Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham and other places? The Deputy has not mentioned those and they are the same because they came from the same places, but they were sent abroad to have their children abroad.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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What has that to do with this?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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This happens here in mother and baby homes. We had State involvement in residential institutions.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Yes, and successive governments.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Yes.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Taoiseach.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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In most cases families themselves placed these girls and young women in foster homes.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Taoiseach-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Absolutely. If we are to try to get this right, we had better look at exactly what we are doing here.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Is the Taoiseach denying the State's culpability in this?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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No, I am not.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Is that the gist of this?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am saying if we want to get it right, we need to look very carefully at what we are actually doing.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Yes, we do.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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All of those who gave birth to their children, many of whom were stillborn and many of whom did not live very long-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Many of whom were trafficked abroad.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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We know the scale of this in Tuam. It is not a case of wanting to make political point scoring on a matter as sensitive as this. I meant what I said yesterday. I do not want to see long after I have left here some future Taoiseach having to say in the Chamber that we have had more of this. If we have to take some further little time to get this as right as possible in the national interest, then let us do that. The Deputy's views on that will be important. I know she does not want to score points about this-----

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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No, but I am certainly not going to tolerate the Taoiseach dragging his feet any further-----

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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-----but it is in our interests to get it right.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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-----and hiding behind teary rhetoric.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Whatever decision is made will have implications in terms of time and cost.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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As has been pointed out, today is International Women's Day, a day when we should be celebrating and acknowledging the progress made in gender equality, but more particularly the remaining issues that have to be addressed. Más féidir leis an Taoiseach éisteacht, bheinn buíoch.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Tá mé ag éisteacht.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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There are outstanding issues regarding equal pay and bodily integrity. There was a strike today outside Leinster House over the remaining issues related to Repeal the Eighth. Domestic violence issues are costing the economy €2.5 billion a year. Instead, on this special day we find ourselves once again discussing how the State has misused and mistreated the women of Ireland. Prior to Leader's Questions, the debate concluded on the terms of reference for another inquiry into the State and its agencies presiding over the appalling treatment of a young vulnerable woman in the south east and what appears to have been collusion in the concealment of that treatment. I am glad that new politics is working and we have forced a reconsideration of the terms of reference.

In addition, we have had the revelations from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs through the commission that revealed that human remains are visible in a series of chambers that may have formed part of sewage treatment works for the home. It is not clear whether the chambers were used for sewage treatment. The commission believes that there are a significant number of remains there and forensic analysis has determined that the remains are between 35 foetal weeks and two to three years of age. Despite protestation from the Bon Secours Sisters and the establishment that this was a Famine burial site that was covered, it is not.

This is a shocking discovery according to everyone and particularly to the Taoiseach. However, those in Galway have been aware of this for a long time. It was highlighted by Catherine Corless back in 2014 in her painstaking and self-funded research. Many women went before the commission of inquiry into child abuse, which culminated in the Ryan report as far back as 2009, and told their stories about their experiences in mother and baby homes. It was brought to the attention of Martin McAleese when he concluded his report on the Magdalen laundries. None of this is shocking to the survivors. What is shocking to the survivors and to me is the carefully crafted words the Taoiseach used in the Chamber. In particular he said:

No nuns broke into our homes to kidnap our children. We gave them up to what we convinced ourselves was the nuns' care.

I do not doubt the Taoiseach's bona fides, but I certainly doubt his judgment in reading out in these circumstances such a sentence in a carefully crafted speech. Where is the interim report that has been with the Minister since September 2016? Will the Taoiseach confirm the site will be sealed off as any crime scene is sealed off? Will he confirm that records will be made available to those who are seeking them in order that somebody like Peter Mulryan does not need to go to the High Court to seek the records of his sister? The Taoiseach must stop the hypocrisy. Cuir deireadh leis an gcur i gcéill agus tabhair freagra dúinn. Sin an méid atá ag teastáil ag an bpointe seo.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Tá fhios agam go maith céard atá ag teastáil ag baint leis seo and that was the reason the commission of investigation was established. That has its independence with wide-ranging terms of reference. It has not actually reported its official findings yet, nor has the coroner declared what he considers the next step to be and the Garda has independent responsibility.

The Deputy is asking me to direct an independent commission to do certain things. The questions she asks are valid and need to be answered. I expect they will be answered. She can refer to carefully crafted sentences if she likes. However, the nuns did not take the children out of the houses of Ireland. They were sent to these mother and baby homes in the vast majority of cases by the families themselves. Such was the disgrace that was heaped upon them in parish after parish simply because young women became pregnant and gave birth to a child that they were driven out to Liverpool, Birmingham, Manchester, London, Glasgow and other places.

These were people who were born and reared in our own country who were sent away, not to foster homes in this country but other places abroad. Their stories will be told someday too.

I expect Deputy Connolly will allow the commission of investigation to report its official findings. That is its duty, its responsibility and why it was set up. It is two years into a three-year programme of work. I commend Catherine Corless. She is a heroine in this case who brought forward a stark truth which has lain, literally, underground for so many years and, as I said yesterday, not since the dawn of history, but in our own time.

There is a process involved. I expect Mr. Mulryan should be able to get the information he so wishes. There is a court case dealing with that and a judge will give a judgement on that basis.

Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)
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Mr. Mulryan should not have to do that.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The Government is willing to try to get this as right as possible. Every case that is brought to light has different circumstances attached to it. If the numbers are as large as has been surmised, then we need to reflect on how best to do this from Ireland's point of view. Ireland's shameful past is again in the spotlight. We are charged with the responsibility to get answers to these questions. Part of that is a commission of investigation working and sitting in respect of Tuam. It has not even reported yet but Deputy Connolly is asking me to direct it, the coroner and the Garda to do what is their independent responsibility.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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Ireland’s past shame is its present shame. I am not sure if the Taoiseach is completely and utterly out of his depth or that he just sticks to prepared scripts. I do not know what the issue is. I have not asked the Taoiseach anything about a coroner or the Garda. I specifically asked him about publishing an interim report that his Minister has had since September last year. She stated in a reply to a parliamentary question that she will publish it. I am asking the Taoiseach to confirm why it has not been published eight months later. What is in it that is so frightening? What is in it that prevents it from being published?

On the Taoiseach's commission and our shameful past, who made it shameful to have what was natural, namely, a pregnancy and a baby? Who instituted that those babies were taken, not directly by the nuns in the middle of the night but as the result of a visit from a priest or somebody else doing their job? Please do not insult the women of Ireland on International Women's Day. Will the Taoiseach just answer the question as to when the interim report will be published? Will he confirm that the site in Tuam will be sealed appropriately? Will he stop talking about a memorial at this point, which is utterly premature? Will he instead deal with the facts and the issues which the representative organisations have asked him to do? At some stage, the Government has to learn.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Far from insulting the women of Ireland, I want to stand by finding out answers to these particular problems and particular questions. It is beneath you to take that line, Deputy Connolly.

The Garda has a duty. We will certainly contact the Garda if that site is not sealed off already.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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What about the interim report?

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I have not read the interim report the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Katherine Zappone, has. I am quite sure she is in consultation with people about this. I see no reason the report cannot be published, the same as any other report. It may have to be in some redacted form. I do not know because I have not seen it or read it. I am quite sure the Minister will answer for that.

I want Deputy Connolly to understand that I am as committed as anybody else to seeing that we deal with this once and for all. I come from the west, as the Deputy well knows. I cannot put a figure on the number of young women in my time since the 1950s who were sent away to foster homes or other countries to have their children, simply because they became pregnant out of wedlock. If you think that I insult the women Ireland by trying to do what I want to do here in respect of our Government, our country and our people, then you are very much mistaken.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I welcome Vera Twomey and her husband to the Gallery this afternoon.

I am glad to get this opportunity to highlight the lack of provision of jobs, infrastructure and services in Kerry. We cannot attract jobs and investment into our county because we simply do not have proper access. We have been waiting for the Macroom bypass for more than 40 years. We do not have adequate broadband or mobile phone coverage in many parts of our county. Many roads are substandard. To mention just a few, the roads from Blackwater Bridge to Sneem, Killarney to Gneevgullia and those around Scartaglen are in a desperate state. The Rathmore to Killarney road, a national secondary road, is in a desperate state. Many roads in north Kerry around Ballyduff, Kilmoyly, Lixnaw and Abbeydorney are in a desperate state. Many of our bridges are not fit for purpose, allowing only one lane for heavy traffic. Listry, Curraheen and the Caragh bridges were built more than 200 years ago.

Funding for local improvement schemes has been suspended since 2011. Of these, 123 were approved in 2007 and there are in excess of 600 waiting to be assessed by Kerry County Council. The people on these roads in Kerry are as much entitled to a good road to their doors as the people in Dublin 4. These are all public roads, contrary to what the Department and others claim. Many of them were actually built by the local authority.

Seven years’ shortfall in funding for maintenance means that many roads are waterlogged and ponding makes many of them unsafe in wet weather. We do not have enough money now to fill the potholes. Many roadside hedges are not being cut and none will be cut until 1 September, meaning that all the spring and summer growth will not be touched until then. It is a health and safety matter. Whatever about the birds and inside the ditches, all roadside hedges should be cut all year round.

Many areas have suffered huge job losses, such as Castleisland, Kenmare, Cahersiveen and Tralee. All of north Kerry would benefit if the Shannon LNG project was allowed to go ahead by the regulator over whom nobody seems to have control. Rural Kerry has been affected by cuts of 53% to the Leader programme. Worse still, we have had no programme since 2013. Restrictive planning guidelines are preventing young people from putting a roof over their heads. Many towns and villages do not have any public sewerage scheme. One third of Castleisland has been waiting more than 30 years to be connected to the public sewerage system. Kilcummin has been waiting more than 20 years when it has been promised many times. Scartaglen, Curragh, Caherdaniel, Castlecove and Cloghane all have no public sewerage systems with health and safety compromised.

Many people are trapped in their homes due to rural isolation. The proposal by the Government to reduce the alcohol limit further will impact adversely on people in rural areas. It is a big difference for these people from those in urban areas. Many people in rural areas would not get to know their neighbours were dead if it were not for Radio Kerry.

In spite of all these impediments, Kerry and Kerry people are still the best in the world and everyone is still welcome to Kerry at all times.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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That is a speech the Deputy should give outside Beaufort church.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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I will be giving it again there next week.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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He covered the whole range there. I remember the Deputy’s late lamented father stamping his heel at the top of Com an Chiste, saying, “Look at the state of the road here”, when the buses could not pass each other and the road was all cracked. That is all improved, as the Deputy is aware.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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It was not you who repaired them.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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When Deputy Danny Healy-Rae goes to Páirc Uí Chaoimh on 3 July to see the new stadium which the Government has given assistance to the GAA to build, he will pass through Macroom. He will be glad to know that the contractors have been appointed for the preliminary design of the Macroom bypass. It will not be done by the time he is coming back in victory or defeat from Páirc Uí Chaoimh but he will know that work will be under way.

A whole series of things are happening in terms of Leader funding, growth in tourism and sectoral jobs in County Kerry.

Any time I am down there during the summer, it is like the Washington turnpike with traffic and people all over the place, although the people in Kerry will say they are coming all right but they are not spending. That seems to be an age-old problem, particularly in that part of the kingdom.

The Deputy covered a range of issues. I would point out to him that the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is starting the process of carrying out a review of the programme for capital expenditure. Based on that, he will respond in due course. I have also pointed out that we have other ways now of securing finance for major infrastructure projects. A line of credit will be available to pay back the loans relating to such projects, be they in respect of the road from Cork to Limerick or roads to other locations.

Kerry is in the mix. The growth in jobs is clear in the region. There are restrictions in terms of planning that are the responsibility of those elected to the county councils. It is very important that a proper balance be achieved in that regard. As the Deputy knows, many county councils do not cut the hedges all year round because there is a consideration in respect of songbirds and their nesting requirements.It is very scenic along the coast down there. The bushes do not thrive as well with the sea breeze, so there is not a requirement to have the hedges cut in all places. I had the privilege of trying to get around the Ring of Kerry on the old bike in June and I saw the Healy-Rae van parked in places just to remind us that they are still around. I hope that Kerry will get is fair share in the review that is being carried out by the Minister. I am sure it will. I do not doubt that when I sit down, Deputy Griffin will send me a text saying that I did not mention him.

Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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That is very important.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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The Taoiseach did not answer my question seriously. I must point out that 41% of the economic activity in the country is taking place in Dublin. This means the remaining 59% is taking place throughout the rest of the country. As a man from the west and coming from County Mayo, which has the same topography as County Kerry, the Taoiseach should know well that the people of my county are suffering. I want to tell about the Kilcummin Road, on which he travels on his way up and down to his holiday home. We cannot resurface it because we are waiting for the sewerage scheme to be done and we have been waited for that for more than 20 years. The Taoiseach has surely seen the state of that road. A terrible wrong is being done to the people who have made applications under the local improvement scheme. These are public rather than private roads and there are no gates across them. They were built by the local authorities many years ago but they were not taken in charge and these people are being denied the right to have a good road leading to their door.

I must comment further on the hedges. The hedges on the outside of the ditches should be cut along every road. There is plenty of room for the birds and everything else on the inside of the ditches. I would not mind if the hedges on the inside of the ditches all across the country were never cut but the hedges along the roads must be cut for the safety of people walking, cycling and driving. I ask all those in government to put their shoulder to the wheel and ensure that this matter is rectified.

Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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The cutting of the hedges is absolutely the responsibility of the local authority in so far as the public roads are concerned. Responsibility for the cutting of hedges along national primary and national secondary roads obviously lies with the Department and Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII. Kerry County Council is perfectly entitled to set out a programme for hedge cutting on public roads throughout the county and to allocate money in respect of it. As the Deputy is aware, responsibility has been devolved to the local authorities and they having the capacity to raise money, if they so wish, for particular projects. It is important, in terms of visibility, cyclists and where dangerous junctions exist, to have the hedges cut back and to have clear lines of sight and visibility to facilitate safe driving. Everybody agrees with that. The directors of services and engineers can set out the programme for hedge cutting to give proper lines of sight and so on for the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and motorists. That is the responsibility of the local authority in Kerry and I am sure it takes its responsibility seriously.

Danny Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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It does not have the funding and it is not allowed to cut the hedges from February to September.

Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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That section has overrun by 15 minutes. It is becoming a persistent problem.