Martin Kenny

We will see at the end of the year where we are. It has been underfunded in every budget to date.

If we are to go on precedent, we expect it to be the same again. One of the big complaints farmers have is the valuation they are receiving for reactor cattle, which is too low and does not represent the current market value of cattle. I will give an example. James from Sligo sent me a handwritten note only the other day. In May 2025, he lost seven cattle that were valued at 2023 prices. That is …

For the beef sector and a whole lot of sectors, nothing is happening. It is a disappointing budget for the agricultural sector.

First, I commend the Social Democrats on bringing forward this motion. Family carers are a vital part of the health service in this country and they are not recognised or respected for the work they do. We all know from experience that the healthcare service provided by the HSE is in crisis. The home care service across the country cannot get staff and we are in a situation where thousands of peop…

It is clear that our current environmental standards are not fit for purpose. The Environmental Protection Agency Act 1992 is simply not fit for purpose when it comes to granting licences, amending licences and a whole range of work that needs to be done in that respect. It is causing huge delays in building our infrastructure to meet our energy needs and expansion of businesses, the expansion of …

As the Minister is aware, the week before last there was an "RTÉ Investigates" programme on the death of Liam Farrell, a man in Roosky, County Leitrim, who was found dead on his back door in January 2020. The situation the programme exposed was a very lacklustre investigation by An Garda Síochána. Anyone who saw it - I am sure the Minister did and I know he is aware of the case - was shocked as to…

That is okay.

The issue of school transport is an annual upheaval we have across the country. As long as I have been here, this problem has come up every September. There is a particular route somewhere that was perfect last year and now it has changed because there are two fewer children on it and the bus has been withdrawn completely, or there is some other place where people thought they had enough children …

Electricity and energy costs are crippling families across the country. We have seen almost all energy companies announce price increases in recent weeks and we know these companies are amassing massive profits year on year. There are already thousands of families behind on their electricity and energy bills. I know this debt will grow in my constituency for these families while the Government tur…

I raise the issue of serious problems in our mental health services, particularly in acute mental health services. I will raise the individual case of a young man in Sligo who was murdered. His name was Jimmy Loughlin. The person who committed the murder was somebody in the care of the mental health services. When incidents like this happen the HSE is meant to carry out what is known as a serious …

I wrote to the Taoiseach three times.

The issue of crime is something that is feared as much as anything else across many parts of rural Ireland in particular and in my constituency. We saw today that three people have pleaded guilty to manslaughter for the desperate attack on Tom Niland, an elderly man living alone in a rural area who was set upon, badly beaten and subsequently passed away. The fear that kind of situation instils in …

This is a positive step and a step in the right direction after many years of waiting. Like most public representatives, over the years I too have met and spoken with people from my constituency and other places who have been the victim of sexual abuse in schools. Sometimes it was an institution and sometimes it was not. The one thing that certainly strikes me is that the two were not separate. Se…

The amending legislation being introduced this evening is quite ironic in that it is amending legislation that has not yet been commenced. This is one of the key Opposition criticisms. We spent many months last year on planning and development legislation. It was the biggest Bill ever to come before the House and here we are back again amending it. The biggest issue I have with the Bill before us…

76. Deputy Martin Kenny asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine when his Department will implement the new measures to tackle TB; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36040/25]

I raise with the Minister the situation as regards TB, which is at crisis point across the country. I know the TB forum has set out a number of measures that have yet to be enacted. I would like to get an update on when these are going to happen. Many of these actions are difficult for farmers. When they have a reactor or their farm is locked down as a result of TB, the last thing they need is a m…

To get to the issues that are of most concern to many people in the agricultural community, one of the issues farmers are concerned about is the proposal that a sign be put up at marts where there is a reactor in a herd. This would be there for quite a long time and would restrict farmers in getting a decent price for their animals. That is an issue that needs to be dealt with very sensitively. We…

I appreciate all of that. To give credit where it is due, something is being done. A crisis has been allowed to evolve over the years. What we need this morning, if we can get it, is a commitment as to when this is going to happen and clarity on those issues I raised regarding the difficulties farmers going to the market are going to have and so on. We need to see that clarity. We also need to see…

So, it is going to be €3,000.

They will not answer any questions.

You will not answer the question.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his appointment. It is good to have someone from the west in this role. I know he has always had a strong commitment to the development of the western rail corridor. It always strikes me that the western rail corridor only extends halfway up the west. We need to bring it the rest of the way. It is clear from the map produced with the proposals in the rail re…

Is there an increase or not?

I raise the dermatology service in Sligo University Hospital. I was written to by Dr. Dermot McKenna, a consultant dermatologist. He informed us he was taking leave until the middle of July and no locum had been put in place to replace him during the period. It is a service that is under extreme stress. There are over 3,000 patients in the Sligo area waiting for new dermatological appointments. Th…

It is under serious pressure and we need action-----